The Truth About Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do About It

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Contents

Preface

IX

1

1 . The Current Crisis 2. How You Experience Burnout

23

3. What Causes Burnou t ?

38

4. Why Do A nything A bout Burnollt ?

61

5. Crisis Intervention to Stop Burnout

79

6.

Preventing

and Bui ld ing

7. Promoting H uman Values

102 128

Afterword: Moving Toward a Better Future

148

Appendix: Assessi ng the Work Environment

155

Endnotes

171

For Further Readi ng

1 73

About the A uthors

1 77

I ndex

1 79

the very spec ia l people in our l ife, who keep our engagement h igh and bumout low Phil, Zara, and Tanya Fran, N icola, and S asha

Preface

telephone The path that led to this book began with a M ichael wanted to spend his sabbatical year in cat! many California, and he wanted to do some new work on the phenome­ non of burnout. Christina was doing research on burnout, and she happened to be i n Cal ifornia. So the call was made, the v isit was arranged, and a beautiful friendship and professional association began. During that first year, we conducted research w ith the nursing staff i n an HMO and also revised the M aslach Burnout I nventory, which is measure we and other researchers have used in subseour work was of burnout. But after that quent different countries at carried out of the N orth A merican continent. We stayed in touch, exchanged papers, and met up occasionally at professional meetings to share our l atest thinking about burnout. At one of these conferences, however, we did more than just the usual u pdating-we began a new collaboration. Our shared work on burnout has encompassed new directions in theory, re­ search, and application. And as we worked together we began to talk about the possibility, someday in the future, of writing a book. Then chance stepped in again. Or rather, A lan R imier of Jossey-Bass and he told us that we should i ndeed write a

X

PREFACE

book, but that we shou l d do it now. And w i th h is gu idance, we have done just that. There is a special timeliness about this book-it is not the one At that t ime we would we would have written several years have concentrated on the hu man serv ices, where burnout has a l� ways been a serious concern. Today, as a result of cha nging eco� nomic times, burnout has become more w idespread and is a major issue in more occu pations, so we have expanded our focus and analysis of the phenomenon. Several years ago i t would have taken us much longer to write the book together, as d istance wou l d have forced us to rel y on "snail mail" and l imited telephone conversa� t ions. Now, the technology of the Internet has enabled us to carry Ollt ongoing discllssions and daily rewrites of each other's drafts. We have had a few intensel y product ive face-to-face meetings both i n California and Canada, but most of our collaboration has been me­ d iated by the computer screen. We k new that writing a book would involve a lot of hard work, but we d idn't anticipate just how much fun it would be. ll1e process of developing a new framework for understand ing burnout and a new style of commu nicating i t has proven to be wonderful ly re­ warding for both of us. I n fact, we have successfu ll y fol lowed our own adv ice to build engagement with our own work. Unlike our other projects, where there has been an important supporting cast of colleagues and staff and students and research participants, this particular project has involved just the two of us. However, our work over the years has been infl u enced by the con­ tribu tions of many colleagues, in particular, W il mar Schaufe l i of U trecht U nivers ity in the Netherlands and Susan J ackson of New York Univers ity. We are gratefu l for thei r continu ing adv ice , wis­ dom, and friendship. M ichael is also thankful for the support he has rece ived s ince 1982 from the Social Sciences and Humani ties Re­ search Counci l of Canada for h is work on burnout. But the person who was most critical in m ak ing this book a re­ ality is Alan Rimler, our editor. H is constant encouragement, good

PREFACE

XI

humor, and amazingly swift feedback o n everything we wrote pushed us ever onward. We leamed muc h and accomplished more than we had expected, and we thank him for giving us that. A lan, it was a joy to work with you! August 1997

Christina M aslac h San Francisco , Califomia M ichael P. Leiter Wolfv il le, Nova Scotia

The Truth About Burnout

1 The Current Crisis

Burnout is reaching epidemic proportions among North Amer­ ican workers today. I t's not so much that something has gone wrong w ith us but rather that there have been fundamental c hanges in the workplace and the nature of our j obs. The workp lace is a cold, hostile, demanding environment , both economically and psy­ chologically. People are emotionally, physically, and spiritually ex­ hausted. The dai ly demands of the job, the fam ily, and everything in between erode their energy and enthusiasm. The j oy of success and thrill of achievement are more and more d ifficult to attain. Ded ication and commitment to the j ob are fading. People are be­ coming cynical, keeping their d istance, trying not to let themselves get too involved . This p henomenon represents a major setback o n t he road to­ ward a better work life. Over the past century and a half, the work­ p lace has progressed toward an ideal of community, away from the abusive exploitation of the mills and mines of the I nd ustrial Revo­ lution. I n n ineteenth-century factories, workers were seen as cogs in machines, easi ly replaced. They worked themselves into early graves. Considerable effort forced exploitative labor practices to end and built workplaces in which workers could reasonably expect some job satisfaction. The fru i ts of those efforts are now at The idea the workp lace as an efficient machine is returning to undermine the ideal of

2

THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

the workplace as a safe and healt hy setti ng i n which people may ful� fi l l t heir potent ia l through i ntrinsically rewardi ng work for which they are given fai r compensation. HOW THE WORKPLACE HAS CHANGED

What has happened to bring on this cris is: Why is burnout becom� i ng a more common part of our vocat ional vocabu lary ? Why are wel l�intentioned workers, managers, and community leaders unable to do anything about it ? The problem's roots lie in economic trends, technology, and management philosophy. Less Intrinsic Worth

Part icularly damaging to the community of the workplace is t hat or� ganizat ions are cashing i n their int rinsic worth. I nstead provid� i ng a fou ndat ion for research and long�term growth, corporations are cashing in t heir assets for short-term stock performance. Bor� rowed money fuels t he franti c pace of mergers and acqu isit ions among international corporat ions. The scope of this activity leaves companies leveraged out of all proport io n on a fou ndat ion of debt. Because of this e normous and constant pressure, these organ iza� t ions' fi rst priority is to generate cash flow to service their debts, not to create excellent products or build a stronger community. The lat­ ter become the local concerns of t he people w ithin these organiza� tions, while the larger system looks merely to manage finances. The absence of concern for product or people t urns the rat io­ nale for a corporation inside out. Rather than corporat ions ex ist ing to extend the capacity of people to earn a liv ing and make signifi­ cant accompl ishments, people are sacrificing their livelihoods and t heir aspi rat ions for the good of t he corporat ion. Work become an obligat ion rather t han a resource. The values that determine the qua l ity of organ izat ional life a re not those of cohesive work groups attempt i ng to provide excellent products or services but t hose of bottom-line m anagement in an entity that is desperate for cash

THE CURR E N T CRISIS

3

flow. M ore problematic s t i l l, major corporations are beyond the control of l ocal communities. Their considerable economi c and po� l it ical c lout ecl ipses anything that might be happening within a community.

Global Economics

Manufacturing work is moving out of the community and out of the COllntry. Rapid transportation and communication allow work to go anywhere, and so work is going to where the cost of doi ng business is cheaper. Governments in i ndustrialized nations have reduced the trade barriers that protected their higher-cost local industries partly because of pressure from powerfu l m u l ti national corporations and partly because old-style protectionist pol ic ies s imply do not work anymore. In consequence , workers i n North America, Australia, and Europe fi nd themselves competing w ith workers in developing countries. This compe t ition is affecting an ever-widening range of the economy. At first, only rudimentary work could be moved to veloping countries. Their people d id not have the ski l ls necessary for complex manufacturing j obs; their i ndustrial support systems­ roads, telephone systems, e l ectrical power-were inadequate to support major i ndustries. N ow, all that is changing. Workers in de­ veloping countries are becoming more capable because they are get­ t ing better educations. At the same time, technolog ical advances in product ion are simpl ifying manufacturi ng j obs so that less tech­ n ical k now-how is requ ired. And i ndustrial support systems are im­ proving, especial ly near borders and major seaports. As these trends converge, more developing nations can provide corporations with the workers they need to begin prod uction. A lt ho ugh the labor re­ mains much cheaper, i t is adequate for a wider range of jobs. Consequently, entire i ndustries have d isappeared from deve l­ oped cOllntries. What has gone offshore? Every th i ng, includ ing the k itchen sink. In 1995 Pfister Faucets, the largest U.S. maker of fau­ cets, c losed down its Pacoima, Cal ifornia, manufacturing operation

4

THE TRUTH ABOUT BUR NOUT

and laid off 550 workers whi le open i ng a plant i n Mex ico.l H un ­ dreds of thousands o f other manufacturing j obs-making shoes, clothi ng, toys, and computers-have also moved offshore. The South Carolina text i le i ndustry employed 148,800 in 1970 but only 90,800 in 1995. 2 In computer manufacturing, jobs did not so much move offshore as deve lop offshore in the fi rs t p lace during the ex­ p losive growth of the industry over the past two decades. The possibil ity of moving j obs out of the country puts pressure on those who remain. The Brookings Institute reports that a num­ ber of U.S. corporat ions have moved a maj ority of the i r assets out of the COllntry: Gil lette (66 percent), M obil (63 percent), IBM (55 percent), Bankers Trust (52 percent), and Citicorp (51 perce nt ) . By 1995 half of Xerox's one hundred thousand employees worked out­ s ide of the United States. As Ed ith Holleman, former counsel to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and its In­ vestigations and Oversight Subcommittee, said i n a speech at a maj or engineering conference, "N issan, Texas Instruments, and Xerox h ave state-of-the-art fac i l i t ies in Aguascalientes, Mexico, employing tens of thousands of Mexicans. But they don't share the profits of thei r work. M ost of the m l ive in slums with two tele­ phones for twenty thousand people." In response to a 1994 incident in which someone sent a bomb through Xerox's i nteroffice mail, Xerox spokesperson Tom Abbott said, "Xerox employees are u nder a tremendous amount of stress and pressu re as a result of the reduc­ tion in workforce. They are los i ng their friends and co-workers and know they have to deal with more work with less people. Let's put it this \vay: We're a l l being very c3utioLls.>n The wage savings gained through these moves are considerable. The Kirkwood Company produces e lectronic components for a va­ riety of applia nce manufacturers-includ i ng Phi l i ps, Braun, a nd Sunbeam-at a Mexican plant where wages range from U.S. $2.23 to U ,S.$6.1S a day; these j obs would pay over $10 an hour i n the United States. Meanwhile, the average hourly wage of nonsupervi� smy workers i n the United States dec l ined 1 1 percent between 1978 and 1995 , down to $11.46 despite i ncreased productivity.

THE CURRENT CRISIS

5

Wage concessions are not the whole story. A more enduring im­ pact is on the quality of the work life itself. Workers are conceding their time. They are working longer hours. They are taking work home, often continuing after hours on computer equipment they have purchased themselves. They are devoting more time to tasks that are not personally rewarding, that is, that are not enjoyable do not further their careers. They are even giving up long-cherished benefits, like ful l y paid health insurance and company-financed pension plans. Globalization highlights the weak points in the economic sys­ tems of industrialized nations by increasing competitive pressures . In contrast, without competitive pressure, large corporations and governments can delay addressing programs that either do not work or operate inefficiently. Competitive pressures put an end to those practices, but do not necessarily improve things. In pushing for ef­ ficiency, competitive pressures make corporations myopic. They cut costs in the short term at the expense of programs and policies that would make sense in the long run.

Technology

How do corporations get the work done with fewer people who are fee ling more anxious and making less money? The two general strategies for enhancing productivity are to lise sophisticated tech­ nology and tight h uman resource management. Sophisticated technology can rep lace j obs entirely. Elevators and switchboards used to have operators, now they are automated. Banking machines reduce the ranks of tellers around the world. Ro­ bots replace assembly workers because machines can do some tasks m uc h faster and more accurately than people can. The impact of technology is not being fel t solely in the techni­ cal and manufacturing sectors. Automation is making inroads in the information sector. Government agencies are replacing em­ ployment counselors with interactive information kiosks. Distance education centers, such as the one at Arizona State University, are

6

THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

putting high school and university courses onto CD· ROMs. People are receiving counseling and education services without making di­ rect contact with other people. Downsizing in these sectors has de­ creased the personal qualities of these services. Many people prefer interacting with a computer to enduring a long wait to speak with an overworked employment counselor. Indeed, students note that distance education provides as much if not more personal contact with an instructor than do huge lecture classes. Machines often do jobs that are not very attractive. The prob­ lem is that the worker who is relieved of drudgery is also relieved of a job. Furthermore, the technology changes faster than people can learn new skills. So when the company uses machines, it becomes more productive but many individuals lose income, positions, and opportunities for training. For those who continue working, technology brings new de­ mands. Take a moment to think about it. How many passwords do you have to remember? How often do computer crashes interrupt your work? How much tirne do YOll spend backing up your work? How often do you wish you had spent more time backing up your work? How much time do you spend sorting through e-mail? How much of the operating budget at your workplace goes to the pur­ chase of computers, software, and maintenance services?

power

of technology is paid for in both time and money. There are days when people doubt whether information technology really in­ creases productivity or merely rearranges how they spend their time.

Redistribution of Power The second strategy for increasing productivity is tight human re· source management. The power of unions is weakening. Their members are becom­ ing less willing to put their jobs on the line as they lose confidence in the possibility of obtaining better wages and greater job security. From 1980 to 1990 the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States dropped by 5 percent, or roughly one million jobs.4

T H E C U R R E N T CRISIS

7

Even more important, h ighly skilled union j obs decreased consid­ erably t o be replaced by low-sk i l led, minimum wage, nonunion jobs. The unions that replaced professional associations among teachers , nurses, and university professors in the 1970s and 1 980s have similarly lost c lout . These u nions are perceived as slowing down the organizat ion's response to out s ide pressures. Over­ whelmed by t hese k i nds of pressures, the t radit ional union power is erodi ng. At the same t ime, tight human resource management-or m icromanagement-has become the order of the day, w it h polic ies that focus employees on the bottom line. But the employees, espe­ cially t hose who have been through graduate or professional p ro­ grams, p ut other values first. Healt h care providers i n H MOs are frustrated by policies t hat prescribe treatments. Teachers fee l con­ strained by curriculum standards established by legislat ion, such as Goals 2000. (To improve t he accountabil ity of educators, t h is leg­ islat ion constrains extent to which teachers, parents, students, and local adm inist rators control the educat ional system. ) M id d le managers feel constrained by dictates from central management and regul atory agenc ies. I n a l l these examples, t he cent ra l authority w ithin the orga­ n izat ion is reducing t he prerogati ves of professionals and front-line managers, mak ing these people responsive to local conditions. The restrictions also affect t hese i ndividuals' sense of efficacy be­ cause they d im inish their capacity to control what occurs in their work. Despite t he many management books and seminars that pro­ claim empowerm ent to be the t rend, people in organizations feel more constrained. I n practice, problems are delegated but t he power to address t hem is not . Failing Corporate Citizenship

As the tenets of good corporate citizenship erode, people find it dif­ ficult to commit t hemselves to the organizat ions where t hey work. While the front-l ine staff work harder in more tenuous posit ions for

8

T H E T R U T H A B O U T B U RNOUT

less compensation, senior personnel do very well. Downsizing causes short�term increases in the stock price, which affect CEOs indirect ly through their salary and directly through the stock hold­ ings that make up an ever increasing proportion of their compen ­ sation packages in the U nited S tates. A few ex treme examples fol low. As part of a merger with Kimberly-Clark in 1 99 5 , A l Dunlap walked away from his twenty-month j ob as C EO of Scott Paper with $100 mi l lion in compensation; his thre e top lieutenants re­ ceived over $ 1 5 mil lion each. Dunlap's con tribution to the com� pany was cutting i ts research spending i n half, e liminating staff training programs, and laying off a third of his thirty-three thousand employees. As one commentator stated, "Dunlap didn't create value. redistributed income from the employees and the com� munity to the shareholders. "5 The movement of j obs from the U nited S tates to Mexico con­ tributes to this situation. A recent report from the I nstitute fo r Policy Studies noted that, in 1 994, while U .S. wages remained con­ stant and the value of Mexican wages dropped because of the de­ valuation of the peso, C EOs gave themselves pay raises averaging 30 percent. For example, Lawrence Bossidy, CEO of A l lied Signal , received a $ 12.4 mil lion salary-nearly double the combined an­ nllal salaries of his thirty-eight hundred M exican workers.6 I t's not that these companies are doing so we l l u nder these CEOs. Wil liam Agee of the Morrison K nudsen Corporation re­ signed in 1 995 at the end of a year in which the company $114 million and 2 7 7 workers were laid off. Agee received $3. 5 mil lion for his performance that year. Similarly, Robert A llen , C EO of AT&T, received $ 5 . 2 mil lion in compensation the year he announced the layoff of forty thollsand employees and AT&T barely broke even. The resulting bad press he received prompted him to write an open letter to all AT&T em­ ployees j ustifying his salary (which he reported to be $2. 7 mil lion) as modest com.pensation in light of his responsibilities, and j ustify­ ing the low profits as the result of maj or capital investments that were intended to keep AT&T global ly competitive. He discollnted

T H E C U RRENT CRISI S

9

altogether the value of his stock options, asserting that they were unless AT&T's stock price met ambitious target levels in 1999,7 This final point is not a cause for reassurance. By l in k i ng a CEO's potent ial for vast wealth to stock values, a company can damage its own long-term potential to grow and contribute to soci ­ ety. S u c h l inks encou rage CEOs to exploit t h e intrinsic value o f The situation in which U . S . corpohas para lie ls i n the Soviet rat ions now fi nd domi nation of Central Europe after World War I I , when that coun­ try exploited the wealth of those nations to maintain an economic system that was not v iable. CEOs today are being rewarded for cashing i n the existing value of corporations rather than for build­ ing new value. The problem is most evident in the United States, where the UPlr(:lC'p remuneration for executives is roughly double that i n rope and J apan. I n 1 974, top U . S . CEOs got 35 t i mes the average industrial wage; by 1 994, this ratio had j umped to 187 t imes the pay of average workers. In Europe, the ratio is less than twenty to one." Furthermore, thi s contrast is not only among the paid CEOs. Average U.S. CEOs earn twenty-four t imes the average industrial wage; in Canada, the ratio is twelve to one, and in N orth­ ern Europe it is generally less than ten to one. The extremely h igh earnings of CEOs do nor appear to be j ust compensation for a valu­ able con tribution. There is l i ttle evidence that CEOs are quitting of insufficient compensation, so it seems unlikely that such to keep extreme salaries are on the job. In this kind of job c limate, how can one blame e mployees for losing confi d ence that organizations are fair, considerate communities? WHY BUR..... OUT IS THRM ..... G

I n the current c l i mate, burnout thrives i n the workplace. Burnout is always more likely when there is H major m ismatch between the nature of the job and the nature of the person who does the j ob. in­ creasingly, we work in j ob settings in which human values place a

10

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N OUT

distant second behi nd economic ones. What makes us t ick as human beings, what inspires us to work well in addi tion to worki ng hard, is ignored or played down. We are supposed to adjust to the demands of this brave new world and figure out how to surv ive i n it. But when the gap between people and the demands of the job is so great, this progress comes at a h igh human price. We experience this mismatch in a number of areas of organ izational l i fe. We Feel Overloaded Elea nor works in a n insu rance compa n y that has been trying to

make budget cuts by downsizing through attrition for the most part, although Eleanor once found herself in the painful position of having to lay off one of her own staff members. With fewer employees overall, the caseloads of those remaining have in­ creased to the extent where they cannot effectively serve their clients or adequately scrutinize questionable claims. "I tr y to be sympathetic with the staff when they discuss the impossibility of managing the workload, but I just don't have any room to maneuver. I tell them, 'I k now it's a lousy way to work, but we all have to make do and be productive or our department will be closed: I'm convinced that if I don't meet the next cost­ redu ctio n objective or if I stop putting in extra time, I will be in the next grou p of employees to lose their jobs. So I'm always

anxious and tense and irritable. And constantly exhausted--even before I go to work, when I'm trying to get the kids off to school.

And I feel so guilty about how little time I' m spending with my family-I've put off our vacation twice. I don't think I can keep up this pace forever, but right now I don't see an alternative:'

\Vork overload

i s perhaps the most obvious ind ication of a mis­ match between the person and the job. We have to do too much i n too l i ttle time with too few resources. I t is a matter not of stretch­ ing to meet new challenges but of going far beyond h uman l im its. Downsizing in an organization rarely includes reducing its mandate,

TH E ( U RR E NT (RISIS

11

so fewer people have to get the same amollnt of work done in less time. The pace increases further as people take on a second job or moonl ight on the side in an attempt to meet financial pressures and keep their j ob options open. Work overload is increas ing as the tempo of work i ncreases. The faster pace h urts qua l i ty, d isrupts collegial relationships, k i l ls innovation-and brings on burnout. We Lack Control over What We Do Stan i s a psychologist who started his career as a n eager, open­ m i n d ed. caring person who wanted to help others. He was the k i n d of therap i st most people wou l d w a n t to s e e if they were struggli ng with problems. But gra d u a l ly Stan has become a cyn i ­ c a l , frustrated i n d ivid u a l w h o fee l s h e i s losing con trol over h is j ob--fi nancially, professionally, a n d eth ical ly-and he's beg i n n i ng to want out. "There is n o joy i n it any longer. I hate it. After a day of deal­ ing with c l i ents' pain, I ' m exha usted and j u st don't want to be with people anymore. C l ients expect me to b e there twenty-four hours a d ay a n d get u pset if they get a recorded message instead. And the m anaged care system is making it worse. I no l o nger h ave control over the type and q u a lity of care I provide--s o m e reviewer i n s o m e company who doesn't know t h e client and who has less traini ng than I do decides how many sessions I can have . A l l that m a tters i s keeping costs down , not what's good for the dient, a n d it's really hard to l ive with that. Sometimes I lie so I can get more care, but it's hard to live with that too. And even though

I am working more h ours than ever, I a m getting paid less. This is a l i fe?"

Lack

of control over one's work is another important indication

that the person and the job are m ismatched. People want the oppor­ tunity to make choices and decisions, use the ir abili ty to think and solve problems, and h ave some input in the process of ach iev ing

12

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

the outcomes for w h ich they will be held accountable. There is a world of difference between being accountable and being con� strai ned by rigid policies and tight monitoring. Policies that take a narrow, cookie�cutter, one�s ize�fits-all ap­ proach don't a l low much room for people to improve or innovate, and as a result they feel less responsible for the outcomes, not more. Mechanical management leads to mechanical performance. Simi� larly, close monitoring of staff performance has a human cost beyond the supervisor's time and energy in that it dim inishes the capac ity of staff members to adapt and take the initiative. This k ind of mon� itoring sends the message "you can't be trusted, we don't respect your j udgment, you aren't very smart, you are i ncapable of doing this by yoursel f." This k i nd of message should never be given to young children and when i t is given to adu l ts, it's equally demeaning. We Are Not Rewarded for Our Work As a public school teacher,John has the challenge of teaching history to classes filled with thirty-five to forty rambunctious thirteen-year-olds. "Teaching requires a lot of energy, and you have to be on all the time-so you don't sit down, you don't have time to take a break or eat lunch because you're still working with kids who need extra time a n d attention, you don't go to the bathroom w h e n you need to-it's high stress all the time. You'd thin k we wo u l d be entitled to extra 'combat pay!' Instead, we get an

abysmally low sala r y for an 'eight-hour workday'-which is a real joke , given how many nonbillable hours I have to spend after school meeting with parents or attending meetings or supervis­ ing extracurricular activities, and then spending evenings and weekends grading and preparing lesson plans. "When people hear that I am a teacher, they say things like 'I feel sorr y for you' or 'Why would you want to spend your time with adolescents all day long?' Even the students pick up on it. 'Why are you a teacher, when you don't make as m u c h money as

T H E C U R R ENT C R I S I S

13

my dad?' they say. I still believe it's an important job, but it gets hard when students don't make the effort to study or do home­ work, and when parents constantly complain that you have n 't given their child special attention, or that the child's failings a re all your fault, not theirs:'

Lack of reward

for cont ributions on the j ob is a third mismatch between job and person. When we don't get recognition, both t he work we do and we oursel ves as workers are devalued. A lthough everyone k nows t hat rewards are import ant, this k nowledge does not necessarily translate into act ion . M onetary rewards are to administer and a re usual ly well received, but money is tight t hese days (except, as we saw earlier, for executives at the top ) . Instead of enjoy ing fi nancially reward ing careers, people endure the doldrums of wage freezes, the anxiety of short-term jobs, and t he purgatory of slow pay ment for contract work. Managers are just as busy as the people they manage. S ince expanded responsibilit ies are the resu lt of widespread gutti ng of m iddle management , managers oversee more people but have less t ime to keep t rack of t hem. M ost devas­ tating for workers, however, is t he loss of the i nternal reward that comes when a person takes pride in doing somet hing of importance value to others, and doing that job well. We're Experiencing a Breakdown in Community M artha works as a hospital laboratory technologist. A vibrant community just a few years ago, the hospital is now the scene of endless political intrigues that are the result of downsizing a n d ru mors o f a complete closure. Although Martha has a n impres­ sive range of s ki l l s and experience , she has problems with man­

agement and feels alienated from the job. She would like to get out entirely but no opportunities look promising, so she keeps her distance from the work and everyone around her. "I feel the new lab ma nager is a real detriment to the labora­ tor y. T he lab techs have very little say i n the workings of the

14

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

laboratory and therefore fee l they have l i ttle control over their jobs or the qual ity of care they can provide. There is no rapport or respect between the technologists and the manager. Many of u s are afrai d of h i m . and I feel he encourages thi s kind of man­ age m ent by inti midation. Because there's n o com municatio n , ru­ mors are always abundant and peopl e are left to assu m e things or make the wrong conclusions. The techs keep their mouths shut at meetings. and problems persist whil e everybody tries to keep their asses covered:'

Lack of community is the result when people lose a positive con,

nection with others in the workplace. People thrive in community, and they function best when praise, comfort, happiness, and humor are shared with others they like and respect. But sometimes the job isolates people: they may be physica l ly separated, they may spend most of their time with computers, or they may be j ust too b usy to get together. Someti mes technology makes social contact i mper, sonal-when people have to communicate with machines ( l ike an­ swering mach ines and voice mai l systems) rather than with a l ive human being, for example. Sometimes the job has a chilling effect on what people can say or do because of expl icit or implicit prohi, bitions, such as those brought about by concerns about political cor' rectness or the threat of l itigation. However, what is most destructive to a sense of community is chronic and unresolved con flict. Confl ict infuses the workplace with frustration, a nger, fear, anxiety, disrespect, and sllsp ic ion. I t tears apart the fabric of social support, making i t less likely that peo, pIe will help each other out when times get tOllgh. We Aren't Treated Fai rly B i l l is the network m anager at a university, and it is his responsi­ b i lity to keep the computer network u p and r u n n i ng. But it's not a very good computer system a n d . consequently, i s prone to crashing.

THE CURRENT CRISIS

15

"This m or n i ng I managed to revive it after being beeped at

5:30

A.M. Then at

8:30 I had to waste an h o u r and a half at the

User Support I mp l em entation G roup meeting l i ste n i ng to aca­ demics and admi nistrators te l l me that the c u rrent level of per­ formance is 'unaccepta b l e : Of course it's u nacceptable! I told them two years ago that they would have problems but they ve­ toed my own recommendation for a UNIX operating system be­ cause they didn't want to pay for it. They were all swept away by this new operating system's bells and whistles without a c l u e of how u n reliable this software could be. What few staff a re as­ signed to me d o n 't have the basi c s ki l ls n eeded to keep t h i ngs ru n n i ng, and as soon as they learn enough to be usefu l, they leave for higher salari es e lsewhe re--sala ries h igher than m i n e , even though they don't have a tenth of my abil ity. "Unfortunately, I ' m stuck here for two more years until my wife finis hes her graduate degree. But then I 'm gone. The i c i ng on the cake came this afternoon when the public relations office tol d m e I was going to receive the u n iversity's Quality T h rough Technological I nnovation Award. I told them to stuff it."

Lack of fairness in the workplace is a serious m ismatch between people and the job environment. Fairness in the workplace means that people are shown respect and their self�worth is confirmed. M utual respect among people who work together is at the heart of any sense of community. We lose trust in an organizat ion that shows no fa i rness, because this i mpl ies that those in authority are not honest and do not respect who we arc. Unfain1ess is most evi­ dent during the evaluat ion and promotion processes. But day-to­ day i nteractions may also be unfair-when people get blamed for thi ngs they d idn't do, for example. Lack of fairness is also evident when there is inequity of work­ load or pay, or when people bend the rules or cheat in order to get ahead. A nd if procedures for grievance or d ispute resolution don't allow both parties to have a voice, the procedures will be j udged L1n� fair. At a larger level, organizational pol icies that send the message

16

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

that money takes precedence over employees causes mutual respect and shared values to erode . We're Dealing with Conflicting Values Steve is a loan officer in a small-town bank, a job that he sees as a way to m ake a meaningful contribution to his community. Peo­ ple come to him at crucial decision points in their lives: when they buy a house or a car:, renovate their property, or experience a downturn in their fortunes that requires restructuring their ex­

penses and their debts. Of late, critical decisio n s m a de by the h ead office have strained his feelings toward the b a n k.

"The bank says it puts cu stomer service first. We a re s u p­ posed to be personal bankers who develop long-term relation­ ships with our customers, are responsive to their needs, and are active in the community. Then they call us together at seminars and tell us to p ush products. Pushing products is incompatible with responding to cu stomers. Products are what we have pack­ aged to sell. C u stomers do not come in the door ready for a prepackaged product. They come h ere with problems that n eed unique solutions." On a larger scale, Steve is at odds with the bank's downsizing of front-line staff in the past year while it reported record prof­

its. This was a mean-spirited way to treat loyal staff, and it was bad for business in the long run. As Steve said to the bank's re­ gional vice president, "I live in an agricultural region. When we have an apple tree that is not producing. we don't go out and h a c k away at its roots. We go to the top of the tree a n d pru n e o u t the dead wood."

A value conflict occurs

when there is a m ismatch between the requirements of the job and our personal principles. I n some cases, a job can lead people to do things that are unethical and clash with their personal values. For example, a worker might have to tell a lie i n order to make a sale, get necessary authorization, or cover up a m istake. I n other cases, a worker may be caught i n the organ ization's own con fl icting which often reflect a discrepancy

T H E C U RRENT CRISIS

17

tween the lofty m ission statement ( "We prov ide customer service of the highest qual ity") and the actual company goa l ( "We provide the bare m in imum of service in order to keep costs down" ) . I n a l l too many situations, workers operate in a M achiave ll ian milieu where the ends justify the means. The subsequent moral ero­ sion can be h igh. People do their best when they believe in what they are doing a nd when they can maintain their pride, integrity, and self-respect . TH E EROSION OF T H E SOUL

B urnout is the index of the dislocation between what people a re and what they have to do. I t represents an erosion in values, digni ty, spirit, and will-an erosion of the human sou l. I t is a malady that spreads gradually and continuously over time, putting people into a downward spiral from which it's hard to recover. I f the experiences this chapter j ust described ring a bel l with you, then you may be at risk for burnout. Let's assume that you are work ing in a situa tion of chronic imbalance in which the job de­ mands more than you can give and provides less than you need. J ust l ike the people described in the preceding paragraphs, you feel over­ worked, u ndervalued, a nd no longer in control of the j ob you do. What m ight happen if you begin to burn out ? Actually, three things happen: you become chronically exhausted; YOLi become cynical and detached from your work; and you fee l increasingly ineffective on the job. The Dimensions of Burnout

Let's take a c loser look at each of the three dimensions of burnout . Exhaustion . When people fee l exhaustion, they fee l overex ­ tended, both e motional ly and physically. They feel drained , used up, and u nable to unwind and recover. When they awake in the morning, they are j ust as tired as when they went to bed. They lack the energy to face a nother proj ect or another person. Exhaustion is the fi rst reaction to the stress of job d emands or maj or change.

