Jun 14, 2023
Do you find yourself dreading Mondays ? Are you constantly stressed out about falling behind or not living up to your team’s expectations? You might be dealing with burnout, an occupational phenomenon that arises from chronic workplace stress. To learn more about burnout and what you can do to prevent it, check out this episode with guest Nina Nesdoly. Nina has an academic background in both neuroscience and organizational behavior, and she uses her niche expertise to help other manage stress, prevent burnout, and promote health and resilience in their organizations. In this podcast, she combines scientific insights and practical tips to talk about the causes of burnout and what leaders can do to combat burnout in themselves and their organizations.
2:43 – Burnout is different from just feeling tired or overwhelmed at work, and there are three major characteristics that set it apart from regular feelings of stress
2:50 – The first symptom of burnout is physical exhaustion, including physical symptoms like headaches and muscle tension
3:13 – The second symptom is cynicism and depersonalization
4:20 – The third and most difficult to spot symptom is professional efficacy, or a feeling like you and your work are not good enough
6:01 – When you tried to compensate for feeling like you’re bad at your job or not meeting expectations, it can actually fed into the cycle of burnout
7:21 – The difference between stress and burnout is that stress is your body’s response to demands in your environment, while burnout is the consequences of chronic stress built up over time
8:46 – Over time, burnout can change your brain and make it harder to regulate your emotions and stress response
10:16 – To combat and prevent burnout, evaluate when you’re putting your energy and how you’re expending your energy
11:25 – Oftentimes, we are the ones putting unnecessary stress on ourselves
12:45 – When you’re feeling stressed, it’s important to connect with others, and there are even hormones in your body that will push you toward wanting to connect with people
14:25 – To say yes to some things, you have to say no to others
15:34 – By being intentional about when you say no, you can make sure you have the time and energy to say yes to the projects that really serve your organization
16:36 – Thinking about your goals is another way to combat burnout, as we can get stuck in the same stressful trajectory
17:30 – If you find yourself in a position that doesn’t align with your values or goals, have the courage to say reevaluate and say no
18:50 – You can practice saying no in low stakes situations
19:32 – You can also practice the 24-hour rule to give yourself more time to evaluate a situation before saying yes or no
21:30 – There are also alternatives to saying no, like telling someone you need to shift your priorities or that if you do one task, it means you won’t be able to get to another
22:54 – To combat burnout, you need to REST, or recognize, evaluate, say no, and take care of yourself
33:00 – You can’t focus on everything at once, so be intentional about how you use your time
Connect with Nina Nesdoly
Find her on Instagam and Tiktok @WorkplaceClarity