Whilst wrapping-up the workshop « Burnout prevention: What is in your control? » that I gave at the Brussels Imagination Club a while ago, I remembered the positive comments on the flipchart illustrations that I had made to support the learning. Beside designing a very interactive workshop, enriched by serious games techniques (Thiagi, my favourites) and blending self-reflection, theory and lots of collaboration, I also created some flipchart visuals.
I must admit that drawing is not really my strength, it does not come naturally for me. I actually prefer shapeless intuitive colourful painting to drawing, but I tend to have a visual memory and I know that illustrations can stick out and enhance leaning.
In any case, I decided to share below one of the visuals that I created for the workshop.
With a bit of tweaking, here it is:
Why this particular visual on Burnout?
Because in my view this visual is fundamental in understanding burnout, which is so often misunderstood. Some of us still believe that burnout is just some fatigue that would disapear following a long holiday. We also misuse the word burnout, which became a fashionable word. But burnout comes with an incredibly large collection of symptoms, some more debilitating than others, and some even triggering chronic conditions which call for never-ending consultations to various specialists, trying to find cure and resolution. Some symptoms are related to our cognitive abilities that we take for granted, such as the capacity to read, pay attention to what we are reading/listening, remembering what we have been told in the conversation that we had just 1 minute ago. Not being able to do these simple cognitive things can let us lost, powerless, and with very dark thoughts about ourselves.
Moreover, recovering from a burnout is usually quite long, lasting even years, and completely affects one’s life and prospects of life. So understanding the severity of burnout may help with the willingness to invest in prevention.
It is true that, in this workshop, we mainly focused on what we are able to influence at a personal level, as part of one’s personal responsibility.
However, I also wanted to highlight that the responsibility for burnout is shared.
Wait? Shared responsibility?
Of course.
We often forget about the psycho-social nature of burnout, about the interaction between the person and their social work environment, including work culture, management practices, work organisation, work processes and procedure, available resources and so on. After all, we are social animals and the environment in which we work (and live) shapes and influences us. If you don’t believe it, think of a massive rock altered by the interaction with waves. And if you have children and read some Montessori based literature, you know by now how fundamental the environment is in the development of a child.
Therefore, the work environment in which we spend a huge part of our life shapes us. And as a creator of this environment, an institution/ employer shares the responsibility for the burnout.
And in case you wonder why there is a little bird in the cage, it is supposed to be a canary. For an organisation / institution / company, the burnout of their employees is just like a canary in a coal mine, which gradually loses its chirp whilst warning that the environment is becoming a threat.
After all, burnout is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
If you think your workplace, colleagues, team or friends would benefit from the time and space to explore burnout prevention and wellbeing at work, feel free to connect.
Some of the feedback I received on the workshop « Burnout prevention: What is in your control?»
- Brilliant workshop, by far my favorite one on burnout prevention that I attended so far.
- Although with a very serious and potentially gloomy subject, the workshop was easy to follow, full of learning and fun.
- Very engaging workshop, lots of diversity and so much interaction.
- I realised how extensive burnout really is and how damaging its consequences are.
- Very well structured workshop and very well explained.
Read also:
- Burn-out Recovery: What to expect and how to cope?
- Working hard for the sake of “working hard”: A fast-track to burn-out
- Are you ready for a change? Don’t wait for a burnout to actually change something
Discover more from Gabriela D. Spencer
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Gabriela D. Spencer 