18

THE TRUTH ABO UT B U R N O U T

Cynicism . When people fee l cynical, they take a cold, d istant att itude toward work a nd the people o n the job. They m i n i m ize their involve ment at work and even give up thei r ideals. In a way, cyn icism is an attempt to protect oneself from exhaust ion and dis­ appointment. People fee l it may be safer to be indifferent, especially when the future i s uncertai n , or to assume things won't work out rather than their hopes lip. But bei ng so negative can seriollsly damage a person's well-being and capacity to work effectively. When people feel ineffective, they a nt'r",nn n sense of inadequacy. Every new project seems overwhelming. The world seems to conspi re agai nst each of their attempts to make l i ttle they do accomplish may seem triviaL They lose their ability to make a difference. And as in themselves, others lose confidence i n them. What Rea l ly Causes Burnout?

The conventional wisdom is that burnout is primarily a problem of the ind i v idual. That is, people burn out because of flaws in the if characters, behavior, or productivity. Accord ing to this perspect ive, people are the problem, and the solut ion is to change them or get rid of them. But our research argues most e mphatical ly otherwise. As a re­ sult extensive study, we believe that burnout is not a problem of themsel ves but of the social envinmmen t in which people work. s tructure and functioni ng of the workp lace how people i nteract one another and how they out j obs. When workplace does not recognize the human work, then the risk of burnout grows, carrying a high price with it. T h e High Cost of Burnout

Burnout can have a deadly i mpact even beyond its erosion of the souL It can be detrimental to your health, your ability to cope, and your personal l ifestyle. I t can lead to a serious deteriora t ion in your j ob performance. A nd t hese costs are not j ust yours a lone-they

T H E CURRENT C R I S I S

19

are fel t by everyone who is affected by you, both on the j ob and at home. I n terms of personal functioning, burnout can cause such phys­ ical problems as headaches, gastrointestinal illness, h igh b lood pres­ sure , muscl e tension, and chronic fat igue. Burnout may lead to mental d istress in form of anxiety, depression, a nd sleep d isturincrease use bances. To try ro cope w ith the s tress, some alcohol and drugs. If they bring burnout home, their exhaustion and negative fee l i ngs begin to affect relationsh ips with family and friends. And what about the job itself? One final result of burnout's neg­ ative downward spira l is that, as they become more stressed and re­ ceive less s upport in their personal l ives, peopl e become even less capable of dea ling problems on the j ob. People who are burn­ ing out are l ikely to withdraw from the j ob , both psychological ly and physically. They invest l ess time a nd energy in their work, do only what is absolutely necessary, and are absent more often. I n ad­ dition to doing less, they do their work less well. H igh-quality work requires time and effort, com m itment and c reativ ity, but the burned-out ind ividual is no longer willing to these freely. The drop in quality quant i ty of work produced is the occupational bottom l ine of burnollt. Eventual ly, some people reach the point where they can't take such a decision it anymore and they qui t . Even when it's can be very painful if it means walking away from a career that was once a source of pride, prestige, and personal ident ity. As one h igh school teacher put it, "I've been teaching for over twenty years, but I 've lost my self-confidence. I can't keep doing this, I don't want to keep doing this, I don't l i ke the values of our society as I see them in the schools-anti-Iearning, anti-effort, anti#responsibility. I f education isn't going to make a d ifference, then why have I been busting my buns? I j ust want to go somewhere e lse and have a l ife. So I'm j ust in a basic survival mode now." As you can see, the costs of burnollt are significant both for peo# pie and organizations. For employees, the issue is a j ob that dimin­ ishes the quality of their l ives and thei r potential for a productive,

20

T H E TRUTH A B O U T B U R N O U T

growing career. For organizat ions, the issue is a workforce that no longer provides the ded ication , creativity, and productivity that i t once d id .

Burnout Then and Now Burnout is not a new phenomenon. Twe nty years

burnout was

an issue of primary concem for workers in people-oriented occupa­ t ions such as human serv ices, health care , and education. In today's term inology, these occupations are h igh-touch , that is, they involve lots of face- to-face contact. Then as now, sllch j obs can be so emo­ t ionally and physically demanding that the risk for bumollt is h igh. The dedication these j obs de mand , the long hours and excessive workloads, are exhausti ng, as are potential confl icts w ith cl ients, pa­ tients, students, c o lleagues,

or

superv isors. I n order to cope , some

workers d istance the mse lves from the people they come into con­ tact w it h and from personal invo l vement i n their work. Further­ more , the d i fficulties i n ach ie v i ng major successes can lead these workers to doubt thei r competence and to question the w isdom of sticking w i th this type of j ob . The d ifference today i s that more and more jobs are h igh-touch . For one thing, there has been an enormous sh ift from manufactur­ ing to serv ice j obs, where peop le have to deal effec t ively with the i r c l ientele and provide good c ustomer service. A n d i n a working 'world that is increas ingly h igh-tech, h igh-touch becomes even more critical-customers want

to

be

to deal with a real human

bei ng, not j ust a computer. A lso, there has been growth in the number of managerial posi­ t ions, in which people h ave to oversee emp loyees and effect ively motivate them to b e productive. I n add ition, there has been a grow­ ing trend toward work teams, i n which peopl e have to work collab­ orat ively wi th colleagues rather than on their own . Yet despi te rise on many l evels of high-touch work , trai n i ng i n the skills to do it wel l is generally g iven short shrift. In terpersonal skills

passed

over in favor of tech nical or economic ones. As we s h a l l see, the

THE CURR ENT CRISIS

21

psych ological costs o f such work a r e s t i l l n o t recognized a s a n im­ portant source of j ob stress. So now more than ever the workplace is fer t i le ground for burnout for some t ime, why

burnout. But if we have known

haven't we figured out what to do about i t ? problem is that burnout

some e x te n t ,

as t h e saying goes, "gotten no respect."

It has been underrated, trivi a l ized , not taken seriously. It does not pose major r isks for physical inj ury or d eath, unl ike other j ob haz­ ards. Chronic erosion of fee l i ngs and sk i l ls over time is not as striking as a n immediate crisis. Consequently, people assume that burnout is n o big deal, and they m isj udge the risks. They a lso as­ sume that it won 't happen to them-that they are too knowledge­ able or too strong to fa l l prey to the prob lem. When burnour does set in, people tend to keep work i ng, even if not as wel l as before, so there are no serious threats to general productivity. Viewed from this perspective, burno u t i s j ust a cop-ou t , the w h i ning o f wimps who can't handle serious work and can't ad mit to fa i lure. The feel­ i ng is that the re i s really noth ing

to

"do" about burno u t . In other

>vords, if it a in't broke, don't fix i t. Unfortunately, t h i s perspecti ve is a l l wrong. I t is short-s ighted does not take the b ig p i cture into account. Th is perspective is based o n myths and m isunderstandings about why people work and how they work.

OUR CURE FOR THE CRISIS In th is book, we argue that burnout is not a triv ial problem but an important barometer o f a major soci a l dysfu n ction in the work­ p lace. As such, bumollt deserves serious attention. The emotional and fi nanc ial costs are too h igh for it to be ignored or d ism issed any longer. We argue that burnout in indiv idual workers says more abollt the condit ions o f their j ob than it does about them. Contrary to popu lar op inion, i t 's not the individual b u t the orga n ization tha t needs to change, espec ially i n the present work env i ronment.

22

THE TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

We argue that effective responses

to

burnollt must invo lve pre­

ven t ion rather t ha n j ust treatment. The process

intervention is

thus more critical than any one particu lar solution. \Ve argue that greater success i n copi ng w i th burnout w i l l come from focusing on promoting engagement with work rather than from j ust focus ing on reducing burnou t . Thus, we advocate a mod e l of organizational hea l th that inc ludes the promotion of hUl1mn values in the workplace, rather than j us t econom ic ones. Our a rguments have a sol id basis in researc h . \Ve have been studying burnollt

twenty years and h ave spoken to thousands of

workers in many occupations across North America. So we think we know what we are talk ing about. And that i s why we are chal­ lenging the accepted w isdom and propos ing a better way to think abou t burnout. In this book we address the crises in organizational l i fe. We nei­ ther cele brate the c hanges i n the n at ure of organ izat ions and ca­ reers nor advocate escape from them. Organizations, espec ially large organizations, are here to stay for quite a w h i le . A lthough their form and processes w i l l continue to evolve w i th advancing technology and d i fferent economic cond itions, they w i l l remain the p r i mary job environment for a substantial proportion of working people. We think the c urren t crisis

us an opportun i ty to address major

shortcomings in organizational l i fe , an opportuni ty to address the pressures lead i ng to chronic exhaustion, cyn i c ism, and ineffective­ ness, and an opportu n i ty to b u i ld produ c t ive engage ment w i th work. And, most of a l l , i t

us a n opportun i ty t o begin c losing

gaps between people and the workplace.

How You Experie nce Burnout

Ask peopl e what i t 's l ike to

to

fee l burned out, and you 're l ikely

hear the fol lowing: "I' m frustrated! I t's getting impossible to do a good job, and the

s i tuation j us t keeps getting worse. " "I have lost m y enthusiasm for work I rea l ly l iked." " I have lots of anger, and nowhere to take i t . "

''l 'm scared-is t h e j ob going t o last ?" "I a m getting more unhappy and d ep ressed every day on t h e j ob--a nd question ing whether I s ho u ld s t i c k with i t . " " I 'm feel ing ovenvhe lmed, overloa ded, overworked-and trapped. There's no way out." Each person expresses burnout i n a un ique way, but the basic themes are the same:

An erosion of engagement with the job . What started out as i m ­ portant, meaningfu l , fascinating work becomes unp leasant, unfu l­ fi l l ing, and meaningless.

An erosion of emotions . The positive feel ings of enthusiasm, dedication, sec u r ity, and enjoyment fad e away

a re replaced by

anger, anxiety, and depression.

A problem of fit between the person and the job . I ndiv id uals see t h is imbalance a s a personal crisis, but it is rea l ly the work p lace that is in trouble.

23

24

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

As the word erosion suggests, burnout is a gradual process of during which the mismatch between the needs of the person and the demands of the job grows ever greater. The demands of the workplace shape the individual 's experience, while the individual's performance affects the workplace and a l l the people i n it. Thus, erosion p rocess something of a chicken-and-egg does it begin with the or the job popular w isdom usu# ally lays the blame on the ind ividual. We fee l this is the w rong way to approach the problem of burnout. As we explained in Chapter One, powerful econom ic, po­ litical, and cultural forces are affect ing the workplace, creating a c l i­ mate that is more conducive than ever to bumour. I t doesn't m.ake sense for anyone to "I'm to blame." That kind of thinking won't help us deal w ith burnout. The job context is as much a part of t o b e a part o f any downward spiral as the individual is, so i t solution. AN EROSION O F ENGAGEMENT

very least they People don't begin a feeli ng burned out. it w i l l provide a steady i ncome a nd some security, regard less of w hether they are thrilled aboLlt the actual work i tself. In the best circums tances, people begin by fee l ing ful ly engaged with the ir work. They fee l energetic, ready to commit time and effort to the j ob tasks. They fee l involved and fi nd the work activities meaning­ ful . The sense of accomplishment they gai n from these act iv ities them feel competent and effective. EYlL'Yg)', involvement, and efficacy these are the direct opposites of the three d i mensions of burnoLlt. As we described in Chapter One, when burnout begi ns, this sense of engagement begins to fade and there is a corresponding shift from these three positive feelings to their negat ive counterparts. Energy turns i nto exhaustion , in­ volvement turns cynicism , a nd efficacy turns into ineffectiveness . The foI lowing case is a c lassic example of the erosion engagement. -

HOW Y O U E X P E R I E N C E B U R N O U T

25

J ulie taught histor y and literature to eighth graders in a public school and had a reputation as an outstanding teacher. Students loved her. parents called to get their child enrolled in her class. and the principal rated her as one of the best. Young and s uc­ cessful,J ulie was expected to have a long and distinguished teach­ ing career. But this year, J ulie decided to quit. Her decision came as a shock to everyone; some of her colleagues cried when they heard the news. At o n e time J ulie was completely dedicated to the job be­ cause it allowed her to do things she valued highly-to make a

difference in the world, to have a positive impact on other peo­ ple's lives. But today she doesn't feel the job is worth it. At one time she brou ght enormous energy and commitme n t to h e r work, putting i n long hours a n d agreeing to d o all sorts o f "ex­ tras" above and beyond the call o f duty. Now she is exhausted just going through the motions and doing the bare minimum. At one time she was deeply involved with her students, attentive to thei r progress a n d achievement i n learning, sensitive to t h ei r in­ dividual needs. Now s h e is more negative and cynical about their motivation a n d skills. At one time she was confident that her ef­

forts would pay off, that the kids would get a better education a n d a better start on life because of what she and other teachers

were able to accomplish. Now she questions whether the stu­ dents are really getting what they need; she even worries that children are getting damaged by overworked teachers like her­ self. To J ulie, trying to do good came at too high a price.

What is noteworthy about J u l i e's case, and many others l ike it, is that the negat ive s l i de to burnout started from a pos i t i on of strength and success rather than from one of weak ness. J u l ie was not an incompetent, lazy individual who didn't know how to teach. She brought to the job an i mpressive set of credentials and personal qua l i t ies and was able to use t hese to p roduce h igh-qu a l i ty teachIn te rms of s k i l ls and motivation , she was a t the top of her class--one could hardly ask for more . As one of her colleagues said,

26

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O UT

"Julie was 'on fire' from the beginning, not like some of those teach­ ers who never even 'light up' in the first place. She had a passion for teaching, and it is so depressi ng to see that disappear.I) I ndeed, los­ ing the best and the brightest-people l ike the most dev­ astating cost of Six Sources of Bumout

What led to the e rosion of J ul ie's engagement with teaching? A close look at her case reveals the presence of the six m ismatches be­ tween job and person that we described in Chapter One. Work overload was a major f�lCtor from the beginning. Julie spent in the c l assroom extra h ours-after intense e ight-hour and on weekends-to prepare for c lass, school , i n the grade homework , and atte nd meet ings. A l though she had a great dea l of control over how she taught her class ("When I close that door, the class is all m ine-j ust me and the k ids"), she had a lack of control over the d istrict policies that led to i ncreased class sizes and decreased teaching resources. L ike other teachers, she rece i ved a low salary that was c learly insufficient reward; she d idn't m ind so much when she was young and s i ngle and j ust starting out i n the profession, but it a severe financial burden. Furthermore, low salaries a re the most visible symbo l of the lack of respect for teaching. J u lie's fueled her sense that there was an inherent unfairness in the system ( "Why a m I worki ng so hard, doi ng so much, and yet getting so little in return?"). The bickering, pol itical infighting, and competitiveness between the teachers in her school made her feel alienated from them, and thus there was a breakdown of community. Finally, there was a growing value conflict between what J u l ie was tryi ng to achieve in the c lassroom and the "extras" to do by the school . she put i t , "The last she was being straw was when they wanted me to spend a lot time pulling to­ gether all this material to prepare an appl ication for a 'good school ' award-there was far more concern about getting the award than actually doing the things that would make us a good school ! "

H O W YOU EXPERI E N C E B U R N OUT

27

AN EROSION OF EMOTIONS What is also noteworthy aboLl t J u lie's tex tbook case is the para llel erosion of e motion she experienced. At one time, J ul i e exuded en­ ergy, enthusiasm, and compassion. She had a great sense of h umor and an easygoing rapport w ith her students. Now she describes heras be ing "on edge" a l l the t i me, having a "short fuse" w i th t he students, and fee l ing too exhausted to teach the i n tensive curricu­ lum that llsed to be her forte. Anger, cynicism, and b i tterness are the dom inant emotions-it's as though her original passion u nder­ went a negative transformat ion. These new emoti o ns changed J u lie's relationships with all the people she dealt with at school: her col leagues, the principal, the parents and , most importan t, her students.

The Emotional Fallout of Burnout Frustration and

are the emotional hallmarks o f burnout. You

fee l frustrated because YOll are bloc ked fro m ach ieving your goa ls. You cannot overcome the obstac les in your path either because YOll lack sufficient resources to do your j ob or because you lack contro l over t h e work. You are n o t give n the rewards you expect. N o t sur­ prisingly, you fed ineffective. But you a lso feel exhausted as a result of wasted t i me and effort. The anger that accompanies your frustra­ tion fuels negative reactions toward peopl e and cynicism about the job. Because you have these negative reactions, you are l ikely to look for scapegoats and blame others for your problems and to re­ spond to them more aggress ively and punit ively. This is especi a l ly l i kdy if your anger has been aroused i n a context that you perceive as unfa i r. Furthermore , if you are angry you are l i kely to b e more in how YOl! do your work and l ess open to new alternatives. Hos t i l i ty is a lso the result when people fee l hu m i l i ated or em� barrassed on the j ob. If peopl e aren't treated with respect and tmst and if

work is not valued, their self�esteem and sense o f com�

pete nc e are threate ned . People begin to fee l a lienated from the

28

THE T R U T H A B O U T B U R N O U T

workplace and may even attempt destruc t i ve acts in re ta l iation, such as theft or sabotage. As one worker put i t , "No one gets the re­ spect they want

or

fee l they deserve . That's why they shoot their

bosses and blow up p laces." Fear and anx i e ty are two other nega tive emotions that con­ tribute to burnou t. These fee li ngs are especi a l l y l ikely when people lack contro l over the i r work and when the j ob env ironment is an uncertai n or threatening one. As we saw in Chapter One, this is the s i tuation that many peopl e face in the workplace today. A lthough the common w isdom is that people work better when they're i n competition w i th o thers and running scared, worry about the future may actual ly function as a major d i straction and cause them to work with less attention , ene rgy, and commitment. However, burnout is not

abou t the presence of negativ e

emotions. I t i s also abou t t h e absence o f pos i t ive ones. When you fee l engaged with your job, your work is enriched by your excitement abou t its challenges, sat isfact ion in a j ob wel l done, enjoyment of your rel a t ionships w i th others, and pride in enac t i ng your values. These posi t i ve e mot ions fos ter commitment and mot ivat ion-if the work makes you fee l good , you'l l want to keep d oing it and doing i t well. In add i t ion , when you're feel ing good, you're w i l l ing to put in extra e ffort, do som e th i ng speci a l . You 're c reative and open to new solutions. The enjoyment o f successes can balance out the pain of fa i l ures, whether the successes are big ach ievements or sma l l everyday expressions of appreciat ion from o thers . But when pos i t i ve fee l i ngs erode to the po i n t that they no longer have the power

to

offset the nega t ives, cynic ism looms large. Everyth ing i s

j udged and experienced nega t ively w i th d istrust and hos t i l i ty. The half- fu l l

i s always half-empty.

The Social Context of Emotions George had worked fo r a telephone compa n y ever sin c e gradu­ ating from high school and had graduall y moved up to an impor­ tant sales job. He took a great deal of pride in his work and

HOW YOU EXPERI E N C E B U R N O U T

29

usually placed among the top five in sales each year. He was also very proud of his affiliation with the company that was, he said,

"One of the good guys i n the community." I n fact, h e often vol­ unteered time and effort for the charitable events the company sponsored. But recently the company went through a major down sizing, and George was laid o ff. As such a loyal and dedi­ cated employee, he was shocked and stunned by this "involuntary severance."

Six months later, G eorge was asked to return to the com­ pany-this time as a contract worker on the payroll of a tempo­ rary employment agency. In other words, George would be rented back to the company that had fired him. Although his hourly wage would be higher, he would have no ben efits, no seniority, and no chance of future promotion. G e orge eventually took the job because he n eeded the i ncome, but his bitterness was evident. "1 feel as if I've been lied to and betrayed. They told me they didn't need the work I did, but obviously they do. But they want it cheap. They don't want to give me what I'm worth. And they clearly don't give a damn about everything else I've do ne fo r them over t h e years. So the h e l l with them-if they

don't care about me, I'm not going to care about the job I do. The 'good guys: What a joke."

A l though George i s wor k i ng for the company aga i n , he no longer a ttempts to be tops in sales to get the job

no longer goes the extra mile

He spends the m inimum amount of time at the

office a nd isolates h imself from the other empl oy ees. W h e n cus� tomers complain, he no longer leaps

to

the company's defense; in�

deed, sornetimes he even j oins i n the bad�mouthing. H is anger has c learly eroded the qua l i ty of h is work. Emotion does not s imply mark the transformation from en� gagement to burnout, i t a l so med iates i t .

emotional h ighs we

experience as enjoyment, satisfaction, a nd pride are c ri t ical in driv� ing i mportant work behaviors. These fee l i ngs motivate us to do our work we l l , to see k ways to i mprove , to cooperate with colleagues,

30

THE T R U T H A B O U T BU RNOUT

to be committed to the job. I n contrast, t he emotional lows of anger or anx iety are detrime ntal to the quality of job performance. When people e xpress the negative emotions of burnout, social relationships can be devastated . Normal conversati ons become c harged \v ith h os t il ity and i rr i tat ion, turning everyday soc ial en­ counters into unpleasant occasions. Rudeness, sarcasm, c ri t icism, and i nsu Its become t he rule rather than the exception. Disagree­ ments between col leagues o r between workers and management escalate into p i tched batt les. Collaborat ive teamwork d isinte­ grates. The quality of customer service goes downhill too. Even re ­ lationships with family and friends are not spared this emot i onal negativity. This is how burnout begins i ts downward spiral. As these nega­ tive emot ions get expressed, they generate negative and dysfunc­ tional responses. Of course, hostility breeds more hostility-snap at people, and people are l i ke ly to snap back. In this sense, burnout is contagious. But h os t il i ty also l eads others to w i t hd raw-people don't want to be around you anymore. You may not consider this an undesirable o utcome w hen you fee l sick and t ired of people, and this is why detachment and d istancing are typical with burnollt. But this self-imposed social isolation has its costs too, because it erodes your abi lity to get the emotional nurturing that comes from the love and support of your friends and fam i ly. Basically, emotions are not j ust private and personal but rather social experiences, both in their origin and the ir e ffect. W hen we express our negative feel ings it affects the world around us, maki ng i t a more unpleasant p lace, and this in turn fuels ollr negative feel­ ings-and the downward spiral continues. The same spiral process, but in a posi t i ve upward d i rection, occurs when we are engaged with our work----{}ur positive feelings encourage pos it ive responses from others and our world hecomes ever better, producing more posi tive feelings in LIS. G iven the important role of emotions in work motivation, job performance, and collegial rel ationships, they are surprisingly un­ derrated by most people. Why is this so? To some extent , i t's be-

HOW YOU EX PERIENCE B U RNOUT

31

cause j obs are defi ned i n terms of s k i lls and outcomes. Within this framework, feelings are seen to be subsid iary. Fee lings are consid� ered to be personal; the individual bears full responsibility for them. Fee l ings are often viewed as irre levant to the job task ("It doesn't matter if you love it or hate it-you j ust have to

do it"). Somet imes

feelings are seen as d istinct l iabilities that can interfere w ith the j ob. For example, health care workers need to hide from their patients any fee l i ngs of disgust or sorrow, and service personnel need to hide the ir boredom or irritation under an ever�present cheeriness. In these instances, it is up to the individual to manage his or her emo� tions and bring them under control. Unfortunately, when we v iew emotion as a function of the ind ividua l alone we ignore how much it is also a function of the social context. Emotions arise from our cuntact w ith the world around us and shape our responses to it. An event occurs, and our j udgments about that event and its meaning tu us sparks a particular emot ional respunse. In other words, emot iuns are the means for translating

outside e ve nts into personal terms. Our emotions, in tum, often guide our reaction to the event. For example, suppose a co-worker has critic ized you for mak ing some m istakes that she had to correct. You might feel guilty about messing up the j ob and letting her duwn, and normally, because yuu fee l guilty, you would be sure to do the job more carefully next t ime or offe r to do something extra to make it up to her. But if you j udge her critic ism to be unfair, yuu m ight fee l angry about her remarks, and that anger m ight lead you to make some hostile remarks in return or refuse any future requests she may make of you. Emot ions play an important role in our sense of right and wrong. It is not the logic of our moral beliefs but the intensity of our feelings that propels us tu take act ion against inj u s t ice. If we are morally outraged by some inequi ty, then we want to do some thing to put things right. I nj ustice usually invulves a mismatch between the way things are and the way they should be . So it should come as no surprise that the s ix m ismatches in j ob- person fi t provoke strong emot ions about i nj ust ice in the workplace. These strong

32

THE TRUTH A B O U T B URNOUT

emotions can lead to strong actions, some of which are not partic­ ularly moral themselves ( for example, an employee who feels angry about being treated unfairly j ust ifies steal ing company suppl ies by think ing that "they owe it to me" ) . The point is, emotion is a key to understanding how bumollt arises from the lack of fit between worker and workplace.

A FAILURE TO FIT IN Because burnout is so visible in the emotiuns and behaviors of in­ dividual employees, the common wisdom is that it is a "people problem" rather than a job problem. According to one common v iew, people who experience burnout are weak . They lack the physical constitut ion or the psy, chological resilience necessary to manage the demands of work. The work world is a tough arena in which only the fit surv ive; burnout is a fai lure to survive. A nother view is that people who experience burnout are un' reasonahle. Some people complain about everything; burnout is just another way of complaining. To others, burnout is a psychiatric d isorder. Burnout is s i mp ly what cli nical depression looks l i k e when the patient manages to make it to work . Or burnout is a symptom of prob lems at home. Difficul ties w ith a marriage or w ith children wear a person down, reducing the ca, pac i ty to work effectively.

Blaming the Person A popu lar but erroneous perception is beh i nd all these opinions: burnout i s the person's fault. The logic suggests that people bring this problem on themselves and su have sole responsibil i ty for fix, ing it. Perhaps this view is so popular because people describe their experiences of burnout in personal terms and tend to look for per' sonal sulut ions-going to counseling or mak ing mid life career

H OW YOU EXP ER I E N C E B U R N O U T

33

c hanges, for example. Furthermore, when people fee l d istant and isolated, it reconfirms their idea that burnout is a symptom of the i r personal shortcomi ngs o r fa i l ures. Psychi atrists, c l i n i ca l psycholo­ g ists, and social workers support this pers pective, v iewing b urnollt as a psych iatric d isorder that is amenabl e to ind i v id u a l treatment approaches. The extent to which people buy into the indiv idual perspective o n b urno u t often depends o n whether they a re expe r i e n c i ng it t he mselves o r observ ing it in someone e lse . The ins ider's v iew o f burnout i s not the same a s a n outsider's. For example, imagine what a superv isor m ight say abo u t an employee who is burned out, com­ pared w it h the e mp loyee's vers io n . The supervisor sees a d ro p in p roductivi ty, and assumes i t is due to laziness, lack of motivation, or i ncompetence. The employee, however, sees not only the decl i n e i n w o r k but a lso t h e emotional turmoi l , t h e conflicts, a n d the de­ mands that p receded it; thus, the employee is more l i kely to at­ tribute i t to frustra t ing c i rc umstances a nd work overload. That d iffe rence in perspec t i ve can lead to m is interp retations , m iscom­ municat ions, and more confl ict. I nsiders may also conceal their feel ings from the o uts ide world, and this widens the gap between the two perspectives. People often keep thei r feel i ngs private. Sometimes they worry that their fee l ings are inappropriate or unprofessional, as when they have s t rong feel­ ings toward a c lient. Or they may be embarrassed by the i r react ions and worried about what others m ight t h i n k of them, as when a manager loses a public showdown with an irate customer. Thus, the i mage that people proj ect to the outsid e world does not always match their i ntern a l state . They may appear c a l m a nd c o llected even when they are worried and upset, or they may appear u nfeel ­ i n g and impersonal e ve n when they are concemed and caring. Be­ c a use of t h is d iscrepancy, people c an eas i ly be m isj udged by t he outside world. As far as the organizat i on is concerned, when burnout i s seen to be a personal experience-the resu lt of p rob lematic behavior and poor productivity-it becomes a personnel p roblem rather than a

34

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

strategic management problem. When b urnout is seen to b e an i n ' d ivi dual problem, i t can b e handled through establ ished organiza# t ional support systems that foc us on ind i vidual emp loyees, sllch as employee assi stance programs or stress training. When the process is seen as being under the ind i v idual's control, people are made ac� countable for the i r own level of burnout. We agree that people experience burnout a s a personal problem and that they have a part to p lay in preventing or a llev i ating i t, but we do not agree that people are tota l ly responsible for its occurrence or solution. Why do we think the indiv id ual viewpoint is wrong? I ts fund amental flaw is that i t looks only a t the person and ignores the context. Our research and consu l t i ng work prov ide clear and con, sistent ev idence

the roots of burnout stretch far beyond the in'

d i v idual i n to the work environment. Burnout does not res u l t from a genet i c pred isposi tion to grumpiness, a depressive person a l i ty, or general weakness. It is not c aused by a fa i l ure of character or a lack of ambition. I t is not a personal ity defect or a c l i nical syndrome. I t i s an occupational problem.

Understanding the Situation Considering the c u rrent crisis in the workplace, i t is not surprising to find people i n persona l c r i sis. A s we d iscussed i n Chapter One, d isruptive changes in the nature of work are occu rr i ng because of global competition, tech nological innovation, tighter control sys� tems, and unj ust compensa tion. As a result, organ izat ions are stra i ned , forced to increase p roduc t i v i ty, redesign opera tions, and surv ive the opportunistic exploitation

people trying to ge t rich

fast. The stresses and stra ins of maj or soc ial changes have to end up somewhere. Most of the time, they end up in the m inds and bod ies of people. People absorb them and tum them i nto physical and psy, cho\ogical stress. We do not mean this i n an esoteric sense. We are not ta l k i ng about the fine poi nts of c haos t heory, which s uggests that the flutter of a butterfly's w i n g in one p lace somehow c auses h u rricanes on the other s ide of the globe. We a re talk i ng about something much more stra igh tforward a nd commonplace.

H OW Y O U EX P E R I E N C E B U R N OUT

35

Organizations are complex systems compris ing many i nteract� ing components of varying s i z e and qualit y. They adj ust to stra i ns i mposed o n them by rearrangi ng t he size and interre la t ionsh ips of these componen ts . These i nterve n ti ons upset the relati on� sh ips with work that indi vidua ls have establ ished within these com� ponents. They are now in d is array. S o after the organ ization as a whole has reso lved its prob lem, the component parts s t i l l have

to

make adj ustments. Let's say an organization addresses its financ ial strains by cutting the operat ing budgets

i ts departments. Now the organization has

a balanced budget but the departments have the strain of a budget shortfal l . When a department reacts to its budget problem, it passes the strain along to i ts component parts--the people who work in it. The fi rs t people to get hit w ith the strain are the managers, because they have to deal with c u ts

to

thei r s taffi ng or operat i ng b udgets

that are beyond their control. Through thei r best efforts, managers may lessen the d amage but they cannot insulate the i r employees completely from the consequences. J u l i e and her fel low teachers are clear examples of how i nd i v id­ ual e m ployees become the "shock absorbe rs" for organ izational stra ins. To deal w ith its financial problems, the school di strict cut the b udgets for each of had

to

schools. A t J u l ie's school , the princ ipal

figure o u t how to teach all the necessary c l asses w i t h l ess

money. Some c lerical and j an i torial staff posit ions were reduced to part-t ime, c lass size was increased, some art and music c lasses were e l i m i nated, c utbacks were made i n c l assroom suppl ies and photo­ copy ing, and extracurricular activities were reduced. A l l the teach­ ers re tained the ir j obs, but with no cost-of- l i v i ng salary increases. J u l ie found that she was teac hing more students in l arger c lasses and consequently had less t ime to give ind iv idual attention child. She could no longer unless she paid

to

each

a l l the teaching rnater i a ls she needed

some of the m out of her own pocke t . She had to

do clerical work and house keeping chores in addi t ion to teaching. She was

to volunteer to cover more afterschool act i v i ties so

that they c o u ld be continued for the students. Meanw h i l e , the school as a whole became a dirtier and less pleasant place to be.

