Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development Inc. CEO Bonita Eby of Kitchener, Ontario, was interviewed for Business Insider magazine by Diamond Naga Siu. This article is based on that interview. Find the full article here.
In today’s workforce, we’re seeing manager burnout come to the forefront. While employee engagement, staff burnout and frontline worker compassion fatigue have made headlines, what happens if your manager is burnt out?
How manager burnout impacts engagement and employee experience.
When managers and supervisors experience burnout, they have less capacity to deal with the challenges brought forward by direct reports. They may not have the energy to engage with empathy or the skill to manage critical dilemmas.
Long-term chronic stress at work affects one’s ability to navigate problem-solving, executive functioning, or higher thinking to the same extent. Under stress, the brain’s amygdala triggers a cascade of reactions, including outpouring cortisol and adrenaline from the adrenal glands. The amygdala also inhibits immediate use of the frontal cortex, where higher levels of thinking and problem-solving occur.
Diamond quoted in the Business Insider article, “This leaves their direct reports in a lurch, since managers have such a large impact on someone's role: workflows, productivity, support, growth, and more. Bonita Eby, a burnout prevention consultant, told me that's why it's important to remove the taboo — including for managers — of saying "I need help.”
What can managers do if they're feeling burned out?
1. Recognize the symptoms.
The first step is to recognize if you might be experiencing the signs and symptoms of burnout. The free Burnout Assessment provides essential questions across six organizational culture factors that affect burnout. Managers can use the assessment independently or as part of a company-wide strategy for mitigating employee burnout.
You can learn the evidence-based symptoms of burnout and the signs of compassion fatigue in the linked articles.
Business Insider reporter Diamond Naga Siu spoke with several experts about the signs of manager burnout. While burnout cannot be accurately assessed by others subjectively, the Burnout Assessment provides objective data to monitor burnout risk.
Signs Diamond quoted me as saying:
Fear: "We often see that when people are going through burnout, they become fearful, because they're experiencing such vast amounts of stress," Eby said. “Fear, stress, and anxiety all go through the same nervous (system) pathway, she said, so a burnt-out manager could be working in survival mode.”
Creating conflict: “When people are experiencing burn out, Eby told me they can begin to create conflicts. In a manager, this can look like inappropriate language or off-colored jokes, which can put employees in a scary and uncomfortable position.”
2. Reconnect with your values.
Chronic stress and challenging life events can interfere with valued living when managers focus entirely on problem-solving and regaining a sense of control that they lose track of what matters most.
Losing touch with one's values at work is characterized by an excessive emphasis on controlling the negative rather than living out the positive. However, research reveals a strong correlation between living out one's values and resilience to stressful events.
Managers can cultivate a path toward resilience by engaging in behaviours aligned with their personal and professional values. Values are one's beliefs, ethics and deeply held convictions. When managers reconnect with their organization's values that mean the most to them, it can become a buffer against burnout and provide an impetus to regaining passion and strength.
What can leaders do to support burnt-out managers?
1. Re-create autonomy.
Managers and employees alike are facing challenges related to going from a remote working option to a hybrid model or, in some cases, a full in-office arrangement.
Managers need the flexibility to work at their optimum; sometimes, that means working from home or a remote location. Organizations that provide worker autonomy around where and when they work tend to have greater employee engagement and satisfaction. Giving managers more freedom to make choices that support their work-life balance gives them a greater chance of regaining and increasing their productivity.
2. Reassess support.
Regularly reassess the supports offered to managers and employees. Provide consistent check-ins to monitor how managers cope and have authentic conversations about their needs.
Promote benefits packages and employee assistance programs every month, emphasizing what is available and encouraging usage. Stressed-out managers may only be aware of some of what is available to them to help deal with stress and exhaustion.
Meaningful and open conversations in a psychologically safe manner can help leaders support managers to thrive, not just survive.
About the author
Bonita Eby is a Burnout Prevention and Organizational Culture Consultant, Executive Coach, and owner of Breakthrough Personal & Professional Development Inc., specializing in burnout prevention and wellness for organizations. Bonita is on a mission to end burnout. Connect with us about bringing our workshops to your organization.