By Dennis McNamara

"I'm really feeling burned out!" is one of those 'common-cold-of-mental-health' statements that counselors frequently hear. Our usual response is to begin asking questions about what's going on in their lives and how are they coping. Quite often what we hear is that work is a major source of stress leading to burnout.

When we experience burnout, we become detached, lose interest and energy, feel indifferent, and less productive. The cost of this is significant with decreased productivity, mistakes, increased absences, physical illnesses, etc.

While individuals need to look at themselves to find answers, it also makes sense for businesses to take a look at what may be organizational problems.
Some particular areas of concern are:

Work overload. Increased demands cause increased wear and tear. Are employees expected to do more than before?

Lack of control. Studies have shown that more than money, employees want to feel more a part of what happens at work.

Lack of reward. Without some form of recognition, we begin to feel devalued. This may also be an internal process as we no longer believe we do a good job because of overload.

Lack of fairness. This leads to the creation of divisions, imbalances, and loss of mutual respect.

Conflicting values. If what you profess, "customer service," doesn't agree with actual practice, "maximize profits," it places employees in conflicted situations.

Workplace conflict. When left unattended, it divides people and limits creativity and flexibility in problem solving.

If you are interested in exploring these issues in your workplace, please call Dennis McNamara at (541) 608-4238.