36

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

Thus, downsizing i n itiates a process in which the larger organi­ zation resolves its problems by reducing resources avai lable to de­ partments, and departments pass the problems down the l ine to ind ividuals. They balance their reduced budgets by reducing the ir staffs. Part of the resulting strain goes to the c lientele, who have to wa it in l onger l ines or lose serv ices entirely. A bigger part of the burden goes to the employees, espec ia l ly the ones who lose the ir to relocate, retrain, and adj ust their personal They now finances. But people who hold onto their jobs fee l the strain as wel l. They worry about the security of their They feel the p ressure to work harder, to process cases more qu ick ly, to work longer hours. I t is important to keep the work group product ive, and to be seen as a major contributor to its efforts. Nobody wants to be a prime can­ d idate for the next round of cuts, particularly if there are few op­ portunit ies for other employ ment. I n a stagnant economy, when downsizing has reduced employment opportunities, people are more l ikely to continue in work relationships that do not meet their ex­ pectations in order to survive. A C ascade Effect

People work i ng on the front lines also experienc e the strain of ad­ dress ing complaints from d isgruntled clients. Service reductions and cost increases do not go over wel l in the best of times, and they are even less welcome when times are bad. resul t is hassles and con­ flict. Front-line staff often lack the resources, time, and energy nec­ essary to establ ish a mutually acceptable work ing relationship clients so the confl ict persists, add ing to the demands of the job. Cindy i s a home c a re n u rse with a Canadian public agency re­ sponsible for seniors. H er caseload increased significan tly when the hospitals in the region addressed their budgetary p ressures by reducing the number of days patients remain in the hospital following treatment. Cindy's agency e n ded up with the extended care that could not be h a n dled by the patients' fam i lies. T h e h os-

H O W Y O U EX P ER I E N C E B U R N O U T

37

pital eased its financial strain by passing the cost of caring for some of its patients to the home care agency. But although the agency now had the strain of additional cases, it was u n successful in obtaining additional funding from a government determined to reduce health care costs. The agency addressed the strain of ad­ ditional clients by increasing the standard caseloads of the nurses. So Cindy and the other nurses visited cases less frequently, short­ ened the visits they made, and did less fo r the clients. Now Cindy cannot provide what s h e c o n siders to be ade­ quate care, but she does n o t w a n t to desert h er job a n d h e r c lients. H owever, the clients' anger at t h e drop i n s e rvices h a s been directed a t Cindy a n d t h e o t h e r n urses rat h e r t h a n a t t h e agency or the hospital o r the government. Thus, a strain that began at the broad economic and political level has worked its way down to the personal relationship between patient and nurse. Cindy feels trapped in a bad situation: she has clear values about the quality of patient care but lacks the means to put those va lues into practice. This strain affects her relationship with her work and increases h e r vulnerability to burnout.

Thus, strain cascades down from the b road pol i t i c a l and eco­ nom i c arena, through regional p o l icy,

to

a local organ izat ion and ,

fin a lly, to i nd i v iduals. The actions taken to solve probl e ms a t one level become the source of problems at the next level down. I n way, a rea l ignment o f global econo m i c patterns l eads t o strains down the l i ne. Where these strains end up is w i th the front-l ine employees whose options for adjustment are l i m ited-and who thus are at greater

for burnout.

moral of the

is that alt hough it is the person who ex-

pe riences burnout, it is the j ob s i tuat ion that is the pri mary cause. S pecifically, a m i smatch between the pe rson a nd the j ob c auses b u rnout, and

now, because of the current c r i s is in the work­

place, the match between people and j obs is h ighly stra ined.

we

have seen, the six mismatches between person and j ob are the key sources of burnollt, so Three .

look at

more c losely in Chapter

3 What Causes Burnout?

Now that we have seen what it feels l ike to experience burnout, our next task is to identify what causes it. As we have also seen, the causes l ie more in the job environment than in the ind i­ vidual. But more specifically, the causes can be traced to the six mis­ matches between peop le and the i r j obs that we described i n Chapter One: work overload, lack of control, insufficient reward , breakdown in community, absence of fairness, and conflicting val­ ues. The more we s tudy burnout, the more we talk with concerned managers, and the more we interview employees in crisis, the more c learly we see the i mpact of these m ismatches on people's wel l ­ being. let's try t o a deeper understanding o f j ust what is hap­ pening in these six areas.

WORK OVERLOAD

Workload is a key dimension organizational l ife . From the n ization's perspective, workload means productiv i ty. From the in­ d ividual's perspective, workload means time and energy. F ind ing a comprom ise between the two perspectives is a fundamental chal­ lenge in maintaining a balanced relationsh ip w ith work. M aj o r organizational transitions associated w i t h downs izi ng and restruc­ turing target workload and foremos t. I n their scramble for in38

W H AT C A U S E S B U R N O U T ?

39

creased productivity, organizations push people beyond what they can susta in. Workload inc ludes how much you do a nd what you do. The current crisis i n the workplace

the workload in three \Nays: i t

i s more intense, i t demands more time, and i t i s more complex. Not surprisingly, relief is hard to fi nd .

Work I s More Intense The point of downs izing and other strategies for increasing produc­ tiVlty l S

fewer people to do more work. Teachers are deal ing with

larger enro l lments, nurses are responsible for more patients , and bank te l lers a re h and l i ng more transac tions. Ideally, by work ing smarter-no t work ing harder-people can do more with less. Through better design, smoother work flow, and reduced busywork , organizations can enabl e a s inaller workforce to become more pro­ d uc t ive. B u t this goal is rarely a tta ined. I nc reased productivity i s more often achieved because emp loyees work harder for longer hours than because management is smarter. The organizations' in­ creased productivity comes at the cost of staff members' greater ef­ fort. B u t i t is i mportant to remember that this k ind of effort i s a temporary qua lity

human performance.

It is hard to find relief at work. Restful moments between events a re gone . Each demand ro lls without a break i n to the next . There is no time to catch your brea th. Organizations seem to be testing the theory that people can work flat-out forever. But, with no time to recover, people soon find that the i r e xhaustion j ust bui lds. Addi� tional demands might be manageable if they were given more re­ sources; extra support or equ ipment can tum inc reased demand into an opportunity. But instead, the current scramble for survival often resu l ts in a shortage of resources. I t is also hard to find rel ief outside of work. People are busier i n every domain of their l ives : c h i ldren, aging parents, hOllses, a n d o t h e r respons i b i li ties fi l l much of the day. There i s l ess money to smooth the way. Through the late 1 9708 and 1 980s, fam i l ies dealt

40

T H E TRUTH ABO U T B U R N O U T

with financial pressures by working more. Of course, a lot of t hat extra income was eaten up by the costs of runn ing a two-income household: child care, second car, c lothing, and travel. I n the 1 990s, even the illusion of increasing i ncome is unattainable for most people. With both members of a couple already working, there is no one else to send into the fray; meanwhile, fam ily i ncome lev­ e ls are decreasi ng. Less money translates into working harder a t home t o keep things going smoothly. There are fewer vacations and more worries. People do not recove r when they return home from work; the demands continue. Linda is a vice president at a large company. The board of direc­ tors recently announced a merger with another company and ap­ pointed a n ew CEO. Linda's day has abruptly been filled with an endless list of meetings at the two companies to manage the tran­ sition. Meanwhi l e , the company continues to provide services. All of Linda's p rior responsibil ities remain while she takes on this major task. So she squeezes more contacts with more people into a workday that is only so big. She stretches the limits with early morni ng meetings and eve n i ngs in the office. But there remains the matter of getting her daughters to school, d riving them to swim team practices, and helping with the math homewo rk. One Saturday she d rives to the office, passing a poster that reads,"From the Labor M ovement:The People Who BroughtYou the Weekend;' and wonders for a moment whether having a man­ agement position is all that it is cracked u p to be. She just tries to move faster, going from one intense meeting to the next. The staff are worried about the futu re of the i r jobs. And Linda herself knows that o n ce the transition is complete, she will have to com­ pete for her position with her counterpart at the other company.

Work Demands More nme

The lengthening workweek is exhausting. For decades, unions suc­ cessfully negotiated shorter workweeks, but those gains are slipping away. People in professional and front-line management posi tions

WHAT C A U S E S B U R N O U T ?

41

are working longer hours but are still not able to keep up with overwhel ming demands. They arrive for breakfast meetings-where more often than no t they supply their own bage ls-m unch sa nd� wiches at their computer keyboards, and work into

even i ng.

They work on their computers at home to prepare for the nex t day. More work gets done, b u t at a cost. Such long, intense workdays de� ple te

I nd ividuals

up perso n a l t i me and commitments

to help the organ ization appear more p roductive. But the produc­ tivity gains are i l lusory and temporary.

Work Is More Complex J obs are becoming increas ingly c omplex as people are "multitask� ingB-taking on more roles s i mu ltaneousl y. For example , it used to enough for a cashier at a university cafe teria to c o l lect money from customers, but now the j ob involves making coffee, c lean ing the area, and keep ing inven tory. Because a primary target of down� s izing i nterventions has been middle management, the work of for� mer m iddle managers has been distributed across the orga nization, giving everyone more forms to complete, more calls to return, more meetings to a t tend. Th i s trend is espe c i a l ly ev iden t in the public service sec tor. Teachers, n urses, professors, and po lice offi ce rs are find ing more of their time consumed by administrative drudgery.

Work Creates the Exhaustion of Overload Exhaustion-e mo t i onal, c reative, o r physical-undermines effec� tiveness, heal th, and wel l�being. When we ta l k with people about exhaustion, we see that they are c learly frustrated with their inabil� ity to accompl ish what is truly important to them. It takes e nergy j ust to make it through the

I t takes considerably more energy to

work in a crea tive, foc used manner, solve compl icated problems, and keep peop le fu lly informed of your contributions to col labora� t ive proj ects. I t rakes energy to focus on others w i th genu i ne atten­ tion

respect; e xhaustion undermines the capaci ty to work with

fee l ing. The breakdown in the relationship w i th work incre ases

42

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

these demands because i nd iv iduals are attend i ng more c lose ly to thei r emp loyment s ituation, not just

to

the ir j obs. Because you can

take noth ing for granted , you have to spend more of your precious energy anticipating organ izational problems. Positioning yourself to deal w ith downsizing and

restructuring is exhausting.

People experiencing the exhaustion of bumout describe chronic problems with t he i r heal th: s l eeplessness, tension, head aches, h ig h blood pressure , u lcers, a n d greater susceptibi l i ty to colds and flus. I t is i mposs ible to

truly rel axed o r comfortable. Health problems

perpetuate exhaustion if you cont inue work i ng desp ite feel ing m iserable. Ye t a lthough work may be wearing you OLlt, you cannot stay away, because you have a sense of duty and obligation

to

co­

workers, or because you are afraid you w i l l be replaced. As we noted in Chapter Two , energy is a fundamental qual i ty of e ngage ment. Unless you have a viable and enduring way t o maintain your en­ ergy, you cannot maintain balanced re lationships with work . To avoid exhaustion, you must be able to exercise con trol over critical aspects

you r work.

LACK OF CONTROL The capacity to set priorities for d ay-to-day work, select approaches to doing work, and make decisions abollt the use of resources is cen­ tral to being a professionaL Policies that interfere with this capac­ ity reduce individual autonomy and involvement with work. When people do not have control over important d i mensions of their job, i t prevents them from addressing problems that they identify. The issue is not whether they are able or wil ling to take action but rather whether the organization w i l l tolerate creative problem sol ving out­ side of its central ized control structures. W i thout the capacity to make re levant dec i s ions, people can waste t i me doing th ings that do not

the job done. With o u t contro l , they cannot balance

the i r interests with those of the organization. They lose i nte rest if they do not fee l that they are mak i ng things happen.

WHAT C A U S ES B U R N O U T?

43

James is a bank manager who is attempting to put together a n early reti rement fund before he burns out completely. Although h e feels secure in his position, he is constantly frustrated by what he per­

c eives as a lack of control over important aspects of his job. T he rul es and policies will not let him do the job in a way that makes sense. He does not have control over the resources he needs to initiate new programs. His supervisor second-guesses his decisions,

taking away what little control James had managed to create for himself. On a larger level, central management takes away control by making up policies that are completely at odds with the way things actually work in the bank. Human resource management is bogged down with union rules and government regulations. J ames cannot imagine having enough control to identify an opportunity in his work, gather resources, and implement a strategy. T he control

systems of the organization are killing his initiative. At one time the organization at least provided security in exchange, but that mea­ ger compensation is gone. N ow, it just interferes.

How Much Control? Con trol is a relative thing. No one has complete control in an or� ganization. CEOs are lucky if they manage to identi fy the small per� centage

an orga n ization t hey actual ly contro l , and

have

more control than most people. Why i s i t so d i fficult to exerc ise control at work? First, a lmost everyth ing you do i n an organization involves col� laborat ing with other people, all of whom want to exerc ise con trol over their work. Thus, organ izat ional control is shared. One per­ son's autonomy stops w here another person's begins. Second , mos t interesting work involves dea ling w it h the unpred ictable. A n portant part o f t h e chal lenge o f developing a new product i s deal­ ing with t he unexpected problems that arise along the way. I f proj ect management were completely predictable and contro l lable, it would not be chal lenging. U n ilateral control over every aspect of your work is not a reasonable goal . I t is not even desirable: absolute

44

T H E TRUTH ABO U T B U R N O U T

control has never been noted for contributing to a charm ing per­ sonality. But there is a limit to how l ittle control people can have and still maintain a productive relationship with work. If they have no control over important aspects of the j ob-whether that control is ind ividua l or shared-people are v ulnerable to the ex­ haustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness of burnout. The Burden of Micromanagement

M icromanagement is the opposite of bottom-l ine management. I n­ stead of a llowing staff members to act w ith accountabi lity for the bottom l ine, a micromanaged organization centralizes control through detailed policies. I t l imits the range of approaches staff members can use to address a problem, and it reviews decisions prior to i mplementation. Staff members general ly interpret micromanagemen t as a l ack of trust because such policies deny them the opportunity to use their professional j udgment. I ndeed it may be that central manage­ ment does not trust staff, but this is not necessarily the case. I nstead, management m ay be intensely concerned with cost controls, hope to change central values in the organizational culture, or be under pressure to show short-term resu lts. Characterizi ng a particular management style as m icromanagement is something of a j udgment call. Those seen to be m icromanaging generally put a positive spin on their efforts: they insist that it is a matter of instituting necessary organizational controls or provid ing guidance. An alternative to micromanagement is an effective rewards sys­ tem. Organizations can ensure active cooperation among the staff if they communicate their values a nd encourage certain activities by recogn izing and rewarding staff members' contributions. INSUFFICIENT REWARD

The current crisis in the work envi ronment reduces the capacity of organizations to reward peopl e in meaningful ways. People hope that their jobs will bring them the material rewards of money, pres-

WHAT CAU S E S B U R N O U T ?

45

but jobs have been bringing of all three tige, and even as people are working more. An even greater contributor to the experience of burnout is the loss of the intrinsic reward of doing colleagues. bui ld ing expertise-with enjoyable The combined loss of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards diminishes the potential for work to be engaging. Gett i ng Less for More

M oney is tight, especially in organizations that a re undergoing Companies ask employees to take pay cuts in major order to stay viable in the face of competition. ability to move provides efjobs to developing nations at greatly reduced pay, ornegotiations. In addition to fective leverage in gan izations have reduced the i r fringe benefi t costs. They define a larger percentage of j obs as part-time or contract work in order to avoid providing benefits altogether. When they do provide benefits, they cut the biggest cost item-heal th insurance-through the use of managed care. These plans can provide excel lent services but are themselves under constant pressure to reduce costs. Furthermore, often what appears to be a cost reduction is actual ly j ust a shift in responsibil ity the employer to i nd iv idual. For example, these insurance p lans may cost the employer they entai I ongoing costs for the individuals usi ng them. corporate saving an individual cost. Together, s lich constraints is balanced d isrupt the balance of rewards and contributions between s taff members and their organ izations. Public sector employees throughollt North A merica have faced wage freezes and rollbacks. Governments have passed legislation to suspend collective agreements in order to the ir budget expendi ­ tures under control. They have rol led back sala ries, froze n sched­ u led pay increments, and llsed back-to-work legislation to counter public sector strikes. Job reductions throughout public sector eliminate for many the possibility of finding a better-paying job e lse­ where. I ncreased workloads exacerbate impact of reduced com­ pensation, yet people are stllck in unreward ing jobs. I nstead of

46

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

steady financial growth throughout their careers, people in both the public and private sectors are encountering fi nanc ial stagnation or losses. Even when salaries remain steady, purchasing power oiA,(' r".':)c,"C through a proliferation of direct and ind irect taxes. Since 1 983 so­ cial security tax have been particularly steep as the United and Canada have acknowledged that their government pen­ sion systems were inadequately funded to meet the demands of an aging population. Throughout the late 1 980s and early 1 990s excise taxes on alcohol , tobacco, and gasoline were increased to generate more revenue. The ethic of llser pay into a s ignificant source of revenue for government agencies. A wide array of cies have introduced for services that were previously free: ap­ p l ication forms, n ational park campsites, art gallery admissions. Universities and hospitals are increasing fees sharply in response to reduced subsidies from national, state, a nd local governments. A n irritating nuisance tax introduced i n 1 990 i n the United Sta tes i s a n annual Coast Guard o n recreat ional wh ich ranges to $ 1 00. Our counterparts d id not have the audacity to add this fee until 1 996. In the U nited States, the Clinton administration rejected the regressive taxation of the Bush and Reagan eras, while in Canada the l iberal Chretien government re­ jected the s im i lar M ulroney government. But they cont inued most of these fees. You see, they needed the money. broad impact of buying power. A t these new taxes and is to reduce a same time, m iddle, i ncome taxpayers are more at risk for tax audits as I nternal Revenue offices more c losely scrut inize middle-class tax breaks, such as those for child care and home offices. Working peo­ ple end up with a reduced standard of l iv ing despite working harder in a more stressful, uncertain environment. the same time, the l ikelihood of a second material reward work has diminished as well: there a re fewer opportunities for ca­ reer advancement. J ust as administrative pos itions start to look good to maturing baby boomers, th inning organizat ional structures have resulted in fewer positions to which people may be promoted ,

WHAT CA U S ES B U R N O U T ?

47

Indeed , flattened organizational struc tures often mean management chores w i thout the

as m iddle management pos it ions

pear, m any of their administrative tasks are de legated to the ranks. So peop l e accompl i s h these tasks w ithout the reward of a p restiposi t ion i n the organization . A thi rd material reward that is be ing

is job securi ty. Instead

of recognizing years of loyal contributions w i th an assured pos ition of trust, organizations are redu cing thei r com m i tment to long-tenn staff. Job security i s a reward i n i tsel f, as we l l as a means through which other rewards occur. For example, sa lary sc a les are stru ctured so that peop le move from low pay at the beginn ing of a c areer

to

h igher pay as they gain seniority and are promoted. That i s the ca­ ree r p rofi le: the h igh salary at the

compensates for the low pay

a t the beginn ing. But when careers are term inated partway because of downsizing , d ismissal , or forced early retirement , the overal l com­ pensat ion package is greatly reduced. Salary scales that span an en­ t ire career are lost along with j ob security.

Losing the Joy of Work A more profound reward problem is

loss of intrinsic satisfaction.

People who are good a t w hat they do enjoy the process of the work i tself. The process of do ing the work sets up a pleasant conc entra­ t ion of attention and energy that creates a k i nd of flow. They re­ spond to a complex situation such as a c l ient's problem, a diagnostic question, or a techni c a l puzzle by br inging the ir s k i l ls and experi­ ence to bear w ith creative i n i t iat ive. This i s what the j ob i s a l l about. Attain ing that state of m ind a s an ind ividual or i n a team is work's most effective re ward . The point of management is u lt i ­ mately t o bring about c ond it ions that per m i t t h a t sort o f work to happen while pursuing

organization's m ission.

Changes in the nature of work are getting in the way of that ex­ perience. Work overload prevents people from attending to i t thor­ Centra l ized con trol underm ines thei r capaci ty to approach the work in the most e ffec tive manner. The same dyna mi c s and

48

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

pressures break u p work teams: understaffed groups w ith con­ members cannot establish that kind of flow in s tantly changing their work. As a resul t , workplace has been Dedicated profes� sionals see themselves as doing good work in spite managemen t rather than w ith i ts assistance. A t one time, professionals saw man� agement as an important source of support as they worked to address the demands of cl ients. Job security and professional development in both the public and private sectors helped them feel that their jobs were manageable and enjoyable. Now, with that support diminishing, front-line service professionals are often at odds with management. They fi nd themselves agreeing with clients crucial serv ices are being discontinued as of management to contain costs. Management become more often a source of problems than of so­ lutions. This is not a sustainable way of rulming organizations. This kind of environment also contributes to the exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of effectiveness that characterize burnollt. The lack of re\vards is not simply a consequence of tight money. However, a scarcity of money i ncreases the importance that people p u t on rewards when they evaluate the ir work, causing both staff membe rs and the organization as a whole to take a more material� istic view. This is the wrong focus. Productive people in h ighfocus on the work, not o n potential performance long�term potential of a company, i ts capacfor material ity to convey genuine concern for i ts clientele, and i ts commitment to an ethical approach to business are hurt when there is a preoc­ cupation with fi nancial gain at the personal or the corporate level. Finally, as work becomes more strained, less e njoyable, and less re­ ward i ng, people have less quality time with co�workers, a nd where of a community. they work BREAKDOWN OF COMMUN ITY

The fourth impact of t he current crisis is the breakdown of com­ munity at work. Community is u ndermined through the loss of j ob securi ty and a n excessive foc us on short-term profit that excludes

WHAT CAUSES B U R N O U T ?

49

consideration of people. On one level , this at mosphere fragments the personal relationships that are the fundamental components of community in an organization. On a second level, it u nderm ines the teamwork that is seen to he i ncreasingly central to the manu­ fac turing, information processing, and service sectors the econ­ omy. The loss of community is evident in greater among people, less mutual support and respect, and a growing sense of iso­ lation. A sense of belonging d isappears when people work rarely instead of together. Fragmenting Personal Relationships

Life in an organization comes down to contacts with people. The day�to-day interactions with in your irnmed iate work group are the e lements of your personal experience of an organization. Regardless of how rigid, stuffy, or p red ic table a joh may seem, your contacts with o ther people are unique: nobody e lse d iscusses the same issues with the same people or has the same fee lings as you do. If nothing e lse, you are the only person in your group who does not talk to you. Furthermore , your soc ial world at work is ongoing, and it influences your t houghts and feelings . In the course of talk ing with others about work, personal issues, or world events, you build a shared idea occurrences. Personal relationships at work bec ome an in­ of tegral part of who you are. W hen there is no joh security, the c lose personal links that are the basic e le ments of community are fragmented . organ izatio ns weaken thei r commitment to their people, staff members have less of a basis for making comm itments to one another. They become reluctant to seriously involved in the l ives of people who may wel l be making a brief sojourn through the organ ization w ith l ittle opportunity to become a part of the community. ShorteHem1 con­ tracts address only a part of a person. The organizat ion calls upon an ind ividual's s k i l ls and energy without making a commitment to developing that person's potential over the long run. This approach to staffing encourages a utilitarian view of people that impoverishes the soc ial environment of the organization.

50

T H E TRUTH ABO U T B U R N O U T

Bob and Vivian h ad nothing to s ay to each other while packing to leave M assach u s etts. T h ey had gotten t h e i r h opes up that things would wo rk out th is time. They had been so sure that this move would be their last for a l ong time. They had been wrong. The new move they were packing for was their fou rth in six years. They made each move hoping that it would take them to the place where they would settle. That hope was getting more strained with time. It was pretty clear that no one at the M assachusetts branch of the large telecommunications company had believed that Bob and Vivian would be around for l ong, and they were proved right. They had seen enough people move in and out of the switch as­ sembly operation as major orders came and went. Everyone had been polite, but they had kept the i r distance. Bob and Vivian had never even begun to m a ke any lasting friendsh ips. The c h i l d re n took it rea l ly hard . Now Bob did not even try to convince them that the move to the Ohio branch plant would be the last. He and Vivian both felt rea l ly tired. It seemed i mpos­ sible to make an i m pact on the most i mportant decisions affect­ ing their l i ves. I t would be a lot easier if th ey j u s t d i d not care anymore.

Undermining Teamwork

A utilitarian attitude toward individual employees extends to work groups as well. Shorter-term contracts reduce the potential for groups to develop a smooth and unique flow to their work together. Frequent mergers and acquisitions break up teams as organizations reassign people across the newly constructed entity. Often, team members must compete to retain their positions against the ir counterparts in the newly fonned company. Those who are successful must build a sense of teamwork with a new group of people, all of whom are un­ certain about the team's potential to survive i n the long run. J i l l couldn't believe that she did not have a supervisor. All the tal k about the new workplace had been well and good. Everyone had

WHAT CAU S E S B U R N OUT?

51

felt relieved when, during the last budget crunch, the employment center where she worked as a counselor decided to take out the supervisor positions, leaving the people in each office to manage themselves as groups. But it did not work The group's sense of community over the past six months had declined. Five of the eleven people in the so-called team had been replaced as the re­ sult of transfers and early retirement, and the new people were on temporary contracts. There was no shared sense within this group. To make matters worse, the company's goals had changed so much over the past year that the group found it impossible to operate effectively. They could not figure out what anyone else really expected of them and they could not define their own val­ u e s as a group. I t i s hard to be self-directing when you do not k n ow what direction you want to take. Jill just felt nervous. She

spent most of her time trying to avoid making any mistakes that might get her into trouble.

Working Separately, Not Together Without community, a group of people lack the synergy of an inte­ grated work g roup . They are s i mply a bunch of individuals, more l i kely to get in one another's way than to enhance the i r perfonnance as a group. Furthermore, a lack

comm u n i ty is not merely a p rob­

lem for the workers. A lack of commun i ty constitutes a major loss for the organ ization, which recei ves m uc h less back in productivity. Orga n izat ions that lack comm un i ty are vu lnerabl e to confl ic t among the ir members . When people perceive that co-workers are fa i l ing

to

carry

weight , they often beco me angry or bi tter.

I f people do not have a strong com m itment

to

work ing together,

such confl icts tend to l i nger on. A lthough active debate and effec­ t i ve confl i ct resol u t ion can b u i ld a sense of commun i ty in an oth­ erwise dull group, unresolved confl ict tends to bog people down and u l timately hurts an organization's capacity to fu nct ion. Unresolved confl i c t is an e motional d ra i n on the energy people need for cre­ a t ive tasks. Warring fac tions w it h i n a work group can b ring i t to a standsti l l . A work group in confl ict works against i tself. The confl ict

52

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

m a y be between objectives or between strategi es for attaining ob­ ject ives. I n e ither case, peop l e w i l l waste energy and time work i ng at odds w i t h one another. Com muni ty is cost-effective. Confl ict takes tinle. Deba ting is­ sues, gossi ping about the problem , mulling over the conflict-all di­ vert time and energy from work. The i mpact of confli c t on a work group is to deplete the energy ava ilable for effective work. Pervas ive confl ict a lso sets the stage for the fifth major problem in current or­ gan i zations: a lack of fairness.

ABSENCE OF FAIRNESS A .vorkpl ace i s perceived to be fai r when three key e l e ments are present: trust, openness, and respec t. When a n organization achi eves community, people trllst one another

to

ful fi l l the ir roles

i n shared projects, to commun i cate openly about their intentions, and to show mutual respect. When an organization acts fairly, it val­ ues every person who contributes to its success, it i nd ic ates that every ind i v idual is i mportant. A l l three e leme nts of fa irness are es­ sen t ia l to ma i n ta i n i ng a person's e ngagement with work. In con­ mIst, thei r absence contributes directly to burnout. I n the current crisis, organizations are hard-pressed to maintain communi ties of trust, openness, and mutual respec t . First, as they scramble for surv ival, they take act ions that i nd icate rel atively l it ­ t l e concern for the ir employees' welfare. They devote the ir re ­ sources to short-term fi nanc i a l performance rather than to

less

c l ear-cu t goal o f b u i l d i ng organ izational comm u n i ty. Employees do not trust management to make decisions that are in the best i n terests o f the c l i e n ts, the e m p loyees , or the organ i z a tion i tself. Management does not take staff members' assessment of serv ice pri­ orities at face value. Instead, staff members are perce ived as being primarily concerned with protecting their occupat ional role or their professional prerogatives, and only secondari ly concerned with the welfare of c l ie n ts. Discussions between management and staff can become bogged down i n mutuai d istrust.

W H AT CAUSES B U R N O UT?

53

Second, the current crisis d i m i n ishes open and honest commu­ nication i n organ izat i ons. Compet it i ve pressure and short-term management values encou rage secrecy. Centra l managemen t is often s low to release information about its p lans. Sometimes man­ agement itself does not know what w i l l happen very far into the fu­ ture; a turbulent env i ronment makes p lanning d i ffi c u l t if not irrelevant. When organ izations cannot antici pate their revenues or major expenses, they cannot stick to detailed strategic p lans. When they do develop p lans, they are re luctant to commun i cate the in­ formation because it may give their compe t i tors an advantage. Knowledge of thei r p lans may also have an adverse impac t on the ir own staff. For example, announc ing a maj or restructuring w i l l cer­ tainly cause anx iety among many staff m embers and may p rompt valued people to leave in purs u i t of career opportunit ies while the organization still needs them. It i s hard to find organ izat ions that are open and honest commun icators; often when they are found they are not trusted. Cynical d istrust breeds more cynicism. A s one socia l worker put it, "I never get the sense that I a m being t o l d t h e tru th about t h e t h ings goi ng o n around here. And why not ? I have to imp lement a l l these policy changes, so why not l e t me know the reasons for t he m ? I ' m an i n te l l igent adu l t after a l l- l th ink I can hand le it." In the c u rrent crisis, organ izat ions often also take actions that hurt the third element of fai rness, respect for people. An exclus i ve focus on the bottom

necessarily encourages a manipulative

v iew of people because they are valued only to the e x tent that they fi t i n to the corporate p lan.

many emp loyees, the manner i n

wh i c h o rganizations carry o u t downsizing and restruct ur ing offers

a

glaring example of unfa i rness. Organi za t ions make decisions abollt what and who to c u t accord ing to opportun ism or at

a corpo­

rate plan that is removed from the organization's day-to-day l ife. A s a res u l t, c reative employees, especi a l ly people recently h i red, l ose their j obs w h i l e less productive workers i n other sectors of the or­ ganization remain. The problem becomes ev ident when organ iza­ tions find i t necessary to h i re bac k on con tract the very employees

54

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

they

off i n order

to

address problems t h a t exc eed the grasp of

the employees they retained . Despi te a proliferation of formal mechanisms for ensuring fairness and respect, many people are losing confidence in the w i l l i ngness or ab i l i ty

organizations to operate in this manner. The extravagan t

compensation packages given to CEOs, which we d isc ussed i n Chapter One, provide a reference point aga inst which people eval� uate fai rness. Such uneven and unfa i r d istribution of rewards dest roys a sense of community and undermines productive rela­ t ionships w i th Jane was a science professor in a research university. A new lab­ oratory facility was being built on campus, and all the professors had been polled about how much lab space they needed, what configuration they preferred, and so on. The basic operating prin­ ciple was that the lab space would be divided fairly among the faculty according to their individual needs-depending on their research interests, some professors needed more space than others. However, just prior to the move into the new lab, Jane d iscovered t h at s h e was getting less space than she h a d re­

quested-far less, in fact, than her c u rrent laboratory had. Ac­ cording to the dean, it was just one of the unfortunate effects of budget reductions-ever yone would have to make do with less. But on further checking, Jane found out that she was the only professor who was having to make do--in fact, a newly hired pro­ fessor was being given a huge laboratory, including some of the space that had been originally assigned to her. When Jane confronted the dean about this, he told h e r that he had had to make a special deal with the new professor, in order to make the hire, a n d that h e h ad assumed that Jane, being such a n i ce person, would n o t be as upset as some of the oth er

professors might h ave been about losing lab space. Quite t h e contrary, Jane was fu rious a bout t h e u n fairness o f i t a l l . H e r ex­ pectation of fair treatm ent had been violated, she had not been treated with the same respect as the other professors, and she h ad been lied to by her superiors.

WHAT C A U S E S B U R N O U T ?

55

U nderlyi ng concerns for trust, openness, and respect is the question of values. The community of an organization is bui lt shared values. When values are i n confl ict, there i s no basis of agreement on which to build a sense of community. CONFLICTING VALUES

Values influence everyth ing about your relationsh ip with work. The current crisis in the job environment is in many ways a major value conflict . A short�term survival-and-profit value system is going against values t hat the most dedicated employees hold about their work. What people find espec ially aggravat ing is that often organ izations emphasize a dedic at ion t o excellent serv ice or pro­ d uction w h i le t hey t a ke act ions that d amage the qual ity work. In fact , management is not attempt ing to underm ine qual ity, it is j ust attending to other things. Excel lent quality requires total attention. What Is Really Important?

Organizations that make much of their commitment to c ustomer service a re removing the personal quality of their relationshi ps w ith c llstomers. For example, over the past d ecade banks have pushed customers out o f the m a i n lobby i nto the foyer w ith a uto­ mat ic t e l le r machines. They are currently pushi ng them entirely out of the building w it h dial- i n bank ing. A nother example is t he near- impossibil ity of finding a person on the other end of the phone l i ne at major airlines or retailers. The range of personalized opt ions that can be provided by a trai ned professional are replaced wit h a fix ed-choice menu buried somewhere i n a mail script . Access and cheap service have taken the place of personal contact. The primary values guiding c ustomer service are to be efficient, accurate, personal, and adapted to ind ividuals. Excel lent customer service combines featu res of all four. But you often have to make trade-offs among these four qualit ies: sometimes services are less ac­ curate i n order to be completed on t ime. Adapt ing services to the

56

THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

needs of a specific customer may requi re bending rules or c reat i ng features that are not part of the standard options. Banking machines trade the personal touch for greater accessib i l i ty. Different servi ces suit d ifferent c l ients. For example, Karl has never used an ATM machine because he enjoys chatti ng w i th the teller when banking and, now that he is retired, he can organize life to accommodate a v isit to the bank during regular hours . The greater accessibility offered by the ATM is of no value to him com� pared with the greater personal quali ty of interact ions w ith a teller. But another c ustomer is grateful for the greater efficiency of acces­ sible ATM machines. A large bank can provide a range of services to suit the varied values of a d iverse cliente le; a small business has to make hard choices i n offering i ts more l i mited range of services. Any organization at any time has to choose among the values it will emphasize i n its services. The current crisis forces organizations to make choices that are inconsistent with their core values and those of i ts staff members. Concern for short-term financial performance can result in organi­ zations neglect ing the more costly aspects of customer service. But this more expedient approach can harm customer relations. I t also tends to de-emphasize the customer serv ice values most important to staff members, who fi nd fulfillment in the personal quality re­ lationshi ps and in adapting services for individuals. For example, a bank may emphasize the use of ATM m achi nes only because the cost per transact ion is lower than the cost of an interaction with a teller. Financial considerations constrict the range of services with­ Ollt regard for the needs of customers . The e fficiency value over­ shadows the o ther service values.

Not Doing What We. Say

I n addition to conflict over the choice of service values, employees are d istressed by ins i ncerity i n organizational values. People who work as a front-line staff must take the brunt of complaints from dis­ gruntled customers. They have the job of making excuses for poli-

WHAT C A U S E S B U R N O U T ?

57

c ies they may d isagree with. They rare ly see a d i rect bene fi t t o themselves i n t h e money being saved b y t h e organization when i t downgrades the d epth of i ts serv ices. I ns tead they are painfu l ly aware of the shortfa l l i n servi ces fo r the c us tomer and t h e con� straints on their own career development. Genuine agreement on central values, d ifficult as i t is t o attain, is not enough. Even when everyone accepts the word ing of an organizati onal m ission statement, they will encounter serious prob� lems in imp lementation, espe c i a l l y when money is t ight. c u tting measures are often d i rectly at odds with enh anci n g qual i ty of care and the wel fare of staff members. H e re 's w h a t one ret a i l salesperson told u s : "Th e company's stated goals are at great od ds with actual prac t i ce . Goals and v a l ues sound

b u t often go by

the wayside due to budget constraints and conve n ience . Customer service has been gradu al ly deteriorating due to d i m i n ished staffing and increased b usywork. Staff mora l e i s poor because changes are made with seem ingly no thought

to

how they affect customer ser-

The s taff are prov iding fewer serv ices even though they a re worki ng harder. This job i s so money oriented t h a t a lot of t h e human aspects o f t h e job j u s t go to t h e bottom of the priority l ist." To some extent there is a m is match between means and ends because the value c l a rificat ion process is i ncomplete. The process often stops at the formulation

a g lobal m ission. Organizat ional

missions and o bj e c t ives are fa i rly abstract, lofty concepts, whereas the strategies for attaining them are the s tuff of day-to�day work l ife.

A

change in strategy has a more immed iate i mpact on an ind i v id­

ual's workday than does a change i n the organ iza t io n 's m ission. Strategies are also closer to the pol itical d i mension

organizational

l ife. M anagers do not a ll ocate staff and resources to objectives per se b u t rather to strategies for p ursu i ng them. It is in the s trategies that managers state t he i r values concerning how the orga n ization operates. When an abstract value is translated i n to a concrete strategy, i t often fails t o recognize the d iverse interpretations o f these values by different people throughout the organ ization. You and

of your

58

T H E T RUTH ABOUT B U R N OUT

co lleagues i n te rpret organizationa l values from the perspective of your personal experience and your im medi a te work setting. You are psychologica l ly i nvolved in you r job on a local level, i n terms of your day�to�day i n teractions with the people with whom you work. Accom modating the values of d iverse work s e t t i ngs thro ughou t an organizat ion i s beyond t h e s t rategic p lanning perspect ives of most organ izations. But it is a necessary step toward integrating an organization and promoting engagement w it h work . H ere is an example: Sam is a loans officer in a rural bank branch. He experienced the l imits of his capacity to i mplement strategies consistent with his values at work. T h e central o ffi c e decreed that all bra n ches re­ duce costs by reducing the h o u rs tellers work eac h week and by changing their weekday dosing time from 5 P.M. to 3 P.M. For the central office, th is decision was a matter with which every branch had to comply. But Sam saw th is m ove as contrary to c ustomer service. because late afte rn oo n was h i s branch's peak business ti me. It was also inconsistent with maintaining the level of per­ sonal and business loans. because new loan customers generally came from that same customer base. The lack of a genuine commitment to the bank's stated cus­ tome r s ervice values frustrated Sam and other people at the branch. This conflict increased their vulnerability to b urnout: it exhausted emotional e n ergy, reduced their i nvolvement in the work, and decreased their sense of effectiveness.

With organizational missions and strategies changing and often confl i c ting, it is not s urpris i ng that peopl e often work a t cross� pu rposes. The ir goal s cannot be ach ieved in the i r day- to-day oper� ations. As one orthopedic surgeon put it, "You get into this c raft to do good things for people and practice to the best of your abi l i ty, but we can't do that anymore . " Thi s doctor is not unique i n seeing his organization as progressing from being merely ineffective to actively

WHAT C A U S ES B U R N O U T ?

59

thwarting his capac ity to do h is job. The management of h is hospi� tal, however, be l ieves that i t is doing everyth ing possible to support h i s work despite major reductions in the fundi ng received from t he gov ernment.

surgeon is aware that u l t i mately h i s confl ict is

w i th the government, but the conflicts occur locally. The hospital adm i n istrators who are scrambl ing to keep things functioning w i th fewer resources are the i mmed iate target of h is d iscontent. A l arge number o f wel l - intentioned , talented, and ded i cated people fi nd themselves stuck. They cannot bring about the organ i ­ zational world they desire, y e t they cannot s imply shrug off th is ex� perience as a m i nor shortcom i ng. I t stri kes to the heart of the i r re lationship w i t h the ir work.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? My, isn't all this depressing! Perhaps we should just chuck all of t h is work nonsense and spend more t i me w i th our loved ones at home. Setting

a small crafts b us i ness and operating on the barter system

in a rural commu n i ty seems to be the only reasonabl e alternative. But wait. That a l te rnative neglects the whole motivational background that gets people in trouble w i th work in the fi rst place. People l i ke to be involved in proj ects that go beyond the mse lves. They want to develop their effectiv eness by taking on c h a l lenges that make demands on a l l of t heir a b i l i ties and requ ire a fu l l com­ m i tment of t he i r physical, emotiona l , and c reative energy. If these th ings were not i mportant, we would not be d iscussing burnou t i n the first p lace. People would g o to work, make money, go home, and have a good t ime. The work-for#money framework is an incompl ete one, as is l im it i ng yourself ent irely to personal interact ions. Spend more time at home and develop i ng ind ifference toward work is not a solution. I t re ma ins that people have created o rganizations as env iron­ ments in which they can work together to further what they value. That organ izat ions have become tw isted out of shape i n the m idst

60

T H E T R U T H ABO U T B U R N O U T

of major transitions in the nature of work does not mean that they are defunct. They are a valuable resource to be protected, developed, and nurtured. I t is not reasonable to rel i nquish organizations to those who w ish to explo i t them for the ir short-term money-gene ra ting capac i ty. The challenge is to take charge

organ izational l ife ,

not to escape from it. I n the next c hapter we talk about how to do j us t that.

4 Why Do Anything About Burnout?

Even though burnout has been identified as a problem in the workplace, not everybody agrees that it i s a problem that has to be taken seriously. For various reasons, burnout is downplayed or d is­ m issed as an i nevitable-but manageable-part of working l ife. Dave, the CEO of an insuran ce company, a d m its feeling dubious about burnout. "People are a lways grumb l i ng about burnout. I've certainly felt burned out myself after a long stretch of meetings a n d business trips. But it's a p roblem people have to deal with. The employer is obligated to pay a d ecent wage a n d to p rovide reasonable working conditions. It's not the employer's responsi­ bility to make everybody happy:' Dave has made it dear to his h u ma n resou rc e department that h e does not wan t them putting time i n to burnout or job stress. The company has a contract with a counseli ng firm for an employee assistance program (EAP). That should be sufficient to deal with whatever personal problems people bring to work. "The thing about burnout is that it is a problem for the i ndi­ vidual;' says Dave. " I t does not have a ny real i mpact on the orga­ n ization 's productivity. It is a soft problem, not a dear-cut matter of finance or strategic management. So, if people want to use the EAP program or take their vacation days to get a good rest, that's

61

62

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

fine. That's what those things are there for. There's not much else the organization can do. If peopl e can't take the heat, maybe they wi l l get b u rned out e nough that they wil l j ust leave on their own, and I won't have to go through the tro u b le of firing them. People have to do what is necessary to look after themselves. I 've got a company to run."

WHY ORGANIZATIONS IGNORE BURNOUT

Dave is not unique. M anagers have often been reluctant to address burnout among s taff members. They have seen burnout as a can of worms that is best left unopened. They fear that o nce t hey ac­ k nowledge burnout, they w i l l be overwhelmed by dema nds from staff members to cut workload or to initiate costly "quality of work l ife" programs. They do not see burnou t as the employer's responsi­ bility. And they are unconvinced that they could do anything about burnout even if they had the money, t ime, and expertise to devote to the problem. Let's look a l ittle more closely at the underlying as­ sumptions here. " Ws a Problem for the Individual "

As we saw i n Chapter Two, the common response to burnout is to blame the person. If you're feel ing burned out, then it is you who has a problem. M aybe you're letting d ifficulties at home i nterfere with the job. M aybe you've got a n attitude problem-always com­ plaining about everyone e lse but not taking responsibil ity for your own actions. Maybe you haven't got the right stuff-you're j ust not good enough or tough enough to handle the work . W hatever the particu lar diagnosis, it remains an individual one. A nd if it is an individual problem, then indiv idual solutions are the logical answer. W hatever your difficul ty, or flaw, or weakness­ that's what needs to be fixed. To do that, you usually have to get rest, or get help, or get out . Getting rest is l ikely to mean tak ing

WHY DO ANYTHING ABOUT BURNOUT?

63

t ime off, going on vacation, or developing a more relaxed l i festyle, Getting help usually means learning new skil ls, i mprovi ng your health, or seeking or another type of treatment. out means leaving the job entire ly. There are many variations of t hese basic individ ual stra tegies, which go under the general rubric of stress management. You can buy books on this topic and try the techniques on your own. Or you may have access to workshops or sem inars on stress m anagement ; many organizations this kind of benefit to their focus on the person and on helping oneself fits i n w ith our society's individualistic philosophy. I n this v iew, people are respon­ sible for thei r own outcomes. They can take credi t for their suc­ cesses but have only themsel ves to b lame for their fai lures. This philosophy also celebrates the triumph of the i nd ividual over ";,,,_ u,", ' � . People must meet the challenge head-on, make it over the hurdle-not e l im inate the hurdle i tself. When this view is applied to burnout, it means learning how to deal with the stressors on the j ob rather than figuring out how to get rid of them to create a stress­ free environment. " It's Not the Employer's Respons i bi l ity"

If burnout is the ind iv idual's problem, then by defi n ition it is not the organization's problem. It is the ind ividual's responsibility to fig­ ure out how to adapt successful ly to the work situation. I t is not the employer's responsibili ty to figure out how to adapt the job to you or to any of your colleagues. From this perspective , does burnout ever become an organiza­ tional problem ? Yes, if i t begins to involve major loss of income. But the organization fee ls obligated to do something o n ly after a demonstrated problem, not before. There is no point i n spend ing money until it's absol utely necessary. I n terms of keeping down costs, it's both easier and cheaper to focus on changing individual employees than on changing the ent ire organization.

64

THE TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

"It Doesn't H ave Any Real I mpact on the Organization"

Even if individual employees are burned out, it is not seen as cause in the organization. Why? Because the organization does for not see how it affects the bottom�li ne performance. Employees doing their j obs. If feel i ng burned out causes them to quit, it w i l l avoid the personal u np leasantness l egal l iabili� w i th d ismissaL Employees don't sick or i nj ured U'-''-C''.''''- of burnout . They don't d i e because of burnou t . Burnout does not v iolate the law, so the orga nization does not exposure to costly litigat ion. Reducing psychological stressors is not required for occupational health and safety in the same way that controlling hazard and infect ion is. this v iewpoint, burnout does not m ake m uch of a finan� cial dent in the organization. So what's to worry about? If employ­ ees let their emotions interfere with their work, then the employer can deal with the problem in the same way as any other perfor­ mance problems. Burnout is not so prevalent or unique that it can't be handled by s tandard procedures a nd programs that are already in place.

"There's Not Much the Orga nization Can Do"

In view, the best the organization can do about burnollt is sim# ply a llow people to look after themselves. Through rest, and personal initiative, people can do whatever is ne;ceSSaI'V problem. The organization may try to help cope more effectively by providing special programs or shops but ultimately the solution is up to them. Thus, the organization has your best i nterests a t heart but a hands�off approach to achieving them. ll1ere is a bit of a benev# olent paternal ism at work here-if you are unable to take c are of yourself, the organization may try to point you in the right direction and see if you can figure things out on your own. But the implicit message is that the orga nization is helpless. I t's not that organiza#

WHY DO A N YT H I N G A B O U T B U R N O U T ?

65

dons don't want to do someth i ng about burnout, but rather that they truly don't know what would make a difference.

WHY ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD TAKE BURNOUT SERIOUSLY In fact, a l l of these assumptions are off the mark. They m i n i m ize what is actually a very sign ificant problem, and they pass the buck on its sol utions. I t is a c ritical mistake to adopt this viewpoint and ignore burnout . Burnout does affect the organization's bottom l ine. It is not j ust an i nd i v idual problem b u t much more than that. It is the employer's respons ibil i ty to improve the orga n ization, and it turns out that organizations can do a lot about burnout.

Burnout Affects the Bottom Line The bottom-l i ne argument about burnout is that i t doesn't affect the organization's performance. Nothi ng could be further from the truth. In fact, job stress can lead to substantial financial and p ro ­ ductiv ity loss, and anyone who i s unaware o f th is basic fact has been in denial for quite some time. At this point, we could present the usual general statistics that show how many b i l l ions of dollars are being swallowed up by work­ ers' compe nsation, health care benefits ( particularly for mental health and substance abuse ), abse nteeism, s ick leave, and employee fraud, not to mention the losses incurred because of on-the-j ob error and deteriorating quality of work. Although these b ig numbers could underscore the financial enormity of the problem, they could not convey the process by which burnout translates into b ig bucks. So let's take each of the j ob-person misma tches that contribute to burnout and see how, in actual cases, it affects the bottom l i ne.9 WORK OVE RLOAD Wh en a food-processing company restructured. it asked Anita. one of its best district managers, to take over the management of

66

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U RN O U T

t h e new consolidated a rea. T h e s e n e w respons i b i l i ties were so extensive that Anita's workweek i n c reased from fifty-five to sev­ e n ty h ours. She s o o n began to experience t h e fee l i ngs of ex­ hausti o n , cyn icism, and i neffectiven ess that are characteristic of burnout. S h e told her supervisor that the new district was too large for her to manage , but h e made n o effort to accommodate her need for assistance or job restructuring. An i ta tried to d eal with her burnout by getting psych iatric treatme n t, but i t was not very successful. Eventual ly, she fi l ed fo r workers' compensati o n benefits for h e r psyc h iatric i njury. Al­ though the company challenged the claim, Anita proved that her burnout was a reaction to abnormal working conditions and she won her cas e . Thus, the costs to the company for its fai lure to deal with the mismatch i n work overload i n c luded quite a l i st : l o ng-term workers' compensation benefits to Anita; payment for h e r psychiatric treatme n t p r i o r to the claim; l egal fees; recruit­ ment and training costs associated with fi l l ing her position when she l eft it; l oss of revenue and loss of l ong-term customers caused by disrupti ons in sales activity in her district; and adverse publicity generated by her case. LAC K OF C O N T R O L

Bob was a customer s ervice rep resentative for a government agency. His j o b offered a classic examp l e of lack of control: he was in the public view dai ly, dealing with large numbers of people who were frustrated by the l o ng l i n es and bureaucratic red tape, and who became angry and b e l l igeren t when Bob had to d eny them the financial benefits they sought for their claims. Things got even worse when Congressio nal l egislati on changed the ru les of the operating p o l i cies. Even though B o b had no say in what the rules s h ould be, he had to carry them out and justify them to an i rate publ ic. Over time, Bob d evel o p ed a serious case of burnout. H i s anger a n d frustration were often expressed i n fights with h is su­ pervisor and in rudeness toward h is c l i ents, many of whom filed formal complaints. H e began to experience hypertension-n o t

W HY DO A N YTH I N G ABOUT BUR N O U T ?

u n common among men with d emanding jobs that give them l it­ tl e control over the i r work. Bob's growing a l i enation from h i s work led to greater absenteeism-twice the average--a n d he also began to drink heavily. The cost to the agency of Bob's burnout was considerable: i n addition to the cost of h i s absenteeism, h i s health care ex­ penses were five times h igher than the average, several of h i s er­ ro rs o n the job cost the agency thousands of d o l l a rs, and h i s visi b l e fights w i t h m an agement h ad a n egative i mpact o n the m o rale of h is co-workers.

I N S U F F I C I E N T REWA R D I n a n attempt t o contain health care co sts, a h o s pital cut its n urses' salaries by 1 5 perc ent. Not s u rp risingly, the nurses were o utraged by this loss of income a n d went out on strike. The hos­ p i ta l brought in some n o nu n i o n nurses and took a tough bar­ gaining stance with u n i o n leaders. Eventually the str i ke ended, but the nurses had had to accept a salary cut of 1 0 percent. Dur i ng t h e next year, many of the n u rses complained of b urnout--of working too hard and too long for too l i ttle pay and very little respect-and they began to l e ave for othe r jobs. Sev­ eral of the d e pa rt i ng n u rses were the most s e n i o r a n d experi­ e n c ed , a n d their rep lacements lacked both the i r expertise and their fam i l i a ri ty w i th the hospita l 's p rocedures. M istakes were made, patients complained, and some malpractice s uits were filed. As mora l e d eteriorated, more n u rses q uit, whi l e those who re­ mained with the hospital carried c h i p s on their shoulders. Although the hospital had saved money i n the short-term by lowe r i ng salaries, the end res u l t was the l o ss of its best staff to b urnout, and the n egative effect of that l oss went far beyond the costs of simply rep l acing them.

B R E A KDOWN OF C OMM U N I T Y A m a n ufactu ring company was organized i n to diffe re n t work teams of five to fifteen peopl e , with each team responsible fo r

67

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

establishing its own practices. However. there was no process for effectively handling disagreements. as is common in self-directed work team envi ronments. After a while. several teams began to have problems. Escalat­ ing conflicts between team colleagues created a very unpleasant working climate. and burnout was the result. Everyone became so tense and irritable that tempers flared over minor problems, and the bickering and grumbling were constant. At times this be­ havior was so bad that it brought productivity to a halt. It also de­ railed company efforts to implement a new quality control system. The lack of trust and the chronic hostility made it almost impossible for team colleagues to collaborate e ffectively. Al­ though the new s ystem was eventually implemented, it took six years rather than the two originally expected. ABS E N C E O F FA I R N E S S

A large energy company instituted a system of n ew controls to produce greater efficiency and fewer errors, offering incentive bonuses to employees who proposed new techniques for further improvement. The new controls were enforced by managers who roamed the halls looking for infractions. As a result, the work cul­ ture became stark and regimented. almost like a boot camp. And employees who wanted the bonuses would sometimes cheat. claiming that an old technique was their own "new" idea. Burnout was rampant. and (according to an internal survey) it was due primarily to perceived unfairness. E mployees felt that there was a lack of basic respect. as well as unethical behaviors to exploit the system for personal gain and unfair distribution of re­ wards. The bitter feelings among many e mployees led them to pull out from the job or to retaliate. People no longer put in extra effort when it was needed but did only the bare minimum instead. They failed to report violations of safe work procedures. Absenteeism increased, and there were incidents of sabotage and pilfering. Health care coSts for stress-related problems went up. as did the number of disability cases.

WHY D O ANYT H I NG ABOUT BURNOUT?

69

C O N F L I C T I N G VA L U E S

A nonprofit soci a l service agency faced a n umber of internal problems related to values. It had never had a clearly articu lated mission or coherent strategic plan but i nstead expan d ed to offer a particular service whenever a n opportun ity arose to generate some revenu e . Th u s , it offered five differe n t c l i e n t services b u t had no i ntegrated s e rvice delivery system. M a ny members of the board of d irectors were a l l ie d w i th one of the five services ex­ c l uSively, and so they woul d fight to get a bigger chu n k of the bud­ get for "their" service rather than concern themselves with the overal l welfare of the agency. Even the c h ief operating officer had trouble making fai r and d ispassionate decisions for the agency a s a whole because s h e was biased i n favor of one o f t h e services. Ongoi ng confl i cts over the agency's val u es, goals, and p ro­ grams led to chaos in its daily operation and burnout among the staff. Money was wasted a s funding sources were s hifted aroun d u npredictably. Projects were started b u t n o t completed. A s a re­ s u lt of t h e h igh level s of anxiety a n d frustration among the b u rned-out staff, health care benefits were constantly u sed (par­ t i c u l a rly for e m p l oyee counseling), absenteeism a n d tardi n e ss were high, morale p l ummeted, a n d the q u a lity of custo m e r ser­ vice deteriorated. Meaningful change and a sense of purpose o n ly came about after the nea r-total t u r n over of the board and staff members.

Burnout Is More Than Just an Individual Problem

C learly, burnout comes at a heavy price. It is not j ust a trivial mat� ter of people feeling cranky or having bad days-burnout costs money. A nd this economic bottom line can only be controlled by payi ng attention to the human bottom l ine. I t is behavior in the workplace that is either costly or productive. A n effective strategy of behavioral risk management has to understand not only what the behaviors are but why they occur.

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THE T R U T H ABOUT BURNOUT

Unfortunately, the goal of understand ing "people's behavior" is too often misinterpreted as understand ing "people's problems." I n turn, that fos ters a focus on t h e person rather than o n s ituation and the assu mption that burnout is t he fault of the individuaL As we've a l ready argued, that i nterpretation is i ncorrect. I t is not the person a lone, but the mismatch between the person and the job en­ vironment that is criticaL A person's behavior in the workplace can only be understood when it is examined within the soc ial context of that workplace. This misguided focus on the person alone is a primary reason why the majority of stress m,magement techniques are designed to change the individual, but not the situation. I n add i tion, organizations consider most programs targeting personal change-such as w()rk­ shops-to low cost. don't impinge much, if at all, on the or­ ganization's daily operation, and they are relatively inexpensive. But as it turns out, these low-cost i ndividual yield a low retum on the investment. Their track record for producing no­ ticeable i mprovements with regard to burnout is not very impres­ sive. From our perspect ive, a key reason why they are re latively ineffective is precisely because they don't impinge on the organiza­ tion. It is ironic that they focus on changing the person and not the joh when research shows that the j ob is the critical source of stress. Another drawback of these programs that focus on the i ndividual is that they often come across as demeaning and patron izing to those who take them. The implicit message is, "You don't know how to take care of yourself, so we'll have to show YOll. " Carolyn i s a public school teacher, and her response to employee assistance programs is n o t atypical. "Every s u m m e r, just before

school starts, the district comes up with some sort of program to 'motivate' us. Last year, we were given a workshop on stress

reduction, which wasn't at all helpful. In fact, it was offensive­ because it was saying that the stress was 'all in me,' so I should just 'exercise and take a walk to reduce stress.' What about only getting a 1 percent pay raise over five years! T here's where stress is, and exercising every day is not a solution!"

WHY DO ANYT H I N G A B O U T B U R N O U T ?

Even when people

71

that the problem i nvolves more

than just the i ndividual, they may s t i l l m ake the mistake of assum, that they can handle it a l l by themselves. In fact , burnout is a bigger problem than any one person can manage . A l though you may be

to change you r own behavior, you cannot s ingle,

handedl y c hange your

environment. Reduc ing m ismatc hes

in workload, con tro l , com muni ty, or fairness requi res the i nvolve, ment of many people within a work group and across an organiza, t ion. Changing things a t work is never an indiv idual process, but a group one. Suzanne, a special education teacher in a public school. had burned out in her work with learning-disabled students. She de­ c i ded that what she needed was to change her teaching tec h­

nique so that she could work more effectively with fewer students. After receiving initial encouragement from the princi­ pal, she signed up for training with a consulting team during her summer vacation.

Suzanne returned to school in September feeling optimistic and excited about her job for the first time in a long while. But before the week was out, her p rogram was in shambles. T he new

approach had a solid track record, but it was based on i n tensive individual work with students. To accomplish it, Suzanne had to work with only a fifth of the number of students she had worked with

previous year. Furthermore. the ninety-minute sessions

arou n d w h i c h the p rogram was structu red conflicted with the

school's one-hour class schedule, so her students had to retu rn to their regular c l asses halfway through t h e lesson or leave thei r regular classes before they were over. The other teac hers complained to Suzan ne and to the prin­

cipal. Parents whose children were on the waiting list for Su­ zanne's classes called the school daily. The principal let Suzan ne know that he was concerned not only with these complaints but also with how the drop in the special educati on statistics would be viewed by the school's distri ct office. Suzanne k n ew i t w a s im­ possible to adapt her new method to a larger group setting, but

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T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

the principal made it clear that she h a d n o choice. She wou l d have t o see more students a n d s h e woul d have t o conform to the school's schedule. Suza n n e had i n i tiated w h at appeared to be a solid i nterven� tion to deal with bu rnout. She h ad developed expertise that wou l d permit her to control her workload and to do a m o re ef� fective job. Withi n the context of her work, the intervention made perfect sense. But withi n the broader context of the school and the commun ity, it was im possi ble.

\Vhat went wrong for Suzanne? The central here is that endeavor. You changing th i ngs at work is never a p urely may be a u nique individual but at work you are ful fi l ling a role to the roles of other people. A ny meaningfu l c hange that is at work has an i mpact on those other people, and they will want to be involved in the process of cha nge as wel l . Furthermore, those other people may well share your concerns and may want to make the same change as you do and f()r similar reasons. The six m ismatches between people and the j ob are organ iza� tiona I issues. Management policies determine workload and specify the amount of control people may exercise over thei r work. The or� ganization's sense of commun i ty, t he way which i t i ts members , and sense of fairness or respect are quali ties of are not individual although i ts social they are important factors in the work l ife of individuals . The orga� n ization's values, the sincerity with wh ich i t p ursues those values, i ts tolerance for diverse perspectives among its membership--these are a l l organizational qualities, not qual i ties of the individuals who work there. Address i ng Burnout Improves the Orga nization

Our argument is that burnout is best addressed at the organizational leve l rather than the individual one. S uch action not neces­ motive on the part o f employersj i ndeed , sari ly reflect a n

WHY DO ANYTHI N G ABOUT B U R N O U T ?

73

it is a matter of se lf- interest. By tak ing responsibil i ty for dealing with b urnout, the organization will be managing in a way that will ensure it has a productive staff for the long term. Why is this so? As we h ave seen, the experience of b u mollt is i ncompatible w i th effective work, especi a ll y when the work in� volves relating to other people or generating creat ive ideas. People to these in this kind of \vork to do i t well , demand energy, involvement, and self�confidence. are some examples: probDeveloping computer software is a lem solvi ng. Software designers need mental energy to concentrate on the m any pieces of a complex problem. They need the capaci ty to invol ved in the proj ect, to keep the challenges in mind d ay after day, and to think of new approaches to problems. They need to be engaged with their work. A company must offer an emotional climate that supports its staff in order to succeed in this competitive industry. • The most powerful predictor of patient satisfaction in a hos­ p i ta l is the relationship w ith the nurse on the ward. A ttentive, capable nursing has a direct impact on the patien ts' sense of weIl­ and thei r hea l i ng. In critical c are nurs ing, life-threaten ing that require soph isticated solutions and focllsed action arise quickly. A hospital is more productive when practices support energetic and invo lved nursing. • S tudents know when teachers are burned out. They see the of personal r-f"::trl"),",." impatience, inattention to their work, resupport for their efforts. A school that does not help main with their work m akes less of a contribution to stu­ dent learning. •

An organization that s upports engagement with work is a stronger organization that is better able to respond to i ts c lientele, grow in new and exciting ways, and develop creative ideas or prod­ ucts. In contrast, an organization in which people are experiencing

74

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N OU T

burnout is less able to accept major change in its environment and in its own structures or procedures. Burnout saps creat iv ity and erodes t he capacity to work effectively with customers or colleagues. Organizations need to take the initiat ive in dealing with burnout for another, related reason as well. Contrary to the popular wisdom espoused at the beginning of this chapter by Dave the C EO, people experiencing burnout do not a lways quit. This is more true now, during t he current crisis in the job environment, than it was in previous y ears when job opportunit ies were more plent iful and people felt that they h ad choices. Today, employees who are burned out may remain on the job, making min imal contribut ions, feeling t ired and cynical, and l i m it ing the potent ia l of their work group. An organizat ion can't t h is problem if it is concerned about productiv ity. As long as these people stick around, an orga­ nizat ion will have to deal with them for own good. Organizations Can Do a Lot

Organizations are not usually seen as helpless creatures that are un­ able to solve the problems they face. So t he argument that organi­ zat ions simply can't do very much about this type ofjob stress seems odd . On the cont rary, organ izations have the power and the re­ sources to do a great deaL An organizational approach to burnout and engagement has great potential for bringing about effective change. Here's why: 1 . An organ izat ional approach addresses t he problems of a group of people i nstead of focusing on one individual at a t ime. As a result, the approach is not only more cost-effective but also builds in mutually support i ve p rocesses, because colleagues wit h whom staff members interact benefit from the intervention. A n in­ tervent ion t hat builds mutual respect among col leagues enhances engagement with work for the work group. 2 . By i mprov ing overa l l human resource management, an or­ ganizat ional approach enhances productivity as well as the quality

WHY D O ANYTHING A B O U T B U R N O U T ?

75

staff members' work l i fe. For example, a fi nanc ial advisor w h o i s fee l ing e ngaged w i th h is work w i l l

out information more

thoroughly and attend more close ly to his c l ients .

3.

An intervention at the organ izational level that enh ances

the function ing of a work setting has a better c ha nce of promoti ng j ob engagement. I n contras t, when an i ntervent ion is at t h e ind i­ v id ual level , the goal is usual l y to return a d istressed person to a "base l ine" level of fun c t ioning ( th a t is, the state of not being burned out) , but it rarely goes beyond t h is to become proactive. Despi te its value, an organ i za tional approach i s more complex and therefore more c h a llenging. Because people tend to t h i nk events as be ing caused by ind i v i d uals rather than by groups or so­ c ia l processes, i t's not easy to concei ve of an i n tervention in orga­ n izational terms. I t can be d ifficult to ident ify the precise target of an organ izat ional i ntervent ion, and this ambiguity makes i t harder to i mplement changes that w i l l affect an orga nization's soc ial envi­ ronment. Even more problematic is that such interventions can d is­ rupt management processes and power structures, so they tend to generate automatic resistance. H e re is an example of an orga n iza­ t ional intervention, with i ts problems and successes: Managers in a n aircraft maintenance shop n oted that some tec h ­ nicians took considerably longer than t h e average to complete standard sections of the safety check of aircraft. They considered a s ystem that fined individuals who performed too slowly but then rejected the approach because they feared it would en­ courage cursory safety checks for which the aircraft industry had little tolerance. I nstead, they implemented a team approach to safety checks i n w h i c h the enti re team's ti me for completing the safety chec k w a s m o n i to red rath er t h a n t h e performance of individuals. This i n tervention shifted t h e responsibility for monitoring efficiency to the work team. In the early days of the new procedure. team

leaders complained to managers that they were unable to track

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T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

what was happening in their teams o r to take co rrective action when ove ra l l performance was not up to standard. Thus. the first effect of the i n tervention was not to speed up the s afety check but to cause distress among team members. The managers p rovided the team s with a b rief series of team-bu i l d i ng workshops that h el ped the members work m o re effectively with o n e another. The teams developed a shared sense of the overall task a n d learned to accommodate the pace of thei r work in a way that p e rm i tted safety c hecks that were thorough but not too ti me cons u m i ng.

I n this inte rvention, the target shifted from the individual to the group. Rather than s ingl ing out individuals and pressuring them to increase their pace, intervention encouraged teamwork while co-workers developed a manageable but effective approach to job. Similarly, organizational approaches to addressing burnout are more effective when they are integrated into strategic management policies than when they are directed at problema t ic ind ividuals. WHY IT'S BETTER TO PREVENT BURNOUT NOW THAN DEAL WITH IT LATE R

As '.ve pointed out i n Chapter One, accord ing to the popu lar lore about problems in the workplace, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I n other words, don't bother doing a nything a bout a potential prob­ lem, wa i t until there is a real problern. approach on short-term gains rather than future benefits. The inherent gamble is that the potential problem will never materialize, so the organi­ zation "wins" by not spendi ng money to avoid what could be a ph antom. We believe that this gamble is far too risky when it comes to burnollt. First of l ikelihood of burnollt is too no longer a rare event. Second, as we saw earlier in this chapter, once burnout becomes a real problem, it is enormollsly expensive. The fi­ nancial costs, the reduced productivity, the health problems, the

W H Y DO ANYTHING ABOUT B U RN O U T ?

77

dec l ine in overal l quality of l i fe-a l l of th is is a very h igh p rice to pay. Th i rd , i t is harder to deal effecti vely with burnout when it i s a ful l � b lown problem t han when i t is incipient. A t the later stage, treatment is d ifficult and the organization is faced w i th major dam� age controL Thus,

countertruism we advocate is, "An ounce of preven-

t ion is worth a pound of c u re . " A preventive approach invo l ve s a long�range v ision, not a short�term one. This approach holds that making a n i nvestment in the present w i l l forestall much greater costs and losses in t he future. This approach "wins " spend s

it

i n t h e long run b y head i ng off the worst effects o f the

problem. For exampl e , paying for job tra ining now w i l l prevent the costs of poor perfonnance l ater. H iring another staff member now­ rather than hav ing one person handl e a double load-w i l l prevent a deterioration in the quality of the work and avoid the costs o f ex­ haustion and i ll ness. Deve loping a proc edure for resolv i ng team conflicts w i l l prevent future confl icts that could i nte rfere w i th pro­ ductiv i ty. G e t t i ng input and feedback from workers b e fore pol icy changes go into e ffect w i l l prevent res istance a nd unantic ipated problems. A nd so on and so on. I n o u r opinion, the

way to preven t b u rnout is to promote

e ngagement w it h work . It is not s i m ply a matter of reducing the negatives in the workplace; it is

an attempt to increase the pos­

i t ives. S t rategies for d eveloping engagement with work are those that enhance energy, involvement, and

and we w i l l look at

these in more d epth later on in the book. Most important, a preventive approach represents a wise and pru­ dent investment in the future

organization. I t means invest­

i ng in people so that they become well-trained, loyal, and dedicated employees who can be counted on to do h igh-qua l i ty work . Th i s k i nd o f i nvestment w i l l strengthen the organization for future sur­ v ival. I n unpredictable times of

and chaos , such employees are

essential for managing trans i tions and change and steering the orga­ nization into

a

new global real i ty. Thus, the crit ical return on the in­

ves tment is a huma n one, not s imply a short�term econo m ic gain.

78

THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

investment of sort requires a reci procal tween employers a nd employees. The organization to be able to show the same k i nd of commitment to i ts employees-the respect and concern-that it asks of them. The best way for an organiza­ tion to do this is by taki ng steps to minimize the six mismatches be­ tween people and their j obs. For a number of organizational leaders, this k ind of approach makes perfect sense. U nl i ke Ollr CEO Dave, they see the prevention of burnout as critical to the well-being of their workplace. Lee, a CEO who funs a major hospital, put it this way: "I am convinced that organ izations that manage themselves on the of open, honest communication, for the people for the people they serve , who work quality care w i l l olltperform other organizations I am wrong, I would rat her go back to practicing medicine than a hospi tal." that this is not the mode of operation in much of the workplace. And we k now that we may sound naive and ideal istic when we advocate investing in people and taking a pre ventive ap­ proach . Nevertheless, we believe strongly that this is the path that will lead us away from burnout and toward productive engagement with work. So it is clear that the goal is to minimize the m ismatches, but how do people go about reaching i t ? In fact, there is a that can promote progress toward that goal-and i t can start e i ther at the individual level, with a person committed to or at the leve l , with management that is equal ly we'l l describe j ust which the next two essary to that process going, and thus to reduce the burnout.

5 Crisis Intervention to Stop Burnout

Do things seem to be reaching a crisis point at work ? I s burn­ out becom ing a serious problem ? Does the situation seem to be overwhelming? Do you ever w ish t here was something that some ­ body could do about it ? Wel l , take heart-there are ways that one against burnout, and one person could person can take well be you. Our message is not going to be the one you've probably heard from various self-help books and programs-about how you can take charge of your life, get yourse lf in shape, and lead yourself to happiness. I t's not that we're knocking self-i mprovement. Tak­ ing care of yourself is definitely a good thing to do, and there are lots of options for strengthening both your physical and mental wel l ­ being. But you can these options elsewhere, and so we won't repeat them Rather, our point is that self-improvement a lone is not enough to beat burnout. To resolve the mislTlatches between person and job, it is necessary to focus on both the ind i v idual and the work­ place, not j ust the person a lone. As we have argued throughout this book, the sources of bumout are more situational than personal, so solutions to the problem need to be sought w ithin social con­ text of the workplace. to in this chapter and the next is present What we are a probl em-solving for burnollt. I n this chapter we'l l show 79

80

THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

how the p rocess is used in a c risis mode; in Chapter S ix w e' l l demonstrate how i t i s used for prevent ion. Figure two approaches that may

5 . 1 i l l ustrates the

take n in the problem-solving process.

This problem-sol ving process takes as its starting point any one of the s ix m ismatche s between person

job. I t foc uses on both

person and job by l i nk ing speci fi c cond i tions i n the workplace to the ind ividual's e motions and work behaviors. I t looks at how po­ tential changes w i l l affect the t h ree d i mensions

bu rnout-ex­

haustion, cynic ism, a nd ineffectiveness-and promote movement toward its opposi te-engage ment. The process is soc ial and collab­ ormive, and it strives to enhance commun ication between people and the organization. A nd, we e mphasize, i t is an ongoing not a quick fix

not a superfic ial, happy-ever-after ending.

This process can be used e i ther for crisis management ()f for pre­ vention. In the forme r case , burnollt is the present rea l ity; in the latter case, i t is l i kely i n the future. I n crisis management the goal is to

find immedi ate solut ions to alleviate the problem. Prevention , i n

contrast, takes a more long-term perspective on strategies that w i l l

FIGURE 5 . 1 .

Approaches to the Problem-Solving Process.

Individual Approach

Organizational Approach

It starts with " persun

I t starts with management

1

I t hecomes a group projec t

I t connects

to

It Iwcomcs an

1

1 1

the organ ization

It connects

/

�

The outcome affects related mismatches

1

The outcome is

,1

process

proj ect

to

people

C R I S I S I N TERVENTI O N TO STOP B U R N O U T

81

reduce future risks and promote fllture growth. However, in both in­ stances the overa l l problem-solving process is basically the same: the problem is a particular m ismatch and the solution needs to con­ nect the j ob setting to individual employees. So how does this process begin ? As we said, it can be initiated by either an individual or an organization. When indi v idual work­ ers start the bal l rol l i ng, it is usually because the job situation has reached a crisis point for them and their colleagues. Burnout has be­ come a major issue and nothing is being done at the organizational level to resolve it, so people begin to take action on their own. I n­ stead of withdrawing or quitting, an ind ividual can inspire a larger work group to tackle the problem of a particular m ismatch and gen­ erate some initial solutions. I n contrast, when the process starts at the organizational level i t is more often an attempt to prevent burnollt in the future than to respond to a cris is. M anagement rec­ ognizes the potential costs of burnout and decides to take action to contain them. This is not to say that organizations don't initiate crisis-management processes or that ind ividuals don't initiate pre­ ventive actions--obviously, that can happen too--but the opposite pattern is more typical, and so that is how we w i l l presen t the processes in this book.

TAKING ON THE JOB-PERSON MISMATCH I N DMDUALLY

Even if burnou t seems to be a much b igger problem than any one person can handle, that doesn't mean you should give in to it or not even try to do something about it. I nd iv iduals can take action to start the process of stopp ing burnout. A ll you need are the follow­ ing things: •

An u nderstanding of the six paths from m ismatch to burnout

•

An ability to work with colleagues

•

A comm itment to stick with the process of change

82

THE TRUTH ABO UT B U R N O U T

This book has helped you to understand what burnout is and what makes it happen. The six ways in which people and their j obs are mismatched a re the critical sources of burnout, and so any analysis of the p roblem has to address them. The abil i ty to work with others is essential because going it a lone is rarel y The fac t is, you d o not work i n isolation. Your job is interrelated with the j obs others are doing, so that what­ ever affects your work will h ave a ripple on everyone else. G iven that the workplace is increasingly a shared enterprise, you will have to work together with your colleagues in order to deal ef­ fectively with burnout. Change takes t ime, particularly when it's a question of a long­ term, chronic problem l ike burnout. That means YOll have to be committed, persistent , and patient, and stick with the process until it yields some nrr,n,.",,,,, There are several key steps in the process to stop burnout . We'll describe them briefly, i n general tenns, so that you will be able to recognize them easily in the three case studies that follow. Step 1 : It Starts with a Person

The process begins to consider a person prompts a work This individ� problems with burnout a nd its need for ual impetus to deal with b urnout does not need to come from a per� son in charge. Often, formal aut hority interferes with a person's capac i ty to p rovide effective leadership. But no matter who it is, that person h as to take a leadership role. That means doing the nec� essary background work, getting the g roup involved, and lead ing the group through the process. The challenge is to inspire a group to take d irect action improves the situation. Step 2: It Becomes a G roup Project

One person can begin the p rocess, but a group i s necessary to de� velop a nd sustain i t. To correct factors i n the workplace the com­ bined efforts of the work group are necessary. People have to reach

C RISIS I NT E RVE N T I O N TO S T OP BU R N O UT

a conse nsus about the area

83

m i smatch they need to address first,

and t he n priorit ize the actions they w i l l take to address i t. They have t o support one another in those act ions, and work to maintain the momentum for change .

Step 3: It Connects to the Organization Whatever the solutions proposed to deal w ith burnout, they cannot be implemented in a vacuum. Even though the intervent ions may be i n i t i a ted by an ind i v idual

or

a g roup, they have to be i mple­

mented within the orga nizationa l context.

Step 4: The Outcome Affects Related Mismatches Addressi ng the six areas of mismatch that we have ident ified in this book is

only way to make an i m pact on burnout and foster ef­

fective engagement with work. Th i s

not mean that every ac­

tion must address all six m ismatches simultaneously-the process is easier and c learer when it focuses on j ust one . However, the six or­ gan izational areas in which m ismatches occur are somewhat inter­ related so that action on any of them tends to improve at least some of the others.

Step 5: The Outcome Is a Process The a

message here is that the i mportant outcome i s not

"happy endi ng" but an ongo i ng process of successfu l adaptat ion

to a n ever-evolving workp lace. It is not necessary to address ev ery aspect of a complex change p rocess d e l i berately. Once the p ro­ cess begins, it gathers its own momentum toward change i mprove ment. Now that we've outlined the steps in the process, put to good use. We' l l revi s i t

see th em

of t h e people we introduced in

Chapter One and see how they used the process to deal w ith a par­ ticular m ismatch that was lead ing to burnout. In Eleanor's case the mismatch was work

for Stan it was lack of control, and for

J ohn it was insufficient rewards.

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T H E T R U T H A80 U T 8 U R N O U T

TRYING TO REDUCE WORK OVERLOAD

Eleanor could not meet the ever-growing As we saw in Chapter demands of her j ob as a manager of an automob i le c la ims adj ust­ ment department in a large i nsurance company. She knew the lim­ i ts of her energy and her comm itment to life outside of work, but she fel t v ulnerable to losing her job if her performance fel l short. I n spi te of p lacing increasi ng demands o n her, central management had given her a d irective to reduce the number of staff i n her unit. Eleanor had e nough experience i n t he i ndustry a nd w i th her staff members to k now that the c urrent workload was u nsustainable. It Starts with a Person

The solution was not obvious to Eleanor, but she knew that she had to work with her department to find a new balance between energy and demands. She came to the group prepared. First, she met w ith the v ice president to review the company's and the role her department was to p lay in establishing a stronger position in a more competit ive insurance world. Second, she went over reports ana­ lyzing the costs and benefits for her department. Third , she exam­ ined industry reports on innovations in claims adj ustment work , noting n ew industry standards and practices. then prepared a synopsis of her background work and d istributed i t to depart ment meeting to d iscuss and strategies. members j ust prior to I t Becomes a Group P roject

The meeting began with three people expre ssing thei r strong dis­ satisfaction with the current state of affairs. They fel t the strain of exhaustion and the fru stration of doing rushed and i ncomplete work. They fel t that the company was putting them in j eopardy by insisting on a rate of clai ms management that d id not pennit a thor­ ough examination E leanor steered the d iscussion to the values that the staff held about their work. The firs t value mentioned was attentiveness to

C R I S I S I NTERVENTI O N TO STOP B U RN O U T

B5

c l ients , who are often d istressed when contacting an insurance claims office. A second v alue w as thoroughness and accuracy. Third, the group members were committed to effic ient, effective action. Fourth, they were determined to be responsive to the incli­ v idual customer. these four values made demands on the t ime, energy, and resources of the work Eleanor then asked the group to consider how their current workload interfered w ith their abiding by these values. People had no trouble coming u p with examples of incidents in which time pressures forced them to cut corners when interpreting policies or making i nvestigations. A lthough there were no clear-cut cases of successful fraudulent c la ims over the past months, there were a confident abollt a the agent felt number of cases in calculated that the tota l l iabil ity for claim's validity. those questionable claims exceeded the salary of fi ve staff members. The group noted an increase in the frequency and i ntensi ty of strained inte ractions w ith clients, and saw these problems as resul t­ ing directl y from the rushed state of affairs i n t he office. Eleanor asked the group to look at t he problem as a matter of choice. The reduction in staff coup led with an increase in meant that and energy than workers had to put previously into each case. So one solut ion to the p roblem was to find more time to maintain the level of staff involvement in cases by find ing efficiencies olltside of c asework. But the staff members were convinced that the initiatives they had taken earlier in the year had boosted overall office efficiency as far as it could go. An� other stra tegy was to u p personal t ime-work late and a rrive early-i n order to maintain h igh�quality service. But this was their current solution, and i t was not working. E leanor proposed that the group coul d take control of the work­ load situation by choosing to emphasize some values over others. After a lengthy d iscussion t he group chose to emp hasize personal and responsive serv ice. Eleanor took on the t ask of working with two staff members to write a statement of the department's com­ mitment to these

86

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

It Connects to the Organization

Eleanor also wrote a proposal to the vice president on the fi nanc ial i mpact of delayed or l ess-than-thorough i nvestigations. She esti­ mated t he ongoing costs to the company rushed i nvestigations ind icated that adding two s taff positions in her department would be a cost-effective way for the department to regai n i ts pre­ v ious levels of accuracy and efficiency. A lthough this solut ion meant that the group had to adapt to the current state of things, it also involved a communication out­ side of the group to the v ice president emphasizing the estimated add i tional re­ cost of possibly fraudu lent claims a nd sources. By requesting addi t ional staff, Eleanor brought the organization into the group 's deliberations on values: D id the nization consider t he i r values to be worthy of attention ! If the organization made a clear commitment to the group's customer ser­ v ice values, it would support their efforts to address t he customer demands they had to deal w ith. W ithout such a comrnitment, the m ight find i tself attempting to pursue c ustomer service values that were no longer important to the organization. Communicat­ ing with the larger organization provides a broader context in which to develop a response to a n area of m ismatch. Eleanor worked out the costs of de-emphasizing accuracy and thoroughness. She used records from two previous years to estimate the number of fraudulent claims that had been identified thanks to her staff's thorough i nvestigat ions a nd the cost to company of their conducting more superficial investigations . When she presented these figures to the v ice president, his initial reaction was that the group had thei r priorit ies all wrong: they should em­ phas ize accuracy a nd thoroughness rather than personal service. E leanor, having anticipated this reaction, had prepared her case for the cost-effective ness of personal service. p rojected the n umber of cl ients who would be offended by a rigid, intrusive sty le customer relations from her staff and reminded v ice president of the h ighly competitive nature of the i nsurance business.

C R I S I S I N T E RVEN T I O N TO STOP B U R N O U T

87

It was a long meeting with intense d i scussion. The most d iffi � c Ll l t c h a l l e nge for Eleanor was to relate her concern for the well, be ing of her staff and excellent cllstomer servi ce to the v ic e president's concern for

bottom l ine. She needed t o b e com'

p lete ly dear about both her c Listomer service val ue s and t he finan, c ia l concerns of the company. She had to make a financi a l case for s taff excell ence and good customer re lations . A t the e nd of the meet ing, the v i ce p resident agreed to E l eanor's request for add i # t ional staff for a one' year trial period. A t t h e e n d o f that period they would rev iew the add i tional s taff based on the department's perfor, m ance i n terms o f c l ient numbers , identi fication of problematic claims, and overal l financi a l performance.

The Outcome Affects Related Mismatches E leanor's group took control of a work overload m ismatch that was contribut i ng

to

b u rnout. However, the group could not address the

work overload problem without a lso considering issues of values and control. A c le ar sense of values e nabled the group to choose among the many legit i mate d emands on thei r t i m e and energy. They needed to select among those demands in a way that made sense to t hem; a random selection of de mands would have s imply i ncreased thei r cyn ic ism by suggesti ng that nothi ng rea l ly matte red. The ex­ perience of going through

process also strengthened thei r sense

of commu n i ty. The group had worked together in such a way that they had gotten to k now one another better. And thei r comm uni, catio ns w i th the larger o rga nization gave t he i r group a stronger identity with that orga n ization.

The Outcome Is a Process As a result of this process, the group gained a ba lance that seemed sustainable. The group was well aware that t h is c r is i s would be fol lowed by more probl e m s requ i r i ng further c h anges i n t h e w a y they worked. T h e i r m a i n accom p l ishme n t was i n i t i at ing a

88

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURN OUT

self-sustai ning process for improvi ng thei r work life, not solving all of their present and future d ifficulties. assess the i mpact of this i n tervention, Eleanor moni tored her feelings and those of co-workers in the subsequent months. She a ttended to s i gns of exhaustion a nd cynicism i n her department . The group assessed i ts perfo rmance i n biwee kly meetings, empha­ s izing the four customer service values as well as perfonnance indi­ cators such as caseloads, number of questionable cases, and average processi ng t i mes.

TRYING TO ACHIEVE SOME CONTROL

Stan felt that he no longer had control over t he type and quality of care he p rovided as a psychologist. get some d istance from h i s job, he took a couple weeks off to g o ocean kayaking in Puget Sound. One eveni ng, back i n the cabi n after a long day o n the water, Stan got into a conversation with two other kayakers. H e contrasted the satisfying fee ling o f t i redness that fol lows phys ical exertion in the fresh a i r w ith the dispirited exhaustion fel t after a week at work, where he was pushed a round by a t ight-fisted bu­ reaucracy that seemed to have nothing but contempt for him and his cl ients. One of h is companions, feeli ng at that moment fairly re­ moved from the demands of the materi a l world, asked, "Is the pay­ off from the company really worth it?" and Stan was left at a loss for words.

It Starts with a Person

For the remainder of h is s tay at the kayak camp, Stan's tho ughts were haunted by that question. Upon his return to the c ity, h e de­ cided to take some action. First, h e consulted the research on the n umber of psychotherapy sessions requi red to be effective with var­ ious fonns of psychological d istress. He found that the average num­ ber of sessions matched the maximum number establ ished by h is company's guidelines, but that research confirmed that a consider-

CRISIS I N T E R V E N TI O N TO S T O P BU R N O UT

89

able proportion of people w ith a given problem requ ired more than the average. He reread the e th i c a l codes of conduct for psycholo­ gists, attending espec ially to the requ irement of putting c l ient needs fi rst.

It Becomes a Group Project S t a n contacted a dozen psychologists who worked for the same managed care operation and invited them to a meeting at his house. He said that they had reached a crisis point in terms of losing con­ trol over their responsi b i l i ty for patient care. S tan started the mee t ing by describing h is frustrations and the sense of exhaustion, cynicism, and helplessness that had dominated h i s feel i ngs for the prev ious months. He said that what he was ex­ perienc i ng was burnout, p u re and s imple. He was on the brink of walk i ng away fro m h is j ob . He h ad cal led t h i s meeting because i t had occurred to h im that h is experience was probably not u n ique. Thei r work for the company d id not al low many opportun i t i es to get together and compare no tes o n their experience of the work; they an provided ind iv idual services at c linics a l l over the c i ty and worked on a variety of schedules. S tan's fi rs t question

to

the others was whether they shared h is

sense of being out of control; h i s second question was whether that expe rience was burning them out. Thei r answer to both questions was a resounding "Yes!" and the group went on to have an animated d iscussion about their frustrat ions with thei r work. There was gen­ eral agreement that the j o b d id not accommodate the ideals t h a t had led them to t h i s profession. Caring for people lost out a t every tum to the corporate profi t motive. Furthermore, they did not have the c lout to insist upon a h umane approach to psychotherapy. Every week was a deade n i ng series of compromises. For Stan

the othe rs in the group, the maj o r issue was tak-

ing contro l of the i r work as psychologists for the bene fi t of their c l ients. The primary confl ict was between the value they placed on respons iveness and the value the company p laced o n effi c iency.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

The company required predictable treatment schedu les: private­ sector provision of hea l t h care was not manageable w ithout pre­ d ictable costs, and the pri mary cost was the psychologist's t ime. A second company value was accessibili ty: the health insurance plan promised customers access to a psychologist when they needed one. The company d id not want to have patie nts waiting while all the staff was t ied up w ith intermi nable cases. Long waiting l ists would mean disgrunt led customers who would pressu re the i r employers to consider the services of competing managed care plans. In add ition, the company projected future staffing based on a certain distribu­ tion of psychological problems that would requ ire the avai lability of a specific number of psychologists. If the cost and availabil ity of the psyc hologists were unpredictable, the company viOuld not be able to fulfill i ts obl igations within i ts budget. L ike the company, the psychologists too valued access ibili ty. They fel t it was important that se rv ices be availa ble w he n peopl e needed them . The psychologists valued effi ciency a s wel l. They were aware that e xcess i ve costs brought benefits to no one-the company would eithe r p ass the costs onto the customer or replace psychologists with treatment proViders who could serve c l ients more c heaply. Thus, the psychologists did not perceive the com­ pany's values of accessibility a nd efficiency to be irrelevant or damthe problem was a matte r of emphasis. After considerable d iscussion, the group agreed that imposing a fixed l i m i t on the number of sessions supported the values of acces­ sibil ity and efficiency in a way that was d i rectly opposed to the i r own values of personal service and responsiveness. The task was to negotiate with the company an e nduring resolution to this value conflict.

It Connects to the Organization

Stan and the group d rafted a proposal to take to the managed care company. A primary point was that the psychologists as a group would commit to an overall average number of sessions for a set of

CRISIS INT ERVENTION TO STOP BURNOUT

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identified psychological problems. The company would give them d iscretion to extend the number of sessions when warranted by the specific conditions a p articular pe rson. A group of psychologists would meet to consider cases in whic h thei r colleagues had decided to extend treatment. They would make recommendations for alter­ native approaches to treatment based on this review. They would also use the information they gai ned i n this way for further nego­ tiat ions w i th t he company on guidelines for estimating t he num­ be r of sessi ons requ ired to address certain p roble ms. Thus, the proposal sought a new bal ance between the confl icting values of accessibil ity/efficiency and persona l service/responsive ness. After consulting widely with other psychologists providi ng ser­ v ices, Stan's group took the proposal to the company. Management had reservations about the approach because it introduced u ncer­ tainty into costs a nd staffing projections. I nc reased control for the psychologists came at the expense of management control, and they were unsure the benefit justified the inconvenie nce. These two per­ spec tives sparked a l ively debate. The management perspecti ve emphasized fi nancial control as the critical issue while the psychol­ ogists emphasized the quality of service and a manageable work l ife . M anagement doubted that a group of i ndependent p rofessionals could control thei r i ndividual billings. They believed that each psy­ chologist would try to be the one who bi lled for more sessions. They believed that the a l location for psychological services would be spent long before the year was over and the company would have to choose between overrunning its budget or alienating customers. For the psychologists, the primary challenge was to convince man­ agement that current levels of performance could not continue be­ cause of the stra in they were experienc i ng. Second, they had to convince management that they were capable of managing their fi� nancial concerns. Ult imate l y, management was convinced by the evidence of burnout problems among the psychologists, the research that i ndi ­ cated t h e necessity o f add it ional treatment sessions, a n d t h e psy­ chologists' will ingness to take ful l responsibil i ty for meeting the i r

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BUR NOUT

treatment objectives. The two sides agreed to a one-year trial period for the new arrangement. Once again, although the sol u t ion entailed the group's adapt­ ing to the c urrent state of t h i ngs, i t also entailed communicating outside of the group to the company and asking for addi t ional re­ sources. The psychologists did not accept the organizational policy as something to which they h ad merely to adapt bur as something to change.

The Outcome Affects Related Mismatches

I n this c ase, t he group addressed a mismatch i n control that was contribut ing to burnout. However, they found that they could not address the control problem w ithout also considering workload, re­ wards, and values. To take contro l of their work l i fe, they eventu­ ally had to make decisions about workload and the distribution of rewards. They wanted more control over t heir work i n order to ad­ here more consistently to the ir shared values. The experience of conducting the process a lso strengthened their sense of community. They learned more about one another a nd gained a stronger sense their identity as a group.

The Outcome Is a Process

Once again, the outcome is an ongoing process, not a h appy end­ ing. The group gained a balance that seemed sustai nable. The com­ pany accepted thei r proposa l on a tentative basis, expressing skeptic ism that they could ma intain collegial control over a poten­ tially divisive issue. The group would need to develop quickly its ca­ pacity to resolve conflict among its members and between itse lf and the company. Stan and h is group monitored the impact of the intervention by d iscllssing their reaction to their work. They found a greater sense of effectiveness that seemed to come as m uch from their participa­ t ion in the inte rvention itself as from the impact of the new proce-

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93

dures. A survey o f psyc hologists in the group p rovided evidence of decreased burnollt on a l l three d i mensions: exhaustion, cyni­ cism, and i neffec tiveness. In add i tion to mon itoring burnout infor­ mally and in surveys, the group kept track of performance indicators, that is, sessions and outcomes for c lients . I n the course of these d is­ CLlssions the group identified new issues on which further d iscussions with the company wou ld be based. S i x months into the new program, a psychologist who worked for the same company in another c i ty contacted Stan to learn more about the process he had ini t iated . Stan was particu larly p leased to learn that a manager for the company there had recommended the new procedure to th is psycho logist. I t seemed that the managers were find ing that things could operate smooth ly even w i th less cen­ tral control in the organization.

TRYI NG TO GAIN MORE REWARDS J ohn fe lt b itter about the lack of meani ngfu l rewards he was give n for h is work a s a public school teacher. The p a y and benefits seemed inadequate compensation for the emotional demands of the j ob, the long hours required for thorough preparation, and the d iverse range of re l a t ionships he had to m aintain w i t h parents, admini strators, and students.

It Starts with a Person

John shared h is frustration w i t h a small group of teachers a t h i s s chool . Al though h e was convi nced t h a t s h aring h i s fee l i ngs wa s better than keep i ng them bot tled up i ns ide, he was also aware that the repetitive airing of anger and frustration was not doing anybody m uc h good . I t was t ime to move beyond that sort of gripe session. J oh n persuaded five other teac hers t o meet w ith him during spring break. Before that meeting, he read over documents from the teachers' union on wages and benefits. Th is read ing confinned what he knew-that the teachers' salaries and bene fits were set in the

94

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

contract for another two years. It a lso confi rmed what he sus­ pected-that teach ing salaries and benefi ts were infl uenced more by the la rge supp ly of new graduates from teaching programs look­ ing for work than by the de mands of the job. The great number of teachers look ing for work kept the sa laries low.

I t was clear tha t

teachers were not go ing to be able to change the ir salary i n their CUlTent j obs in the short term . J ohn was convinced that the present situation was intole rable and that teachers needed to approach the problem from a new angle.

It Becomes

a

Group Project

J oh n began the meet i ng by l ay ing out the concl u s ions of t h is re­ search . H e noted the d isparity between teachers' salaries and those for people ..v i t h comparable c redentials, responsi b i li ties, and de­ mands in other j obs. H e

t h a t i t was impossible fo r the group

to influence salary leve ls in the short run. He concl uded that they had three options: 1 . Leave this job for a better paying teach ing job e lsewhe re

2.

Adj ust the i r contri butions in accordance w i th their compensat ion

3 . I mprove the non material rewards of the job

The group agreed that this list Slimmed lip the i r opt ions. They saw the first option as both unattainable and undesirable. I t was un­ attainable because teaching salaries were fairly equa l across the c ity while fam i ly t ies argued s trongly against mov i ng e lsewhe re . I t was undesirable because they saw their problem as a chron ic one in the teaching profession and they fel t resIX,nsible to address it, not merely to escape it. 111ey set to work on the second and third options. John defi ned the s ituation: "The j ob w i l l pay a set amount of money as long as we fu l fi l l the m in i mal req u i rements of the j ob . While there may

a few people i n o u r school whose level o f per-

CRISIS INTERVENTION TO STOP BUR NOUT

95

formance is barely ahove that minimum level of performance, the norm withi n our school is to work far above that level. To me , this means that we are working for other k i nds of rewards: the experi­ ence of helping our students learn, the satisfac tion of developing a new approach to a diffic ult topic, or the respect of our colleagues. There are real problems "vith the financ ia l compensat ion of this j ob, but in add i t ion to those , we are having problems in fi nd i ng these other types of rewards." The group d iscllssed the rewards that they valued in their work. As John had stated, the principal rewards involved interaction with students and with the process of teaching. The respect of the i r col­ leagues was a powerful reward because fel low teachers understood the challenges of teaching and apprec iated the difference between work that was truly h igh quality and \vork that merely appeared to be so. They fel t that adm i n istrators, especially those from the d is­ trict office, tended to be wowed by flashy technical tri umphs that actual ly often contributed l ittle to learning. However, it was d ifficult to gain these rewards because of pres­ s ures from variOllS d i rections . A big problem was the overall in­ c rease in workload a nd decrease in resources d uring the c u rrent tight financial regime. Cutbacks in support staff h ad teachers doing a l ot of the rud imentary work arollnd the school that would more effect ively be done by teac hi ng assistants. Cutbacks in professional support staff meant that teachers had to add managing the l ibrary to their d ay. The latter consequence of downsizi ng not only in� c reased the teachers' workload but a lso diminished the l ibrary's use­ ful ness: the teachers did not organize it or teach its use to students as well as a professional l ibrarian wou ld . The teachers referred to this move as "dmvnsizing to inefficiency." As they spent more t i me in nonproductive chores about the school, they had less time to pre� pare for classes and to teach. Even collegial appreciation was rare be­ cause no one had the opportunity to find out what others were doing. The teachers concluded that the school's values seemed to be i n a muddled state . The administra tion spoke of t he need for efficiencies in the current economic difficult ies, but the actions on

96

TH E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

the front l ines of teaching were m a king the job less effic ient, Teach­ ers were d o i ng work that cou ld be provided more cost-effe c t i ve ly by people w i th d i fferen t tra i ning and occupations, whi le less thor­ ough lesson preparation resu lted in less effec t ive teac h i ng because it was less responsive to the specific needs of the students, The man­ agement of the school was i n telfer i ng w i th the most powerful non­ monetary reward availab le-recogni tion by respected colleagues, John and his colleagues developed a plan in w h ich they iden t i ­ fied areas o f activity t h a t were consumi ng t h e i r t i me a n d energy but prov id ing l it t le value in return to e i ther the teachers, the students, or the school's adm i n is tration. At the top of the l is t was tec h n ic a l work in the school's com­ puter lab, w h ich was beco m i ng outmoded at an accelera t i ng rate. The teachers agreed that there was li ttle in s tand -alone computer programs that m ade a not iceable contribution to students' learni ng. Most students used the computers to e-mai l one another and p lay a variety of games that h ad been installed on the m achines to make them user-fr iendly. But ample opportu n i t i e s for sllch act i v i ties seemed av a ilable o utside of schoo l , whereas the age and design of these computers prohibited their effective llse i n the classroom. The p la n was to s top a t tend i ng to the conlputers: when they s topped working, that woul d be the end of them . The second area they addressed was the l ibrary. They would no longer prov ide a s topgap for t h e l i brarian. They bel ieved that the current system was worse than hav ing no l i brary at all. It was unre ­ warding and did not create an effective resource. The school l ibrary wou ld remain c losed unti l funds were found to staff i t properly. In add i t io n to suggest i ng that their i nvolveme n t in other non­ productive activities be c urtailed, the proposal called for a clear and accountable increase i n h igh#qual i ty teaching. The teachers would mon itor this ac tivity in a publ ic way by providing a monthly award throughout the school term for a fine example of e ffect ive and in­ novative teach i ng. The award cou ld go to a group of teachers col­ laborating on a proj ect, a single teacher, or a c lassroom.

CRISIS I N T E RVE NTION TO STOP B U R N O UT

97

It Connects to the Organization The group wrote up a description of the program and discussed the ir ideas with the other teachers in the school, i ncorporat i ng the i r sug­ gest ions into the final version as we ll. The response from manage­ men t was guarded. The adm in istration found i tself in a d i lemma between meeting the d istrict's regulat ions for tech nical education and library faci l i ties on the one hand and supporting the teachers' commi tme n t to effective teaching on the other. Pressure from par­ ents a nd the pol i tical world for greater teaching effectiveness was very much on their m inds. They saw the teachers' initiative as the first step in a process that would result in thei r funning th ings with­ out reference to either the school board's mandate or the pressures from concerned parents. And some in management thought that keeping up the pressure on teachers was an effective and necessary way of forcing overpaid and u nderproduct ive staff members out of the system. Th is brush-off from management threw the group into d isarray. Some of the teachers wanted to d rop the i n it iat ive entirely. They were worried about being branded as troublemakers. Although their work l ife was stra ined, they were afraid that m anagement could make things m uch worse . After considerable and heated discussion, two teachers left the group while the others put together a formal request for a meet i ng with the school's management group to p re­ sent their case. Prior to that mee t ing the teachers presented their perspect ive at

a

parent-teacher meeting. They hoped to gain the active support

of this group for their p roposa l. This would make the i ssues p u b l i c a n d remove o n e of the principal's concerns-pote n t i a l problems w i th parents. Consequently, when the teachers met later with the admi nistration managemen t group, they were accom panied by the head of the parent-teacher assoc iation, who spoke enthusiastically about the proposal and its pote n t i a l for enhanci n g the students' quality of education.

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TH E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

To avoid a d irect, publ ic confrontat ion w it h the teachers, t h e principal managed to find funds for a part-t i m e person to k e e p the l i brary and computer lab open a few hours a day, t h us meeting the d istrict office's m i n i m a l requ i rernents for these ser v ices. The principal was we l l aware that a more meaningful solution was nec­ essary in the long run, but for the moment the teachers' initiatives were gaining i mpressive publ ic ity and momentu m . Once aga i n , a l though t h e solution meant t ha t the group h ad to adapt to c ircumstances i t also invo lved tak i n g some assertive ac­ t ions, such as commun icating with the school admi nistration about a different and more cost-effect ive way of doing t h ings. In tum, the d istrict and school administra t ions learned that t hey needed to de­ velop more insightful solut ions to the school 's management problems.

The Outcome Affects Re lated Mismatches John's group focused on i nsuffic ient reward and i ts contribution to burnout. But to reach a sol u t ion, the group had

to

consider va lues,

contro l , t�li mess, and workload as welL The e xperience of going through the process a lso strengthened the i r sense of commun ity.

The Outcome Is a Process Once aga i n , the ou tcome is a p rocess, not a happy ending. Once aga i n , the group reached a new balance that see med s ustainable. The school adm in istration accepted the ir proposal . I t used i ts strained financial resources to m ee t the l etter of the law from the school d istrict. The principal was aware that he would have to face s i g n ificant financial c h a l l enges in t h e year ahead now that h i s m u l t i tasking sol u t ion t o t h e l ibrary and comp uter l a b p rob lems was gone. John wId his colleagues that the most i m porta n t measure of success was the "grumble leve l": how often teachers grumbled in the staff room about unrewarding work. Other important measures were

CR ISIS I N TERVENTION TO STOP BUR NOUT

99

the quality of i nnovative projects recognized in the fol lowing year and fulfillment experienced by the peopl e who had shared in the process.

TAKING I NDMDUAL I N ITIATIVE WITHIN AN ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK

The stories presented in this c hapter were of three individuals who managed to find the energy and enthusiasm to address organiza� tiona l shortcomings in response to a c risis experience of burnout. Eleanor, Stan, and John took leadership roles within their work groups a nd initiated a group process that resu lted in correcting a misrnatch between t hemselves a nd their jobs. They bui l t on the power inherent in their professional expertise and their importance to the employer i n meeting the organ ization's objecti ves. They a l l faced the d ifficulty o f initiating c hange from the front l ines. An advantage they all shared was that each of them belonged to an organ ization that thought of i tself as concerned for the well� being of both staff a nd cl ien tele. For the most part, the b i nd s i n which these three people found themselves resu lted from manage­ ment fl aws: the organization had implemented policies w i thout thorough consul tation with t heir staff members. It was concerned about its employees, a lthough that concern had not taken top pri­ ority in decision making or been effectively implemented in man­ agemen t strategies. Admittedly, the situation may quite d ifferen t for employees in an organ ization that tends to exploit those u nfortunate enough to work for it. Those individuals may have to resort to more drastic a nd confrontationa l strategies to make their point. Thei r employ­ ment could even be t hreatened before r hings t urn around m a meaningful way. The fol lowing is a case i n point: At a manufacturing com pany, many of the workers were unhappy with recent changes in pol icy that affected rewards. wo rkload, and fai rness. The company had sh ifted from an hourly wage to a

1 00

TH E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

piecework rate. and no longer paid extra for overtime. The result was that the workers were forced to work more for less money.

A gro u p of them tried to talk w i t h m an agement but were to l d that they could quit i f they d i d n 't l ike t h e terms o f t h e job. Many

of the workers were i m migrant women supporting fam i l i es, and losing their job was someth i ng they d id n 't want to ri s k. The workers then tried to organ ize a union but for months were s ub­ jected to various obstructive tactics, such as threats of being fired and vandalism of t h e i r property. Then the company collaborated

with the Immigration and Natu ra lization Service i n cond ucting a workplace raid, and over fifty workers were deported just before payday. The remaining workers walked out, and over the next few days the majority of them joined a loca l u n ion. Eventually, the u nion was a bl e to n egotiate some better working conditions for the employees.

A lthough some job s i tu a t i ons can

as bad as t h i s , in other

cases the threats are more subtle. For example , i n one law firm that was undergoing "redeployment" ( that is, downsizing ) , a human re­ sources manager

mislead ing negative feedback to some of the

secretarial staff-warning them that they might be reassigned , that t he i r fu t u res were uncertain-and thus gently scaring them into leaVing peacefu l ly and w i thout l i a b i l i ty

to

the firm. In o ther orga­

nizations , i mp l ied thre a ts cons ist even more of bark rather than b i te, given soc ial pressures o n organ izations

to

act responsibly to­

ward the i r employees . Nevertheless, these i n t i m idating tactics can still have a chi l l ing effect on i n itiat ives for change. I n these three case s t ud ie s , successful resolut ion was ach ieved through a speci a l com m i tment from staff members , a shared expe­ rience among colleagues, and some fortunate c i rcums t ances. This is a risky b usiness at best. The process is more straightforward when a CEO real izes that the company needs to do better by i ts peop\e­ more stra ightforward, b u t also fraught w ith i ts own perils. Crisis management on the scale of a n entire organization requi res consid-

CRISIS I NT E R V E N T I O N TO STOP B U R N O U T

1 01

erable resources. A nd al though a particular intervention may he lp some employees, it can also be intrusive and disru ptive for people who don't think they have a problem w ith burnout. It is better for everyone involved if organizations manage them­ selves in a way that prevents bumollt from occurring in the first place. In Chapter S ix , we' l l see how such preven tion can be ac­ compl ished. A nd we'll see an additional advantage of the preven­ tion approach: it not only reduces the risk of burnollt but also enhances posit ive engagement with work.

6 Preventing Burnout and Bui ld i n g Engagement

S o w h y w a i t for burno u t t o happen hefore do ing something constru c tive about it ? Why not deal w ith t he problem when i t's m inor rather than major ? As we argued in Chapter Fou r, prevent­ ing hum out is not j ust a nohle goa l to pursue-it makes economic sense. It is far better to i nvest in avoid i ng burnou t than to pick up the costs i n its wake. But reducing the poss ib i lity o f humout is only more i mportant i s i nc reasing

part of a prevent ive approach .

the chances that people re main engaged with their work. Foc using on engagement means foc lls i ng on the energy, in­ volvement, and effecti veness thar employees hring to a job and de­ velop thro ugh t he i r work. A build more

on h u i l d ing e ngage ment h e l ps

organizations. Successful organ izations have

strong cul tures that arc consistent with thei r m issions. Those major corpora t ions that compete successfu l l y on q u a l i ty make a serious commitment to the i r work. Excellence is not simply a slogan to use A commitment t o qual ity is

in advertisements or annual

evident in every aspect of such organizations. Most important, em­ ployees throughout the company must receive support for

pur­

s u i t of excel l ence. With motivated and sk i l l ed employees, the day-to-day issue for management is to remove barriers to effective work w h i le the long-term issue is

to

deve lop an organizational en­

v ironment that provides them w i th ever more effec t i ve support.

1 02

PREVE NTI N G B U R N O UT A N D B U I LDI N G E N GA G E M E NT

1 03

The important question is not j ust how to sol ve problems but how to create new possibil i ties. I n th is chapter, we w i l l focu s primarily on a goal orientation rather than on simple problem solving. I t's not that a problem ori­ entation is unimportant-indeed , i t's sometimes essential-but i t soon runs into limits. An organization cannot antici pate and avoid every situation in which employees may fee l overworked, frustrated, or unapprec iated. But a goal orientation continues to evolve. I t can to the enhance capac ity to respond constrai ns it w i l l inevitably encounter. The initiatives that sider in this chapter go beyond day-to-day to enhance the relationships of people with their ultimate is to build something pos it ive, not simply to eliminate a LOOKING AT THE JOB· PERSON MISMATCH FROM THE ORGANIZATIONAl. PERSPECTIVE

I n this long-term v iew, the basic approach we advocate is taken at the organizational rather than the individual level. Th is approach concentrates on the conditions in the workplace rather than on the u n ique q ua l ities of each person. I t focuses on the structures and on the l ife in the organization processes by employees. I t requ ires a crises sotive effort w ithin larger organization to identify lutions and implement them. The organizational approach tackles the job-person m ismatch from the perspect ive of the workplace rather than from that of the worker. Thus, i t analyzes areas of organizationa l life . The six areas in question-workload, control, rewards, community, fairness, and values-are shaped by organizational practices and structures. Man­ agement can contro l these practices and structures, and therefore of an organizational intervention. For example, they are the management cannot directly change an employee's sense of fairness or endow that individual with a sense of controL But management

1 04

T H E T R U TH A B O U T B U R N O U T

can develop pract ices-such as supervision s k i l l s or s afety proce­ dures-that affect the employee's sense of fai rness or contro l . F ig­ ure

6. 1

i llustrates how management processes and structures affect

the six a reas of organizational l i fe and how they i n turn affect en­ gagement with work. Thus, the goal of a n organ ization a l s t ra tegy i s to b u i l d man­ age ment structure s and p rocesses that promote engagement and prevent burnout. To do t his, up- to-date i nformat ion i s needed on the state of the organ ization as far as those six areas are concerned, on the management practices or structures t h at shape the six areas, and on the s tate of the employees on the burnout-engagement continuurn .

FIGURE 6. L The Connection Engagerne n t

Kl'l-mc'pn

Proce sses and Stmctures

Work_

Management Processes and Structures

M ission and goals Cen t ral management Supervision Communicarion Performance appraisal

Heal th and

Six Areas of Organizational Life Workload Cun t rol

Reward Commun i t y Fai rness Values

Engagement with Work

Energy Involvement

Effect! veness

PREVENTING B U R N O U T A N D B U I L D I N G E N GA G E M E N T

1 05

But if the job is the starting point in this approach, who gets the process rol l ing ? As we saw in the l ast chapter, any person can initi­ ate the crisis intervention process and accomplish a lot by cooper­ ating with to address job-person mismatches. To ach ieve the k ind of far-reaching change described in p recedi ng para­ graphs, however, the leadershi p of centra l management is cmdaL Furthermore, from our point of v iew it is good management that prevents burnout and bui lds engagement with work. Step 1 : It Starts with Management

I t may seem that during the current c risis in the j ob en­ vironment there are enlightened adm inistrators who a re seriously comm itted to p romoting e ngagement and preventing b urnout in the ir organ izations. These effective executives and managers are not insulated from the pressures of increased competition in the pri­ vate sector or reduced fund ing in the p ub l ic sector; they are ful l y aware of those pressures, but they s e e promoting engagement a s a way of addressing them. These people are convi nced t hat to fulfill their responsibility as CEO or vice president or supervisor they m ust i mprove the work life the people i n thei r They are their employees, dedicated to building a sense of community not j ust exploiting their tale nts and energy. I n addi t ion to be i ng concerned about a well-functioning organ ization, these managers are clearly focused on reduc ing costs. Their sense of responsibility is both social and fiscaL A fundamental diffe rence between these managers and their more familiar counterparts�those w ith a more short-term perspec­ t ive on their employees�is their vision for the organization. M an­ agers who are committed to e ngagement look toward the fut ure. Their employees are often h ighl y skill ed people whose work re­ quires l ifelong learning. The work of the organization requires i n i­ tiative and j udgment from front,line staff. I t is too complex to be accompl ished with standardized procedures: i t's people who do the creative problem solv ing.

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This combinat ion of fac tors leads some CEOs-but not a l l , by any means-to conclude that an env i ronment that b u i lds engage­ ment is essential for the organization's long- term success. These m anagers are w i l l ing to make a seriolls com m itment to i n i t i at ives that w i l l bring about engagement when they're convinced that the i n i t ia tives w i l l make a d ifference. Beca use they have t he power to set the organ izat iona l agenda , they can make t h i s effort a pr iority for everyone. They can commit funds and other resources to the process, and they can b ring in consu ltants to make it work more e f­ fective l y. Furthermore , their pos i t ion g i ves them a broad v i s ion of the organ ization as a whole ( rather than a view of j ust i ts con­ s t it uent parts) , so that they can assess the potent i a l i mpact of c hanges i n organ izational pol i c ies.

Step 2: It Becomes an Organizational Project An organ izat io na l intervent ion to build e ngagement and p revent burnollt is, of necessi ty, an i n c l us ive proj ect. It is not some t h i ng done

w

peop le, but something done with people. I n order

the in­

tervention to be ultimate ly successful, the larger organization has to buy i nto i t . There has to be a shared v i s ion of the p urpose of the project and i ts ult i ma te value

to

the o rgan ization. A l l levels and

units must be committed to being a part of the project from begin­ ning to e nd . This means that various people must be g iven mean­ ingful roles to play in the p rocess and that i mportant leaders and stakeholder groups besides central ma nage ment must endorse i t. And finally, there has to

a shared agreement that the outcome of

the proje c t w i ll rea l ly h ave an effect on organi zational policy. Commun ication is esse n t i a l for the success of any organiza­ tional project. The organization needs to cons ider the staff me m­ bers' perspect ives on the six areas of o rgan izational l ife and the re levant management p rocesses and stmctures. To gain the i r per­ spect ive , the orga n ization needs more than an upwa rd flow of in­ formation. A successfu l p rocess shares i nformation among the work units across the organ ization as we l l as lip and down t h e h ierarchi-

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cal ladder. This task exceeds in scope and nature the standard com­ munication processes of large organizations. Much of the standard is e i ther h ighly ab­ information flow about people in these stract and general or too specific and anecdotal. General information a bout s taff often misses the point-does not make the connection between people and the problems and op­ portunities in their work-because it presents individuals i n stereo­ typical ways. For example, a report about what nurses think w i l l m iss the mark much of the time. There are m any kinds o f nursing spec ialties, and within one the nurses confront unique chal­ lenges and opportunities at work. Every nurse has persona l concems and aspirations that result in a d istinct relationship with work. I n contrast, anecdotal information i s too specific. A lthough a story about the successes or difficulties that one person encounters a t may b e rich i n the details o f day-to-day life , i t may represent only concems of a few people rather than the central issues for the organization. People who are intent on building a better work environment need information that will help them make sense of the complex relationships employees have w ith the ir work. That information must encompass many individuals to cover territory, but it mllst be kept simple to be understandable. Adm in istrators a change i nitiative need to understand what drives the relationships between employees and the ir j obs if they are to identify the strengths on which the organ ization can build. They need to know the hot i ssues for s taff in order to take definitive action on critical problems. They need to know the a t w h ic h a change in management policy will bring about an i mprovement i n organiza­ tional life. A nd staff members need an opportuni ty to express their viewpoints to m anagement and to one another in order to u nder­ stand that they matter to the organization-and are active, im­ portant contributors. For these reasons, the organizational project a s taff survey that is wel l designed and thoroughl y executed. ( We w i l l describe what makes a good survey in the fOllow i ng section . )

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T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N OU T

Step 3: It Connects to People A lthough the project is an organizational one , i t needs to have a d i­ rec t relationsh i p w i th people throughout the organization. Wha t­ ever the i r job t i tle or organizational u n i t, a i l employees need to see how the project is relevant to what they do at work. This connec� tion w i l l be most clearly establ ished if they become involved, active participants in the process. A nd if they have input i nto the organi­ zation's understanding of itself, they will be much more w i l l i ng to share in the i mp lementation of the i ntervention. To be most effec� t ive, the i nterve ntion has to be translated from general organiza­ t i onal pol icy i nto terms tha t are re levant for various work groups and ind ividuals. An organ izational inte rvention may focus on a single area of or­ ganizational l ife or encompass a duster of them. I n e ither case, the underlying princ iple is to identify strategies for improvi ng

fit be�

tween workers and the work place. If job�person m ismatches can be reduced so tha t p eople establ ish harmonious relationsh ips w i th the i r work i n the s ix areas, then the j obs they do w i l l be enriched by greater energy, involvement, and effec tiveness.

Step 4: The Outcome Affects Related Mismatches The organizational project can target one or more m ismatches for an in tervent ion e ffort. Regardless of i ts i ntended outcome, the process i tself i s l ikely to affect particular areas, espec i a l ly commu� n i ty, fai rness ,

v a lu es. If the process is one in w h i ch there is

greater communication and c o l laboration between ind iv iduals and work groups (and particularly those that don't have regular contact w i th

othe r ) , it w i l l i n c rease people's m u t u a l knowledge and

understand ing of one another and thus enhance t he i r sense of com­ munity. If the process i s one i n w hich peop le are g iven a voice, is­ sues are recognized, and confl ic ts resolved , then there w i l l be a greater fee li ng of fairness i n the work place. A nd if the process fo­ cuses on organizational

and how they relate to the work peo�

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pIe do to carry out the organizational m ission, the resulting c larifi­ cation of values w i l l reduce value conflicts and the ir detrimental effects. Step 5: The Outcome I s a Process

When its procedures and structures are respc)llsive to people, an or­ ganization can foster a harmonious relatic)llship between people and their j ob environment. By promoting engagement and preventing burnout, such i nterventions enhance the organization's capacity to pursue its m ission. The result is a more harmonious organizational community�but this in itself is not a "happy ending." Rather, it is an ongoi ng process by whic h the organ ization can continue to adapt to e ve r-changing c ircumstances in a way that promotes en# gagement w ith work. In other words, the process of solving prob­ lems in accordance w ith shared orga n izational values is not a temporary fix . The investment in this organizational process is not only for immediate but a lso for long-term benefits. FIN D I NG OUT WHAT'S GOING O N

A n effective organizational strategy to preven t b urnout and b u i ld engagement begins with a staff survey o n key aspects of o rganiza¢ tiona 1 l ife. J ust as a financial audit is a standard operating procedure to assess how an organization deals with its fiscal responsibilit ies, a staff audit assesses how an organization deals with its responsibilito employees. In other words, it reveals the extent to which the workplace is p romoting their productivity and engagement. An essenti a l criterion for doing a staff survey is an a ccurate, timely, and meaningful flow of information about what is going on. With such information, t he organization can use i ts l i mited resources to address the key issues more effectively. W ithout it, management may in itiate programs that intend to help employ­ ees but completely m iss the mark. The programs may be appro� priate in some areas of the orga n ization but unnecessary or even

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TH E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

counterproductive for other work groups. In t ight economic times, organizations cannot afford to waste t ime energy in this Thus, there are two major phases to the organizational stratCf."ry: findi ng out what's going on with the organization's workforce, and then using this information to i mprove the organizational culture. The first phase involves surveying people and then interpreting results. S pec i fically, the first phase seeks to assess the fol lowing: •

•

•

The levels of burnout and engagement among staff The extent of job-person mismatch i n the six areas of organi­ zational l ife The relationship between the management structures and processes and the six areas

The second phase of the strategy concerns how the survey will affect the organization. The goals of this phase are to establ ish on­ going processes: •

•

i mprove communication throughout organization , both among the and between the staff and management To i mp lement organizational changes that promote engage­ ment with work and prevent burnollt

Effective is critical to the SllCcess a ny subsequent is active partlCl pation of all the employees and management in all aspects of the process: preparation, i mp lementation, interpretation, and application. GETTI NG O FF TO A GOOD START

Build ing commitment employees to participate in the staff sur­ vey often comes down to a comm itment from management to lise i ts resul ts to shape policy. Centra l management shows this com­ m i tment when it takes certai n actions:

PREVE NTI N G BURNOUT A N D BUI LDI N G E N GAGE M E NT

•

•

•

•

•

111

Defines clear objectives for the staff survey Establishes a work group with members from across the orga­ nization to manage the design and implementation of the survey Deve lops a plan for communicating and working with survey results Establishes task forces to address central issues emerging from the survey and develop proposals for change Develops a process for implementing these proposals

What's necessary here is thoughtfu l planning before doing the <1Ctual survey. S uch p lanning not only estab l ishes organ izat ional commitment but a lso makes the entire process more efficient and effect ive. Organ izations often lose momentum if they wait until after the arrival of a survey report to begin planning how to use the information and to assign people to take respons ibility for the var­ iOlls findi ngs. By the time things are in place, many staff members may lose interest in the survey or its resu lts may be overshadowed by subsequent events. If there is a c lear plan concerning the use of survey findings from the outset, then the relevance and t imel iness of the survey will be increased.

Asking the Right Questions

We have used survey methods ex tensively in our research o n burnout. Our work with managers in many different kinds of orga­ nizations has l ed to the development of our own Staff Survey, which supplements our burnoll t measure with complete informa­ t ion on the six areas of j ob-person mismatch. The Staff S urvey is designed to be a practical source of information for people deter­ m ined to b u i ld engagement w ith wor k . Our experience h as con­ firmed i ts usefulness.

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T H E TRUTH ABO U T B U R N O U T

As part of the survey, the burnout measure-the Maslach Burnout I nventory, or M Bl-assesses each individual's experience on the continuum from burnout to engagement with work. Other questions assess staff members' perceptions of the six areas of life, that is, workload, control, reward, community, Staff Survey also looks beyond these six areas to as¢ and sess management structures and processes, measures direct superv ision and d istant management, networks, health and safety concerns, perfonnance appraisal the performance of work groups. The survey provides information on the current state of inclusive decision¢making prac¢ the rela tionship between departmental decision-making pro­ cedures and employees' sense of control in the ir \vo rk, and the relationship between control and employees' energy, involvement, and effectiveness. Taken together, this information i ndicates the current state of affa irs in regard to decision making and the poten­ tial for changes in dec ision-maki ng pol ic ies to h ave an impact on employees across major sectors of the organization. ( See the Ap­ pendix for more information on the Staff Survey and the M aslach Burnout I nventory. ) I n add ition to these basic measures, the survey may also need some custom ized q uestions to assess unique c i rcumstances that are relevant to the s i x areas of organizational l i fe. Different tions espoLlse very different k inds of values. The best way to velop customized questions is to lise foclls groups to gather material. The focus groups need not include everyone in the orga­ but i t is i mportant that they repre sent every functional work group in every area. The task of these focus groups is to generate a comprehensive l ist of the organizational that to a reas. Thus they identi fy critical influenc i ng workload, control, reward, community, fai rness, and values. For or­ w i th l i ttle experience in conducting focus groups, i t may be necessary to bring i n a n outside consultant. The informa­ by the focus group process is incorporated into ques­ tion tions on the survey.

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Getting the Right Answers

An important issue in conducting the survey is making sure that as many people as possible answer it. If the survey is to be at a l l useful, it must reflect the experiences and opinions of everyone-not j ust particular subgroups, not just t he people who are doing fine, but the ful l range of employees. A well-planned survey makes time emphatically ensures their confidentiality, for people to the results. Schedu ling time and makes a commitment to to complete the survey, as wel l as providing coverage when neces­ sary to free up the staff, is a basic management job. Using an exter­ nal survey consultant CHn increase staff members' confidence in the confidentiality of their responses. Analyzing t he Findings

When the survey are analyzed, the should be asso­ c iated with subsections a large organization. This is done because people in different organizational units d iffer in their concerns in a way that requires d istinct interventions. Service providers confront opportunities and challenges that are quite d ifferent from those of support staff; front-line s taff and m iddle management have differ­ ent concerns as wel L The survey asks questions i n a way that per­ tains to the work of anyone in the organization in order to establ ish a common point of reference, but it analyzes responses in a way that promotes appropriate to the of a specific sector of the organization. Getting Some Useful Results

Once the survey has been conducted and the information analyzed, a report should be written about the results. A useful survey report provides a concise summary of the fi nd ings in a manner that is read­ able and thought provoki ng for everyone, and it c learly addresses the objectives of audit. I t ind icates the state of the overall

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T H E T R U TH ABOUT B U RN O UT

community while providing information on the specific mismatches staff members encounter in the ir work. The report stage is cri t ical to the success of the intervention. Many employee survey projects stumble at this stage because they miss the basic poin t of t he report, which is to help the organization reports are h uge, con� solutions to its problems. Some of taining endless pages of frequency tables, flooding people with data and techn ical jargon. But the organization not need tons of data. Rather, it needs answers to specific questions. For a report to be useful, it must be shorr and to the point and must address the ob� jectives of the survey. achieve this end, the group conducting the survey must be ski lled and have a plan to conduct insightful analy� ses. I f an ana lysis is to informative, t here must a deep u nderstanding a large complex set of informat ion and a thorough plan for both the analysis and the reporting. After the survey project is completed, the organ ization can pur� sue several strategies for d iscllssi ng the res ults and using them to gu ide i nterventions. One such strategy is to give each work group in the organization information about its profile compared with that This information serves as a point of the larger prevalent in issues. For example, is comparison for some units but nonexistent in others ? Does one work group have a major problem with value conflicts wh ile another reports concerns about workload and rewards ? Such comparative information also provides a basis for determining the relationship between the work group and the organization, whether i t is i n harmony with the or� ganizational m ission or in confl ict with it. Another is to identify some issues that have emerged from the results and then a strategic task force to develop initiatives for each one. For example, one particl1� lar unit within the organ ization may be fac ing a unique situation with regard to community and fa irness issues, and a task force could be set up to deal with j ust that. Or perhaps there is a control issue throughout t he organization; in t hat case, a more broad�based task force would be required to generate some companywide solutions.

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115

In a l l cases, these task forces consider a lternative proposals for deal­ ing w i th these problems and make recommendat ions to the larger organization. Agai n , l ik e the foc us groups through which survey questions are developed, these task force s must have a membersh i p that i s broadly representat i ve o f the u n i ts or organ izat ional levels they are addressing. I f any of their subsequent recom mendat ions is going to be em braced and i mplemented by people in the org an i za­ tion, those people need to feel that they had some say i n what that recommendation is. A thi rd organizational strategy may be necessary to resolve con­ flict. The survey process may bring into the open conflicts that have been present for some t i me and that interfere w it h e m ployees' ca­ pac ity to fee l engaged w i t h their work . Some confl icts are among people w it h i n a work group, others are be twe e n two groups or be­ tween a group and the larger orga n ization. Establ ish i n g effect ive processes for conflict resol u t ion i s an i mportant goal for any organi­ zation, and achieving i t w i l l g reatly enhance the sense of commu­ n i ty and fai rness.

IMPROVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: A CASE STUDY Th us , the process of b u i ld i ng engagement w i th work sta rts w i t h a management plan and works through collabora tive projects in key sectors of organizational l ife. The intervention focuses pri marily on a management structure or pract ice that i nfluences one or more of the s i x areas i n w h ic h person-job m i s matc hes occ ur. The survey ident i fies i ssues w i t h t he greatest pote n t i a l for i nfluenci ng s taff members' engagement w i t h work . Task forces develop i n i t iatives to promote change i n these areas. So far, so good. But actuany the most d ifficult part of the process is yet to come. I mplementation of the c hange i s the most d i ffic u l t because the expectat ions for i ts success are o ften n o t real istic. Or­ gan izati ona l interventions take t ime. The i r goal is much more am­ b itious than addressing a spec i fic source of stra i n or frustration for a

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T H E T R U T H ABOUT BURNOUT

few people. Their goal i s to change prac t ices and s truc tures that i n­ fluence the work l i fe of people throughout the orga n ization. These changes are not only more d ifficu l t to i mplement but a lso more d if­ ficult to evaluate. Organizational i n i t i a t ives are never an i nstant success w ith everyone-the i r success bu i lds over t ime. At fi rst, the demands of doing t hings in a new way may wel l outwe igh the ben­ efits of an innovation. As people devel op the necessary sk i l ls and expectations, the benefi ts become more obvious. Part of managing an i ntervention i s keep ing the process going during this trans ition. Organiza tional interventions a lso require broad-based assessments to d e termine their impact on the management stru c t ure or prac­ tice they targe t as w e l l as staff members' consequ ent e ngagement with work. So what does an actual organizational intervention process look l ike ? And what act ions a re taken to prevent burnout and promote engagemen t ? Let's take an ex tended look at a case study of a hospi ­ tal, and see h ow the process we've j us t described unfo lds in that setti ng.

It Starts with Management

Dav id Molloy, the CEO of Metropo l i ta n Hosp i t a l , became ded i ­ cated t o engagement-oriented management through his experience as a fami l y physician and as a manager. As a family physi cian, he de­ veloped an apprec iat ion fo r the comp lex d emands the modern world makes on people at work and at home. As a manager, he had confidence in the expertise and ded ication of people with whom h e worked b u t also reservations about the extent t o w h ic h health care organizations could support staff e fforts. In h is pre v i ous j ob as v ic e president o f med icine a t another hospital, MoUoy had applied qual­ i ty management practices to medi c ine. The board of M etropol itan Hosp i ta l-wh ich was a 7 5 0-bed hospital with a ful l - time staff o f thirty- fi ve hundred and a parHi me staff of five hundred-anticipated that, over t he next five years, the hospi ta l would fac e the most significant c h a llenge to i ts survival

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since i t began prov iding health care to the commun ity a cent ury ago. The current state government was nearing the end of a term of office that had been characterized by labor unrest, stagnant private sector development , and polit ical scandal. The government had been fairly generous t o the hospital, but this demonstration of con­ cern for the people was not enough to offset t he damage done by its poor overall polit ical performance over the previous four years. opposing party was thus nearly certain to win, and it champ ioned sma l l government, fiscal responsibi l ity, and, specifical ly, reduced state involvement i n healt h care . The common w isdom was that Metropol itan Hospital would go t h rough a sign ificant downsizing and that it would go through it soon. The board appointed David Molloy as CEO to further its of promoting part icipatory management in what had been a h ighly cent ralized organization. Molloy's predecessor had ruled hospi­ tal in an autocratic manner through two management committees, one at each of the hospital 's two s ites. The board ant i c ipated t hat this structure and management style were not appropriate to the dy­ namic economic and pol it ical environment of publ ic sector health care in the 1990s. It concluded that act ive commun it y support would crit ical to t he i nstitution's survival and that quality of pa­ t ient care would be crit ical to maintaining communit y support . It was a lso insistent that whatever new pol icies Molloy developed re­ duce the cost of running the hospitaL There would be no expensive quali ty-of-work- l ife programs, and workload was nearly certain to increase as staff levels dropped w ith the operati ng budget . F u rther, the demands of j obs throughout the hospital were expected to grow as the hospital reduced pat ient numbers to focus on most Crit I­ cally ill and shortened the number o f days the patients remained in hospital to recuperate a procedure. mandate from t he Thus, Molloy began h is term w it h a board t o deve lop a leaner, flex ible management struc ture t hat would emphasize quality. H is approach had t hree primary compo­ nents: ( 1 ) to i ntegrate the management of the two sites into a sin­ gle management team, ( 2 ) to deve lop the capacity of front-line

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THE TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

work groups to manage t he i r part of the hospital, and (3 ) to en� hance staff members' engagement w i t h work, especi a l ly their in­ volvement in h igh-quality health care, throughout the hospitaL

It Becomes an Organizational Project

For Metropo l i tan Hospital, a management i n i t i at i ve call i ng for widespread part ic ipation from staff members was something new and unusual . For most it was a welcome break with tradition, in many quarters it was v iewed with suspicion. M iddle management i n particular was concerned w i th job security in a scenario that had as one of i ts goals a reduction in the number of m anagement posi­ t ions. M iddle managers were anxious as we l l about potential de­ mands from front-l ine hospital un i ts newly given greater powers. Front-line supervisors did not have basic management ski lls because these act ivities were outside of thei r experience. They did not know how to read a balance s heet because they had not managed thei r budgets, and the hospital's financial information system was not signed to provide clear, t i mely, and wel l-organized i nformat ion to unit heads. Betty F itzgerald, the new v i ce president of patient care and manager of all e ighteen h undred nurses, was given the job of helping t he nurses rise to the occasion. She knew that the hos­ pital had a long way to go on the road to e mpowerment of staff through decentralization.

It Connects to People

Molloy's management team established task forces on quality man­ age ment and human resource management. These two task forces had a diverse membership from throughout the two s i tes of the hos­ pital. The 4uality management force was led by J ulia Crosby, whose background i n program evaluation and organizational de� velopment had sharpened her awareness of d ifficulties in assessing quality services. The d irector of human resources, Fred Thornhi l l , headed t h e human resource t ask force, which included representa�

PREVENTING B U R N O U T AND B U ILDI N G E N GA G E M E NT

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tives from d iverse profess ional groups: a nurse, a technologist, a physician, as well as managers. M olloy attended meetings of both groups. The two groups' initial task was to develop a plan for promot­ ing quali ty and identifying h uman resource issues of concem among staff members. I n his d iscussions of th is planning process w ith the two committees, Mol loy described how a staff survey m ight make a good contribution to the effort. After further d iscussion w ithin the task forces, the management team establ ished a survey committee to organize a staff survey. The focus of the survey was to assess the staff's commitment to provid ing high-qual ity services. It asked staff members to identify what helped or h indered them in their pursuit of this goal. The Outcome Affects Related Mismatches

The Metropol itan Hospi tal survey identified potential for improve­ ment in all s ix areas of organizational life. Through a series of task forces, the hospital initiated collaborative efforts to change man­ agement structures and practices so that they would become more supportive of staff members in all six areas. The survey results indicated a strong re lationship be­ tween workload and exhaustion, which was not surprising since the hosp i ta l was experiencing increasi ng demand from patients and physicians for services while its fund ing was d iminishing. I n add i­ tion, responses to an open-ended survey question made it apparent that many nurses were concerned about the hospital's computer­ based workload system. They felt that the system devalued those as­ pects of their work that it neglected to measure. For example, they believed that the system did not adequately consider the nurse's role in patient education or in emotional support, while it emphasized defined nurs ing procedures. Furthermore, t he nurses cast doubts on the system's val id i ty by report ing that it was common pract ice to make up data at the end of a busy day with more attention to what

Workload.

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T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

made concerns re­ sponse now offered a p lace to indicate when a patient re­ quired more support or i nstruction than expected for a patien t with a given diagnosis. intervention had a profound bur indirect i mpact on \-vorb load. First, it fostered confidence in the system among many nurses. Their confi d ence d i rectly affected their engagement with work, in­ cluding their i nvolvement, and effect iveness. But they still worked hard, in keepi ng with the hospi tal's dete rm i nation to in­ crease qual i ty of services i n the context of i ncreasi ng demand and reduced resources. the provided a means for recognizing i n which the nursing staff made extraord inary demanding cases. N urse managers began to focus on cases in rrammg and orientation sessions. This practice identified the extra of attentive patient c are as a valued serv ice of the hospital. it

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1 21

Thi rd, increased recognit ion of support and instruction in the workload mon i toring system i nfluenced the un its' staffing levels. The red istribution was not striki ng or sudden, but when an addi� tional nurse was moved to a unit it had a elear i mpact on that unit's morale a nd capacity to manage i ts demands. staff members throughout the hospi tal deepened their understanding the issue. They recogn ized the i mpact of sys� tem on both the nurses' feel ings about thei r work and to do i ts job. On both COlints, revi ewing the system was wel l spent. Control. A lthough they communicated a h i gh degree

support for their front� l i ne superv isors and nurse managers, staff members ind icated reservat ions about the extent to which units fol lowed in� e lusive d edsion�maki ng procedures. They had even greater con� cerns about the extent to which decisions made with i n thei r work groups had an impact on the larger organ ization. They perce ived m idd le management as a barrier between front� line u n i ts, which were avidly seeking empowerment, and central management, which was promoti ng a philosophy of inclusive decision maki ng. Staff members were frustrated by the contrast between their height� ened expec tations for controlli ng thei r work and the shortcomi ngs organizational procedures that would give them that control. Wayne Sartelli, a n organi zational development manager i n the resource office, headed a task force on orga nizationa l that requested further analysis of survey to deter� commitment of staff at various levels to i nc lusive decision a result, the team contrasted the of commitment at the various organizational l evels and examined the issues that re­ lated to these groups' com m i tment. The results were consistent with the staff perception that issues became lost in middle manage� ment. M iddle managers were both concerned about the potential d i sruptive impact of more proactive front- l i ne u nits and d ubious about the s incerity of senior management's support. Sartelli's task force recommended a major traini ng initiative to build m iddle managers' capacity to develop consensus among unit

1 22

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

heads. program encouraged them to ini tiate programs within their areas of responsibility so that init iatives from un its could be put into effect with minimal delay. Sally I ngraham, a nurse manager on the task force, argued that the program should promote ideas re­ quiring broader institutional support to central management. She had seen the demise of too many initiatives developed among her fel low intensive care managers. I t seemed to that as soon as a proposal met w ith any degree of opposition from above, the nurse managers dropped the idea. She bel ieved that stubbornness was an essential quality for initiating organizational change. The administrative reorganization of the hospital broadened the appl ication of I ngraham's proposal. W hen the p rogram got started it included both nurse managers managers from other professional groups. The survey report clarified the extent to which managers across the hospital shared the saine concerns. I t also opened the way for an in-depth considerat ion of leadership, in­ cluding a 360-degree feedback program i n \-vh ich managers received feedback from the peop le they supervised, their fel low managers, and those to whom they reported. This process made the managers more confident that they could contribute to the hospital by pro­ viding proactive leadership. Management was surprised by a critical assessment i ts performance evaluation system. M any staff members reported that they had never been given an evaluation during their many years of employment at the hospital. Of those who had recently participated in one, few fou nd it to be of value. Responses to open�ended ques­ tions indicated that the process more often led to a regimented, SlI­ perficial view of an employee's conduc t rather than an appreciation of effort and expertise. Management sought confirmation of the survey results in a frank and open d iscussion dur i ng a meeting department heads. This discussion confirmed the survey's assess ment pertt)rmance evaluations as rare events of l ittle consequence. Molloy asked Ju lia Crosby, head of the quality management task force, to form a performance evaluation group to redesign the conReward.

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123

tent and process o f performance evaluation over the coming year. eventual report to central management to a This major revamping of the system. S ta ff members were now permitted to more in�depth consideration of their contribution to hospital. I n addi t ion, recognition and reward p layed more centra l i n the new system .. The results o f the new performance system determined pay increases in the compensat ion plan developed under a recent union contract. Community. The survey found severe criticisms of the organiza�

tion's communication system. M any staff members, especially those in clinical units, seemed to have greater confidence in the qua l i ty and t imeliness of the informa tion in the rumor m i l l than i n that provided in the organization's official in-house publications. Wanda M in kowsky, the information services director, establ ished a task force to communicate s urvey results. This force an extensive anal ysis of hosp i ta l communication including e-mail, print media, and i n-house television reports. I t met with staff i n u n i ts that were espec ially critical of the qual i ty the official information flow as well as with and who rated i t quite positive l y. One issue that e me rged was a ferentiation between content and reporting: some staff were with the amount of bad news that was being communi­ cated rather than with the manner i n which i t was communicated. was also the matter of trust. Many staff members did not be� that central management was not completely i nformed about governmental policies affecting funding or labor relations issues i n the hospi ta l ; here , Wanda herself came in for d irect and personal criti c ism. O thers believed that management was as poorl y in­ formed as the staff was, and this was a matter of considerable anx­ iety for them. The communications task force developed a series of recom­ mendations concerning the format in which news was shared (open meet i ngs, e lectronic media, p rint) , the t imeliness of information, and the people who played an active rol e in organizing the com­ munications. They invited informal opinion leaders among the staff

1 24

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

to contribute regu larly to the hospital's newsletter on a range of topics central to the organizational culture . The i n tent of these recommendations was to build a stronger sense of commun ity i n the hosp itaL A stronger sense o f community d irectly supports in­ volvement and effectiveness, two characterist ics of engagement with work. The survey also found criticism of the hospital's slow response to legislation for equa l pay. Gender parity issues were institution that had a h igh n umber an important issue in this of h ighly skilled female staff members. Respondents criticized both management for de laying the financial settlements a nd unions for prolonging the negotiating process through protracted bargaining. The negotiating process had generated considerable conflict among professional groups, which had each argued for the relative value of their group over others. The prolonged negotiations delayed reso­ lution of the issue and created instead an atmosphere of resentment and competition. Hospita l management saw this survey finding as an impetlls to settle the pay equity issue. With in a week of the distribution of the survey report, management reached an agreement with all the unions in quest ion on the pay equ i ty package for the hospital. The reduction in strife freed up more energy for work and laid a founda­ tion for greater involvement in meaningful work. Fairness .

The survey provided a broad overview of the hospital's primary values. A values c larification process led prior to the survey by hospital chaplain Paul Ramos had identified four values to which staff members t hroughout the hospital were committed: h igh­ qua lity patien t care, open honest communication, respect among people, and lifelong learning. The survey also indicated that when staff members found their work meaningful-when it allowed them to provide quality care and contributed to their professional development-they had a stronger sense of involvement and a greater sense of effectiveness. Staff members who perc eived thei r Values.

P REVENTI N G B U R N O U T A N D BUI LDING E N GAGEM E NT

1 25

work as being i n confl ict w i th these central values were more l i kely to report feelings of exhaustion and cynicism. Throughollt the s ur# vey t here were further indications of the relationship between strong work values and engagement with work. The task force on organizational values integrated the survey re# suI ts on values into i ts development of a hospi ta l p lanning docu# ment. That document served as a reference point for assessi ng the development of core act iv i ty areas and objectives for the hospi tal. In many ways a wide consens us on central organizational values a foundation for balancing the other five j ob#person Knowi ng what is important to an orga nization direction in addressi ng problems i n workload, control, reward, com­ mun ity, and fai rness. The Outcome Is a Process

these interventions constituted a range of organizational initiatives that covered all six areas i n which j ob-person m is­ matches may occur. The information from the survey identified is­ sues of concern to the organization and suggested procedures a nd structures through which management could enhance the qua l i ty of work l ife. The survey did not i ndicate widespread burnout throughout the hospital, although some areas reported high levels of exhaustion, cyn ic ism, or ineffectiveness. The point of the inte[# vention process was not to solve a current burnout problem but to enhance the quality of organizational l ife and prevent burnout i n t h e future. That i s , t h e survey d id not focus on identify ing undis­ covered problems but rather on identifying opportun i ties for man# agement to develop d irect and verifiable l inks with the emotional and cognitive states that people experience at work. To some extent the process of conduct ing the survey and d is­ tributing the report i tself enhanced the sense of community in t he and indicated commitment to the organi zati on 's central values: h igh-quali ty patient care, open and honest communication, and l ife long learn i ng. I n most i nstances, a task force was

1 26

THE T R UTH ABOUT B U R N O UT

given a spec ific mandate to develop an actio n plan to address an issue identified in the survey. These initiatives had m ixed outcomes: some were entirely successful, others were delayed by unforeseen events. The survey made a direct contribution to the resolution of the pay equ ity issue that was within the domain of labor negotia# tion. It provided information olltside of the standard adversari a l labor negotiations from the perspective o f the organization's values , putt ing pressure on both management and the unions to resolve the problem. A year and a half after survey was completed, Metropol itan l lospital was forced into a merger with another large hospital in the c i ty, lead i ng to further d isruptions in management structures and the day#to-day work of the staff. The hospital 's progress toward en­ gagement with work and its experience with collaborative ap­ proaches to shared problems helped i t manage that transition but i t d i d not isolate i t from a turbulent environment. I nstead, thanks to its experience, the hosp i ta l had developed its to thrive u nder crisis conditions, LESSON S LEARNED

that organizational strate# Our argument i n this chap ter has that develop harmony between workers and their work are key to preventing burnollt. If done right, burnout prevention is an in­ tegral part of good management. In Chapter Five , we saw how indiv iduals in collaboration w ith others in their work groups can take charge of the problems that are contributing to burnollt. These crisis interventions can ef­ energy, assertive­ fective, but they depend heavily on the ness , and patience of key people t hroughout the organ izat ion, I n contrast, an organizational intervention with leadership from cen# tral management is broader in scope and more likely to have an ef# feet. This k i nd of intervention may take to implement, and it requires collaboration more people, but its impact i s more faHeaching, the long run, it will affect a wider range of employ-

P REVE N T I N G B U R N O U T AND B U I LDING E N G A G E M E N T

1 27

ees. Even more important, i ts focus on building engagement will have a direct impact on the organization's capacity to pursue its m is­ sion. An organization that ac tively promotes engagement among its staff is a more effective organization. At Metropolitan Hospital evidence this relationshi p was re­ vealed through another survey, a patient satisfaction survey that was conducted by a consulting group around the same t ime as the staff survey proj ect. An analysis of both surveys found that patients were more satisfied with the hospi tal's services and the ir contacts w ith the staff in those units where staff were engaged w ith their work than in units where s taff reported h igh levels of exhaustion and cynicism. Patients not ice what staff are experiencing and it matters to them. The twin goals of preventing burnout and build ing engagement are possible and necessary in today's working world. These cannot be easily achieved by an individual. Rather, people have to work together to make them happen. And if we a l l commit our­ selves to long-term process of organizational progress, we will be rewarded with workplaces that are more productive and resilient as wel l as more humane.

7 Promoting Human Values

today's workplace, economic values are the prirnary d riv­ ing force , and a l l else is subsidiary. A lthough this emphasis on values affects people, h uman concerns will not be ad, d ressed d irec tly unless they have economic consequences. No at, tention will be paid to confl icts on the j ob , or work overload, or o ther j ob�person m ismatches until their l i n k to increased costs or lowered p rofi t s is understood . Therefore, to stress the necessity of doing someth ing about burnout, the s tand ard method is to pro' vide the necessary economic translat ion and show how costly burnout can be�and that is indeed the argument we made in Chapter 4. But now we want to make a d i fferent argument: that human val ues in and of themselves should have a h igh priority in the workplace. N ot because of t he econom ic consequences, not be, cause of the public relations benefit of sounding good, but because giv ing priority to human values is the r ight thing to do. Our en, tire society-with all the moral principl es it holds so dear�rests on a foundation of valuing peopl e and what they can achieve. Whether fam i l y, o r the purs u it of happiness or peace , values presu me t hat the greatest good will come when c a n lise their u niquely h uman qual ities in the service of

1 28

PROMOTI N G H U MAN VAL U E S

1 29

themse lves and others. Th is core belief i n the value of h u manity should be as fundamental in the workp l ace as it is i n the home and the comm u n i ty. But there is another reason to argue for human values-and that is that they sense. A key reason people establ ish rel a­ t io nships w ith organizations is to accompl ish something of impor­ tance. The synergy that occurs between their personal values and the organizational values that attracted them to that workplace can be a powerful drivi ng force on the j ob. I t is a source of creative en­ to make ex­ ergy that encourages groups and entire traordinary contributions and permits people ftom d iverse cultural, pol itical, and economic backgrounds to work together. Moreover, a corporation j ustifies i ts existence in a commu n i ty by contribut i ng to the overa l l qual ity of l ife there, not only to its economic welfare. 111is kind of value-added contri bu tion is essential if an organization is to thrive i n the long run. So in this chapter we are going to take the moral h igh ground rather than s imply rel y on the lower economic one. It's not that we don't think economic values are they are-but rather that we think h uman values a re equally important. And we think that i mportance needs to be made c lear, in a way t hat goes beyond the standard l ip service. In our opin ion, the best way to make this case is to show how a focus on human values can m ake a difference i n the workplace. This means goi ng beyond abstract statements to concrete actions. A nd once again, this means looki ng at the process by which an or­ ganiza tion and ind ividual members figure out what t he i r shared values are and how they are put into practice. this chapter w i l l focus o n a process o f values c larification. I t w i ll i llustrate the steps to take in the process by way of the remaining three case studies we introduced in Chapter One: M artha, the hospital lab technologist ( who was experienci ng breakdown of community ) ; Bill, the uni­ the bank versity network (absence of fai rness ) ; and loan officer ( value

1 30

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

When people think about values, they usual ly think about them i n a positive way. After a l l , values a re ideals w e cherish and esteem, ends we strive to achieve. Our values influence our behavior i n a good way, because they provide both direction and meaning to what we do on the job. Clear organizational values are a v i ta l re­ source because they prevent burnout by reducing the l ikelihood of the six j ob-person m ismatches we have considered throughout this book. If people are working in harmony with their values and their capabi l ities, then they w i l l be more ful ly engaged with their work and thus less prone to burnout. But when values are unclear or unrecognized, the resulting void means there is no positive guidance, and it can even have a nega­ t ive effect on the orga nization. I n some cases, the problem is that people h ave never given serious thought to what is i mportant i n the ir work. I n other cases, things may have changed s o much around the organization duri ng the current crisis that peopl e need to rethink their values to deal with the new problems they are en­ countering. Still other organizations are fragmented; ind ividuals and groups go in different directions, work i ng in accordance with values that are at odds w ith one another. I n many cases, confl ict­ ing values affect d ay-to-day performance. The conflict may be be­ tween personal and organizational values, as when workers have to choose between excelling in thei r careers and spendi ng time with their fami lies. Or there may be a con fl ict between organizational values, as when a teacher has to decide whether to spend more time wi th students who are having d ifficulty i n class 0 r w ith gifted stu­ den ts who have the potent ial to learn more q u ickly than the ir peers. When they are both in tense and d ifficult to resolve, all of these problems contribute to burnout. Guiding Val ues

Workplace values often appear most expl icitly at the top of the or­ gan ization, embodied in corporate slogans or m ission statements. A

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131

corporate slogan is usually a short, catchy phrase, such a s "Progress is our most important product" or "We bring good things to l igh t" or "Real�world solutions for the work you do. " These s logans state to the outside world the goal of the organization and help define the organ ization in re lation to i ts competition. I n con trast, a m i ssion statement is directed more to the members of the organ ization than to the general public, and so it is a declaration of the organization's guiding principles for ach ieving its goal. I t confirms to the staff that their work contributes to something meaningful, enduring, and significant. A mission s tatement is clearly a step in the right direction, but merely having one is not enough. The critical next step is actually carrying out these central organizational values. A mission state­ ment is not designed to do that, for the fol lowing reasons: does not address how values are used to select and imple­ ment strategies for pursuing the mission.

•

It

•

It

•

does not acknowledge the d iversity o f values that m a y exist complex the individual and work group level within a organ ization.

does not state how to resolve value confl ic ts .

It

at

In other words, a mission statement does not provide the mech­ anisms for translating the expressed organizational values into the daily actions of the employees. Ye t for these values to be truly meaningful, the organization has to figure out ways to convert these words into deeds.

Discrepancies Between Values and Actions

The values of a n organization may become removed from its day­ to-day operations for two basic reasons: it can't stick to i ts values or it won't. During the current crisis in the work environment, some organizations have lost the control necessary to pursue their m ission

1 32

T H E T R U T H ABOUT B U R N O U T

effectively. Reduced government operating funds override long-tenn planning strategies public sector institutions. I n the private sec­ tor, organizations act contrary to their long-term asp irations in re­ sponse to short-term financ ial pressures. The senior management responsible for imp lementing the s trategic plan may lack the neces­ sary resources and control. The second group of organizat ions a re those for which the m is­ sion statement serves a pub l ic relations fu nction, not a strategic one. That is, the organization is not tru ly committed to the ideals it espouses. I n this case, e mployees become cynical and bitter at what they see as hypocrisy on the part of management, and they may even fee l betrayed the organization. To some extent these conflicts in value reflect different points of v iew within large organizations. Senior managers attend to those economic and policy developments that threaten the organization's growth or very survival. Front-line employees have more immedi ­ ate concerns with the qua lity o f the product, availab i l i ty o f essen­ tial services, or customer satisfaction. the long run, these perspectives complement and support each other. The survival and economic wel l-being of an organization enhances its capaci ty to do first-rate work, whi le a reputation for h igh-quality, readi ly ava ilable products or services contributes to organ izational survival and eco­ nomic well-being. But in the short run, these two perspectives often conflict. People on each side of the issue believe the others are ne­ glecting the l arger good in favor of quick fixes while they them­ selves are working for the larger good. When there is a discrepancy between values a nd actions, the organization will soon encounter problems in all six areas of match. For example, i f we look a t organ izations i n the three case stud ies d iscussed in this chapter, we w i l l find that they have fine mission statements and lists of suppor ting object ives. The ir problems arose not because they were ignori ng their m ission and values, but because the i r v alues were not gu id ing the day-to­ day work .

PROMOT I N G HUMAN VALU E S

1 33

I n the hospital lab where M artha worked, the problem was that the organization's values were not guiding the lab manager in h is job. He lacked both the skills and the motivation to put into ef, fect the organizational value of inclusive management. The prob� lem was also with the management system, in that the hospital d id not ensure that the lab manager develop skills and attitudes consis' tent with its values. • I n the university where Bill worked, the problem was that personnel polic ies were i nconsistent with the value placed on expertise. Bill, as network manager, was not allowed to do the j ob he was hired to do and was both unfairly blamed and unfairly rewarded. • In the bank where Steve worked, the problem was a conflict between two v alues, both of which were consistent with the bank's m ission. With no means for resolving this confl ict, Steve, as loan officer, found it difficul t to maintain a workable balance between the competing objectives. •

A l l three of these situations require more than what can be pro� v ided by an organizational m ission. A more extensive process is needed for identifying values at differen t levels of the organization and for l inking values to job behaviors. Clarifying Organizational Values

by which an organization says what Values c larification is a it thinks is important. I t is a process through which members of the organization express their personal values, the shared values of their work group , and the values endorsed by the whole organization. I t three sets i s a process through which the relationship between of values, as wel l as the link between values and actions, is assessed. I t is a process of thorough involvement by both management and management a lone-that e xamines a wide range staff-rather of the organization's activities and perspectives.

1 34

THE TRUTH A B O U T B U R N O U T

This process of clarifying organizational values has several goals: To identify the central values unifying an organization . What are the key values that are shared by all organizational members and thus make up the core of the organ izational culture ? To identify the range of work group cultures within the organization . What are the different units that contribute in diverse ways to the organization's overal l m ission, and what are the distinct values as­ sociated with each of them? TiJ identify how specific values can be carried out within the organi­ zation . What is the range of actions that employees are authorized to take, and which among these are most important ? To identify values that guide means as well a,� ends . Here the ques­ tion is not so much what goals the organization wants to achieve as wh ich principles guide how the organization conducts its business in t he pursuit of i ts goals. To develop a mea1l�� of resolving ongoing value conflicts within the or­ ganization . Wh ich values are more important and take priori ty over others? A PROCESS FOR CLARIFYING VALUES

So how does an organization address these issues ? Basically, a values c larification process is a dialogue that i s managed by an organiza­ t ional task force. I n a large organization this task force includes peo­ ple from many diverse locations and occupat ions. It includes strong representation from both central management and product ion or service staff. The task force is responsible initiating the process, mai ntain ing momentum, communicating findings, and integrating cha nges into the organizat ion. As you may have guessed, the process of values clarification can easily be incorporated into the or­ ganizational strategy that we described in Chapter Six. Initiating t h e Process

Central management announces that the organization is embark­ ing on a values clarification process, perhaps as part of the staff sur-

PROMOTING HUMAN VALUES

1 35

vey ( we described the survey i n Chapter Six) . The very announce'

ment of this initiative is testimony to management's commitment to use t he values to guide the organization. The process begins with h)clls groups, mllch like those described in Chapter Six. Again, these groups should be representative of the variolls organ izational u n i ts. Using an open-ended format, focus group partic ipants generate a comprehensive l ist of the values that influence their work, including the values that they bring from their personal l i ves, the v alues that provide d irection for the work groups represented at the mee t i ng, and the val ues of the larger organiza­ t ion. The foclls groups should also consider the values that are com­ municated publ icly as well as those that are only apparent u pon close examination of organizational act ions. I f the organization has had l ittle experience i n developi ng a m ission or discussing v alues, it's best to start w i th examp les of val, ues relevant to the work of the organization-for example, cus, tomer service, product manufactu ring, efficienc y, acquisition of wealth. Consultants, either from the organization's staff or from ex­ ternal agenci es, can help companies with li ttle experience to con­ duct focus groups and process the information that they provide. During this phase of the process, each focus group produces a l ist of values, defining them concisely and providing examples of how each plays a role in the organization. The task force then integrates the reports from all the focus groups, distilling them into a succinct, consolidated l ist of organizational values. Here is an example: Martha partic i pated i n a focus group c o m posed of people from various hospital departments and wards. The group identified col­ legiality as somethi ng that the staff valued i n their work and that furthered the h ospital's effectiveness. In t h e i r discussions, they agreed that coll egial i ty is a complex va l u e based on open a n d h o nest commun ication a n d respect for others. T h e group rec­

ommen d ed that the va lues assessme nts section of the staff sur­ vey i n c l u d e questions meas u ri ng respect a m o ng col l eagues, coilegiality, and open a n d hon est communicati on.

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TH E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

Maintaining the Momentum The l ist generated from the focus group process is i ncorporated i n to the staff survey, which is conducted with members throughout the organ ization. People are asked to indicate how much they personal l y approve o f each value l isted, how com m itted they t h i n k the organi� zation is to it, and how d ifficu l t i t is to translate i t i nto action. They are a lso asked to describe the value in thei r own words, and to te l l a brief story about an actual incident that i s relevant to that value. This process provides information abou t the rel at ive e mphases put on these v al ues by the var ious sectors of the organizati o n and the e x te n t to which employees percei ve the organ ization e mpha­ sizes one value over others. It a lso g ives a good p icture of how peo­ p le see these val ues as i nfluenci ng ( o r not i nfluencing) the d a i l y work o f t h e organization. Here's an example: In their responses to the s urvey the bank cond ucted, Steve and

h i s colleagues expressed their difficulties i n dealing with the con­ flict between the orga nizational values of maxim izing cash flow and prov i d i ng excel lent customer servi ce. In the section on cus­ tomer service. they i n dicated the relative importance of being re­

sponsive to c ustomers compared with other values. such

as

being

efficient, personalizing the service, and being prompt When Steve was asked to put i nto his own words what the bank considered to b e good c ustomer service, h e wrote,"We satisfy customers'

n eeds b y determi n ing what we th i n k i s best for them:' The story h e told i l lustrated what h e perceived as the bank's conflicting val­ u es, describing a n i n c i d e n t i n w h i c h a n e l d erly couple was per­ suaded to sign up for a more com prehensive, ful l-service ban k a c c o u n t that i n cl u d ed many servi ces they d idn't n eed and that was more expensive.

Communicating the Findings Each work group in the organization recei ves i nform ation abollt i ts own values and how they rel ate to those of the larger organization. This information is p a rt of the staff survey report process, d u ring

PROMOTI N G HUMAN VAL U E S

1 37

which unit is given a complete profile of own survey as wel l as a total organ izational profile. TI1is information serves as a basis for discussing work group values and relating them to the larger organization's values. Some critical issues include the fol lowing: •

•

•

•

Do the values of the work group differ from the organizational priorities ? the values of A re there points o f d irect conflict work group and those of the organ ization ? A re there points of d irect confl ict between the values of the overall work group and those of individual staff members ? Are the values relevant to the work group's strategies as wel l as t o i ts objectives ? I n other words, are the group's v alues a matter of process as wel l as of goal s ?

On t h e basis o f this type o f analysis and discussion, e a c h work group can develop its own statement of values. This process was es­ pecially i mportant in B i ll 's unit, for example, because he and h i s colleagues had not out how to accompl ish their technolog­ ical work in a way that was recognized and valued by the university. Integrating Changes i nto the Organization

I n the final p hase the core group considers the reports from work throughout the organ ization. I ts work a t th is p hase has the f()llowing obj ecti ves: produce a concise statement of values for which there is a clear or­ ganizational consensus . This statement is a descrip tive summary of the values, not simply a l ist. I t indicates each value's relationship to the o rganization's m ission, and the organization's primary stra tegy for pursuing each one. or conflicts within the orprepare a report about value ganization as well as any difficulties in values into In addition to ident ifying and d iscussi ng these problem areas, the re­ port could make recommendations f()r their solution. ,

1 38

T H E TRUTH A B O U T B U R N O U T

A rmed with this i nformation, central management can follow through on commitment to use the values to i mprove the or­ ganization. For example, a va lues c larification process inevitably identifies conflicts that reflect perspectives of people with a range of approaches to work, its challenges and i ts l imitations. These con­ fl icts can i nterfere with the capacity of organizations to pursue their m ission as people try to resolve conflicts or to imp rove their posi­ t ion in a competitive env i ronment. Thus a key task for manage­ ment is to establish processes for conflict resolution. This m ight involve more i nformal d iscussion or more formal mediation, with some approaches targeting an ind iv idual and others a group. Here is where a c learly articulated m ission statement can be a unifying force , providing a reference point for resolving con fl icts. After a l l , the j ustification o f p ersonal o r work group values is their contribu­ t ion to the mission. PUTTING VALUES TO USE

A values c larification process is a far-reaching event in the life of an organization. I t is also a practical step to take. I t guides actions that the mismatches that lead to bumoLlt. I t contributes in a s ig­ n ificant way to bui lding the necessary harmony that makes engage­ ment with work a possib i lity. Let's see how this process worked i n o u r three case stud ies. Building Community

Martha, the laboratory technologist, had experienced a breakdown in community. The problems i nvolved the manager's relationships with staff and the relationships among staff members. Peopl e were not cooperating in a manner t hat built their effectiveness. Instead, criticism and cont1ict were depLeting their energy and making them fee l cynical about the lab's contribution to the wel l-being of their patients and the work of the hospital. What values were apparent i n this work setting? The manager's actions i nd icated that valued exercising control unilaterally and

PROMOT I N G H U MAN VA LU ES

1 39

d id not value collegial, shared decision maki ng. The staff members valued competition and avoid ing cri ticism but not collegiality and assert iveness. This state of affa irs was contrary to the values of the larger organization, which was undertaking a major i n itiative to promote inclusive decision maki ng. I t was also contrary to the pro­ fess ional and personal values of the staff members. Lab technol­ ogists are ded icated to contributing their analytical ski lls to improving the well-heing of patients. Their social environment was getting i n the way of their work. The people i n the needed help to work in accordance with the ir values and those of the larger institut ion. For M artha, the i n i tial survey helped i nd icate the urgency of b u i ld i ng community in her sec tor of the hosp i taL The survey resul ts made it clear that her sense of d istress was shared by other members of her work setting. That the survey was con­ ducted at all served as a signal to Martha and her colleagues that the l arger hospital organization was concerned w ith their personal perspect ives and their emotional expe rience of the ir work. A nd i t communica ted r o managers the i mportance t h e hospi ta l p laced on the sense of commu n i ty w i th i n the various units the larger organ iza tion. I n l ight of the survey resul ts, a s trategic task force foclIsi ng on the issue of community and collaboration in the hospi ta l worked with Martha's uni t to develop open, honest communication and re­ spect. lab's contribution to the hospital was assessed i n terms of its sense of community as well as i ts technical performance. The prior i ty on building comm uni ty was made explicit to everyone i n� volved i n the unit. the people working there, the values clarification process made much more salient the core organ izational value of collabo� ration and community. I t helped the lah to develop a stronger sense of identity. I t made people aware of their unique ski lls and perspec� tives, but also the consistency between thei r values and those of their colleagues e lsewhere in the hospitaL Most importantly in this situation, i t initiated a means of resolving several value confl icts among the people i n that work setting:

1 40

T H E T R U TH ABOUT B U R N O U T

•

By voicing employees' perspect ive on the lab, the p rocess let managers know that merely appearing to pursue the hospital's mission would not suffice. Management would no longer be assessed solely by superfic ial performance indicators but also by a d irect assessment of members' experience.

•

The outcome of the values clarification process in conjunct ion with the overall survey was to ident ify the lab as a setting that needed train ing and development in collaborative management.

•

The values clarification process confirmed that employees could contribute to the overall funct ioning of the hospital by com municati ng openly and honestly.

Promoting Fairness

For Bill, the network manager at the u niversity, the problem with unfairness stemmed from a d i fferent k ind of value problem. His group worked consistently accordi ng to his values and those of the larger organization-the univers ity's m ission depended upon ex­ pertise and contributed to development through education and research . BlIt its salary system was inconsistent with this value be­ cause salary was determined by job category or seniority, not exper­ tise. Moreover, Bill's expertise was constantly bei ng discounted by people who had far less expertise but mLlch more power. The inno­ vation award was supposedly given for expertise, but i t was per­ ceived as hypocritical a nd mere hype i n l ight of B i ll's daily work experiences. B i l l was looking for something more meaningful , for greater fairness, respect, and recognition for what he could do for the university, but the organization was not providing i t. For B i l l , the i ni t ia l survey provided a means of expressi ng his frustrations. However, he was impressed that the u niversity used the and respect were occasion the staff survey to show that critical issues for it. The values clarification process revealed inherent contrad ic­ tions between the un iversi ty's reliance on h igh�level expertise and

P R O MOTI N G H U MAN VA L U E S

1 41

its unwil lingness to compensate people accordingly. The d iscussions of values and value conflicts w ithin Bill's unit were a starting point for resolvi ng conflicts between the organization's technological aspirations ( as indicated by its innovation award ) and i ts l ack of re­ sponsiveness to the contributions of i nd iv iduals i n the ir day- towork. Reducing Val ue Conflict

Steve's problem at the bank stemmed from a confl ict between two of the bank's own values: maxim izing cash flow and providing c us­ tomer serv ice. From Steve's perspective the bank's policy empha­ sized cash flow at the of c ustomer service. It interfered with capaci ty as a staff member to do h is best in the long run for both the bank and i ts c lientele. This poli cy reduced h is effectiveness restricting the extent to which he could use h is j udgment in re­ sol v i ng value conflicts, and it reduced his fee li ng of engagement with work by de-emphasizing t he value of c ustomer serv ice to which he was deeply committed. S teve felt that the staff survey gave central management a p icture of the u neven of i ts pol icies on diverse branch fi ces. The p roblems employees communicated through the survey and the values clarification process highlighted the d istinct perspective of Steve 's branch . The acknowledgment of d i versity across the branches bal anced the emphasis on central v alues i n a large organization. A specific focus on the four d imensions of cus­ tomer service values allowed a more thorough consideration of the adverse impact of blanket policies on pract ices w i t h i n specific branches. U ltima tely, it srnal l branches authority to serve customers in the most effective manner. The staff survey and values clarification process a lso provided an occasion for an open discussion of the bank's downsizing strategy. For management, it was an opportunity to state the rationale behind its served the decisions and to demonstrate how the tion. For staff members who fel t excluded or h ur t by the downsizing point of v iew. i t was an opportu nity to present

1 42

TH E T R U T H A B O U T B U R N O U T

A NEW WORLD OF WORK

Throughout this book our foclls has been on rev ital izing in a large organization. Large organizations continue to be where most action is, but events affecting them are not the only events of happening in the world work. While organizations are changing their approach to people during the curre n t crisis, many people have lost pat ience and are opti ng for something a ltogether differ� enL I n other words, the world of work is changing for people as wel l as organizations. Not everyone is content to wait around whi le organizations figure Ollt what they 're going to do. Many young people graduating from h igh school today are thinking about something quite d ifferent than a trad itional career. For many, work is a series of limited-term contracts, often with only a superficial connection among them. I t become i ncreasingly rare to find a stable, ongoing This is a critical s ituation for many young people, but not for all. A significant number of young people are showing a complete lack of i nterest in corporate l ife. They fai l to see the attraction. From the outside , many large organizations appear to offer few op­ por tunit ies to achieve something of s ignificance. When organiza­ t ions i n the private and publ ic sector left the ir values behind, they diminished their capacity to attract talented people. M any these peop le want to make a meaningful contribution, but add i ng an� other point to a corporation's profit m argi n does not seem to be salaries, enough. At the same time, the staffing shortages, and dec l ining professional standards of the public arena a lso offer a bleak image of organizational l ife, What could be so great about working in such a place ? Organ izational life is apparently no more attractive once peo� pie get inside, and the problems often center on the mismatches be� tween people and their jobs. Basically, when the organization has lost touch with people-when it ignores what t hey value , what they work for, and what they need-they may be motivated to leave the organization behind. Probably one of the best-k nown

PROMOT I N G H U MAN VAL U E S

1 43

refugees from office life is cartoonist Scott Adams, c reator of the Dilbert comic strip. Adams left h is j ob of many years i n a corporate cubicle and now earns m i l l ions poking fun at office life during the c urren t crisis and i ts characteristic downsizing, cost con tain ment, and corporate double-talk. A nd many of his zinging insights have to do with the c lash between economic and human values. Having tried office and d isliked it, many talented, educated people in their twenties have similarly left well'paying positions in out on the i r own. As one woma n said establ ished firms to about her d eparture from a small independen t consulting group, "Hey, I know th is is risky, but do you think stayi ng with this j ob isn't ? This corporation lays off people all the time, regardless of hmv good they are or what they have contributed over the years." even if corporate life is no longer secure , the a l ternative isn't necessarily more so. So j ust what is the appeal of striki ng out on your own ? A big part of it comes back to values. People in their twenties today grew u p in a society in wh ich the expectation of a meaningful job seemed legitimate. From k i ndergarten to grad uate the educational system has p romoted the ideal of doing work that is e nj oyable important. The message has not only repeated and modeled but wil l not be relinquished without a fight. That goal is what the strategies we have d iscussed in this book aim to achieve. I n the previous chapters we looked at two ways of organ izations: from the perspective of individuals and perspective of organizations. Both approaches are neither is a sure thing and both can even backfire, maki ng th ings worse. I n addi tion, both approaches entai l H lot of work and take a long time to be successful. You need to be deeply committed to an organization in order even to embark on the process, let alone to see it through to completion. This commi tment may be l ikely in peowho have made a longtime career commitment to an organiza' tion, but it is not l ikely in every new staff member, especially those who are on short-term contracts that were specifically designed to give the organization staffing flex ibility.

1 44

TH E T RUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

When people decide to opt out of organ izationa l life, they put the priority on their values rather than on financial gain, as we have been encouraging organizations to do. A lthough people may uncertain about how they obtai n the capital and cash flow lim­ necessary to pay off student loans or buy a home, there are its as to how much they will tolerate in order to pursue these ends. Kathy is a twenty�six-year-old employment cou nselor for a pri� vate firm that helps people with disabilities find jobs. A few years ago, she was sure that she would be admitted to the clinical grad­ uate program of her choice after receiving an honors degree in psychology, but that did not pan out. After getting over the initial shock, she worked as a research assistant on a short-term con­ tract before finding a permanent job with an employment fir m. She had never imagined doing th is kind of work, but her keen in­ terest in people, self-confidence, and good basic education in psy­ chology helped her to learn qUic kly. After three years she had earned a solid reputation with the company and its clientele. She was well positioned to advance within the company. But she didn't pursue it. Kathy's priority was to increase her education in order to have more control over her work.With­ out that degree, someone else always had the final word on what she did with her clients. She also wa nted to be actively involved in research in order to understand more of the basic issues involved in her work. Her work situation could not develop i n to t h e role she wanted. So she left the job to obtain her degree and work as a counselor in private practice. She had a good idea of the perils that lay in this path, but her current job just was not enough.

A nother gtoup of people who are less than enthusiastic abou t committ ing to organizational change are those who have a n op­ portunity for early retirement-usually with a long-term pension from finan­ fund, at times supplemented by buyout packages. cial pressures and d isenchanted with the dimin ish ing emphasis on what they value within an organization, many people depart. Some

PROMOTI N G H U MAN VAL U E S

1 45

see i t as a long-awaited chance to distance themsel ves from work to pursue personal goals. Others see it as an opportuni ty to con­ centrate on what they value i n their work without the of organ izational l ife. They can pursue these w ithout having to dea l with the demands and risks of initiating or­ ganizational change. I n his position as d irector of orga n i zatio n a l deve l o p m ent. Ted worked with a management team to bring a q u a lity management approach to a large public urban hospital. But because of a change in government. strategic cost-reduction became the order of the d ay. T h e C EO was rep l aced by one with a d i fferen t p h ilosophy a n d a new management team. Ted was offered a more junior po­ sition providing s upport services d u ri ng a significant downsizing process. This work was d irectly contrary to Ted's val ues. Although h e had significant financial pressures--c h i ld re n approaching u niver­ sity age and a l ong-term mortgage-and was given o n ly a mod­ est cash settlement. he decided to l eave the hospital and establish h imself as a n i ndependent consultant special izing i n group prob­ lem solving, planning, and quality management. Two years later.Ted has no regrets. The money is tight, the hours long, a n d the uncer­ tainty i mmense. but he has confidence in his skills and in the l ong­ term viabil i ty of h i s approach.

there are alternatives to trying to fi x an They're not easy. They have their r isks. And they are But only some of the people some of the ways of worki ng that are consistent with people's the ponderous weight of orga nizational life downside to this approach is that the world of we their potential are often abandoned to unsympathetic said at the beginning of th is book, an organ izat ion is a work envi­ ronment in which people can accomplis h things that are greater than what they can do on their own. It's a means of contributing to

1 46

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U R N O U T

good of the larger community, a lthough it a lso has the potential to cause s ignificant damage to that community. Leaving organiza� tional life may be the best decision for some people, but it may not be the best decision for society at large. COMMUNITY IN A CHANGING WORKPLACE

During the current crisis, organizational m issions and individual ca� reer orientations are changing and often conflicting. So it is not sur� pris i ng that organizations often work at cross-purposes. They produce s tatements of their mission and goals that they cannot appl y to their day�to-day operations. I nstead of bring ing about greater harmony and dedication, unfulfilled commitments to ex­ produce cynicism and indifference. Despite the efforts and goodwill of a lot of people, the values embod ied in missions are not driv ing m anagemen t strategies. Few organ izations can get past the immediate pressures of the current working world. I n the midst of so much confl ict, it's hard to have a sense of work ing together. The perception of self- interest in one area of an organization p romp ts others to put their self- interest first and fore­ most too. As more e mployees adopt this stance, an organization be­ comes fragmented. People in one a rea cannot comprehend the principles or motives of their colleagues elsewhere in the organiza­ tion. The lack common purpose undermines the organ ization as a community. I s this erosion of community a seriolls loss ? Absolutely. People have always looked for a sense of community at work. They have been pleased when it is p resent and d isappointed when i t is absent. A job without at least one supportive collegial relationsh ip is un­ bearably lonely. Engagement with work requ ires a person's ful l par­ ticipation in the soc ial environment of the workplace. The support, recogni tion, and collaboration of others in the j ob envi ronment permit people to focLls their energy effectively, j ustify the i r in­ volvement, and extend their achievements-in other words, a strong organizational community p revents burnout.

PROMOTING H U MAN VALU E S

1 47

I s a sense of community too ideal istic a goal i n this day and age ? We don't think so. A nd our top cand idate for building such com� munity is shared values. Not a vague and noble�sOlmding m ission statement from on h igh, but some grassroots endorsement of the things that make the job most meaningful and i mportant. Whether articulated within a particular work group or throughout the orga­ nization as a whole, tnIly shared values can be the most cohesive el­ ement i n the work setting. We hope that the values c l arification process we presented i n this chapter may be the first s tep in build� i ng the k ind of job environment that will restore this crucial sense of engagement at work.

Afterword: Moving Toward a Better Future

When an organizational environment is unresponsive to people-to thei r aspirations, their l i m i tations, and way they work--chronic burnout is inevi table result. What we have ar­ gued throughout this book is that it's time to put a h igher priority on human values in the workp lace. Human values are not a luxury but a necessi ty if we are to get through the current crisis and move successful ly i nto the future. As we've shown, i t is far too costly to tolerate the erosion of burnollt. The only alternative, for both eco­ nomic and humane reasons, is to build engagement with work. S IX PATHS TO ENGAGEMENT

Several roads lead to greater harmony between people and their j obs-in fact, there are six of them. The six areas of organizational in which m ismatches occur are the immediate environment people encounter at work, and w ithin each of these areas are the starting points for the journey from burnollt to engagement. of these six areas contains the critical factors that e ither calise the problems of mismatch and burnout or offer the solutions of good fit a nd engagement. These factors e ither contribute to exhaustion or sustain the energy that peopl e bring to thei r work. They e i ther cause cynicism and a lienation o r promote inc reased involve ment and comm itment to the j ob. They either produce a lack of accom1 48

AFT ERWORD

1 49

plishment and inadequacy or lead to greater effectiveness and achievement. Any of the six m ismatches provides a good starting point for moving toward the goal of a better l ife at work. I f we look at them in terms of fit and engagemen t rather than m ismatch and burnout they are translated into the fol lowing guideposts: •

Sustainable workload

•

Fee lings of choice and control

•

Recognition and reward

•

A sense of community

•

Fai rness, respect, and j ustice

•

Meaningful and valued work

A long each the six paths toward these goals, there are two challenges: ( 1 ) creating harmony between people and the ir j obs i n a way that l eads t o ( 2 ) changing the job environment a s well as people. Targeting the is critical, all the evidence that burnout and engagement are primarily a function of the job situa� tion. People cannot bear the en tire b urden of usting to fit the at that adj ustment h it the upper job, particu larly when thei r limits still fai l to bridge the gap. Effective solutions need to rec­ m ismatch between job ognize and accommodate both s ides and person. I t is for this reason that the change processes outli ned in Chap­ ters F ive and Six involve both the person and the organizat ion. i ng progress, no matter which of the six paths it started from , w i l l depend on mutual effort and shared agreement, n o matter what the specific solution may be. However, p rogress does not depend on de� velopi ng cumbersome bureaucratic procedure s and struct ures to combat burnollt. The challenge for organizational management is to fi nd ways to i ncrease engagement without weighing themselves down with an i ncreased admin istrat ive burden.

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T H E T R U T H A B O U T B U R N OU T

Picking the Best Path

So where to begin ? Which path is l ikely to lead to the greatest suc� cess ? Which is the easiest to pursue, or the least costly ? Unfortll� nately, there are no si mple answers to those questions. I t j us t depends. Specifically, i t depends o n the following: •

The nature of the job

•

The charac teristics of the organization and the work group

•

e xternal factors affecting the organization

For example, control and autonomy may be particularly impor­ tant issues for people who have been trained to use their profes­ sional j udgment but are now operating u nder a t ight system of micromanagement. This was the situation that Stan and h is theracolleagues faced, as we described in Chapters One and Five. I n other occupat io ns , issues of contro l may b e less large but issues of reward may be more critical. Clearly, this was the case for John and his fel low teachers. If teamwork and collaborat ion are central to the job, then issues of community and conflict may be espe­ c ially sig n ificant. I n organ izat ions fac ing external pressures to cut budgets and downsize, workload is l ikely to the area in which the mismatch is greatest. Therefore, the choice of path should rest on two key questions: Which area of mismatch is causing the greatest problems ? W hich area has greatest potential to lead to change? As we noted i n Chapter S ix, a staff survey can be a usefu l tool in generating an answer to these questions. But it's important to re­ alize that the answer may not the same for both questions. Some­ t imes the mismatch may be large but the options for deal ing with i t few. A common example, particularly during the c urrent crisis, is work overload-fewer people are be ing asked to do more under eco­ nomic circumstances that don't permit a redeployment of resources to address the problem.

AFT E RW O R D

151

The best to take is to choose a m ismatch of major-not trivial--concem whose resolution the potential to generate and allow implementation concrete solutions. However, actual choice may not be as critical as you m ight think. Remember our d is/ cussion of the change processes in Chapters Five and Six--carrying out the process itself affects related mismatches. example, a strategy focuses o n resolv i ng reward i ssues ( as in the case of J ohn and the other school teachers) may also help clarify values, i mprove faimess of procedures, and promote a sense of communi ty. The bottom line is that the act of starting down a path is more im­ portant than which path choose. In a sense all six paths even� tually link up and lead to the same destination.

Balancing Mismatches

A perfect fit between person and j ob translates into perfect har­ mony in a l l six areas of mismatch. The real i ty for many peop le like ly falls short of that ideal, but that doesn't mean the reality is in­ tolerable. Even if there are mismatches in some areas, their negaeffects m ay be offset by greater harmony in others . So it may not be necessary to deal with all the m ismatches, j ust some them. A v ivid example of this balancing act can be fou nd in t he story of the computer software company that fol lo\vs. A large number of employees were hired to work on the design and implementation of a major project for a national computer software company. They had to commit themselves to a mini­ m u m of five years on the project. and during that time their

workload was easily eighty hours a week. They literally worked n ight and day. and they had little time to spend with their families or friends. A major mismatch in work overload? You bet. Big burnout as a result? No way. This surprised a number of people, but not us, because w h e n we looked at t h e oth er five areas, we found good fit a n d high engagement:

T H E TRUTH ABOUT B U RNOUT

1 52

•

The e mployees were given a great deal of control over their work o n the project, and they valued th is autonomy h ighly.

•

The monetary rewards for the project were potentially enormous once the five years were completed successfu lly. (And in fact some people retired i mmediately afterward as m i l l ionaires.)

•

The p roject team, as wel l as the company as a whole, had a strong sense of camaraderie and community-they were a special group accomplis h i ng very special things.

•

The rules governi ng the commitment to the project were fai r a n d clear from the outset-HWe're going to own you r l ife for the next five years b u t i f you d o wel l you'll b e rich and free to do whatever you want"-an d the company made good on those p romises.

•

Everyon e bought i nto the explici t values and vision of the company's l e adership that the i r i nnovations in computer technology wou l d change the world and make it a better p lace.

Although this particular example is not a typical one, the point should be clear: a balance between m ismatches is what's most crit­ ica l . People may be very wil l ing to work long hours and do extra work if they fee l rewarded and respected it, or if the work is espec ially mean ingful to them. In contrast, if is a lot of conflict within the organization a lack of fairness, then people may be unwilling to e ndure high overload or low rewards. I t's impossible to say wh ich patterns of mismatches are more easily tolerated by workers in the work p lace. But our research has led us to make a observations. that there is j ust one dimension to job it is common stress, work overload. overload is often considered to be a synonym for stress. But in our burnout model, overload is only one

AFTERWORD

1 53

of six m ismatches i n the workplace. A nd i t's not a lways the most critical, espec ially if things are going well in some of the other areas. Second, when j obs are scaled back to part-time, short- term, temporary, or contract pos i t ions, then the domi na n t m ismatches become breakdown in community and absence of fairness-and as a result, the i mportance of material re\vards i ncreases d ramatical ly. Th ird , for j obs that a re more l ong-term, the primary concerns are l i kely to be with values and fai rness. N o matter what else, peo­ ple have to j udge the j ob as mean ingful and worthy of a ful l com­ mitment of their time and eff()rt. A CALL TO ACTION

The time has come to recognize the truth about burnout-it takes an emotiona l toll on the worker and it takes an economic toll o n t h e workplace. A nd t h e t ime has come to s tart taki ng n e w action to p revent burnout and to build engagement. The new action that we are advocating involves the j ob envi­ ronment, not just the person. People cannot continue to ignore the powerful i nfluence that the social context exerts on individual be­ havior. But neither can they assume that it is so powerful that any at­ tempts to change it are useless. We believe that the gaps between the person and the j ob can be bridged in a way that reintroduces human values into the workplace and makes it more responsive to people. N ow we have given you the tools you need to beat burnout and enhance engagement: •

•

•

You know what burnout is, its three dimensions, its causes , and its consequences. You know the six mismatches that are the key sources of burnout, and the paths that lead away from them and toward engagement. You know the key steps i nvolved i n the two processes of change.

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•

T H E TRUTH ABOUT BURNOUT

You know the survey measures that are avai lable to fac i l i tate the change process a t the organ izat ional leve l . But simply having the tools is n o t e nough. You also need a great

deal of pat ience a nd a comm i tment to keep the process on track. Progress w i l l be slow, not fast. M uch as we would l i ke to be able

to

offer qu ick and easy sol u t ions-the equivalent of "Take two aspirin, ge t a good n ight's sleep, and you' l l be fineH-the hard tru th is that there are no s i mp l e answers to the complex problem of burnout. But there are answers , and t h a t is what th is book is a l l about. The answers have to do with build i ng product ive engagement w i th work and w i th redu c i ng the mismatches between people and their j obs. With p a tience and persistence on the part of bot h ind i v iduals and the organizat ion , progress c a n be made toward the h ea l th ier and more h u mane workplace of the future .

Appendix: Assessing the Work Environment

A n organizational survey process can hel p assess the i mpact of major organizational initiatives on employees. The results of such a survey indicate the range of views staff members have on critical is­ sues. They show the areas in which the organization is doing wel l compared with similar organizations and those where i t is encoun­ tering more d ifficul ty than usual. This i nformation lets the organi­ zation k now i ts current s tate of affairs. THE MASLACH BURNOUT I NVENTORY: MEASURI N G PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

The M as lach Burnout ] nventory ( M BI ) is the definitive measure of burnout, llsed by organizations and by researchers to assess how em­ p loyees experience the i r work . ] t is a rel iable q uestionna ire that perspect ive on the energy, involvement, and provides a fectiveness of s taff members on the job. There are three versions of the MBI. The original H u man Ser­ v ices Survey is most appropriate for service providers, A s lightly modified Educators Survey foc uses on the teaching profession. A more recent addition is the General S urvey, which is applicable to people in a wide range of occupations. The latter differs from the other two versions in that it does not refer to the service relationship

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1 56

APPENDIX

with recipients. Rather, it emphasizes the respondents' relat ionship to the work in genera l. The M BI measures the three core d imensions of a person's experience w ith work: exhaust ion-energy; depersonal ization­ involvement; and inefficacy-accompl ishment. The scale items are rated on a 7-point frequency scale ranging from 0 ( never) and 1 (a few times a year or less) to 5 (a fetv times a week) and 6 (daily ) . Work groups that score h igh on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonaliza­ tion and low on Personal Accomplishment are experiencing burnout. Those with the opposite pattern-scoring low on Emotional Ex­ haustion and Depersonalization and h igh on Personal Accomplish­ ment-are experiencing many aspects of engagement w ith work. The MBI focuses on people's personal experience of work. The dominant structure for the items is a statement of a fee l ing ( for ex­ ample, emotionally drained, callous, exhilarated) that is attributed to work. The attribut ion process is a defining qual i ty of burnout. The close association between burnou t and work d ifferent iates it from more general emotional states, such as depression, which per­ vade every aspect of life without being t ied to a specific domain of l ife. Thus, the M B l assesses burnout as the resu l t of problems at work, not as a psychiatric syndrome. Managers and researchers use the M BI with other inventories in order to establish the relationship between burnout and organ i­ zational polic ies, productivity, or social support. This work has l ed to a wealth of research, which is summarized in the third edition of the Maslach BunlOut Inventory Manual ( Maslach, J ackson, and Leiter, 1 996). THE STAFF SURVEY: LISTENING TO COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS

One of the most p roductive complements to the MBI is the Staff Survey, which we introduced in Chapter Six as a means of planning and assessing organizat ional intervent ions intended to build en­ gagement with work.

A P P E N DI X

1 57

in developed through a collaborative The Staff for Organ izational which a university research team at the Research and Developmen t of Acadi a University in Wol fv i l le, Nova Scotia, l ed by M ichael Leiter, worked w i th organizat ional managers and service providers. Both the researchers and the man­ agers wanted a way of taking a snapshot of what occurs in organiza­ tions that are undergoi ng major change. The researchers wanted to assess the i mpact of organizational change on people; the managers wanted practical solutions for the problems of provid ing leadership th rough these transitions. The answers to both q uestions l ie i n basic domai ns: ( 1 ) employees' personal e xperience of working in organization ( includi ng burnout-engagement continuum ) ; ( 2 ) the six areas of organizat ional l ife ( where m ismatches can occur) j and ( 3 ) the management of that organizational environment. The Staff Survey prov ides a picture of how these three domains connect with one another as an organization responds to e i ther external change or changes brought about on i ts own initiative. The Staff Survey measures staff members' perceptions of the or­ ganization, thei r relationshi p with the job, and their personal ex­ perience at work. Within each of these broad areas are specific focus issues. the components of the in conjunction with the M aslach Burnout Inventory describe management env i ronment, the six areas of organizational life, and members' experience of their work. The resul t is a framework for planni ng change. The Management Environment

The section on the management environment measures e ight areas of management policy and activity i n the organization. Perceptions Mission and

Whether things are How the

work

or worse and mission affect

1 58

APPENDIX

Management

How well central management is addressing demands

Supervision

Employees' perceptions

t h e i r i m mediate

superv isor Comm u n ication

How

receive information abo u t the

organiza t ion Performance Appraisal

Performance appra isal procedures at the organization

and Safe t y Work a n d Home

Threats to h ea l th, career,

or

well-bei ng

The i mpact of one domai n on the other

Most of the items on the are rated on a 5-point sca le from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) . A few of the use a frequency scale, sLlch as the one used with the M B I i tems, o r other sca les appropriate t o t h e items' word ing. Here are some sample items: Perceptions of Change

Over the past six months the qua l i ty of service in this orga nization

M ission a nd

i m proved .

The organization's goals i nfl uence my day-today work a c t i v i ties. From my poi n t of

managemen t U,",lL).;CiL\. ,.

appropriate authority to staff. From my poi n t of v i ew, my i m me d iate

Supervisiun

s uperv isor encourages innovative/creat i ve t h i n k i n g abou t improv ing quality. Comml m ication

My sources of information about the organization are usual l y accurate.

Performance Appraisal

The feedback from my last performance appra isal was beneficial.

Healrh

Safety

When at work, I a m a t risk

verbal abuse

from service rec i p ients. \'{lork and l-Iome

M y work demands i ntetfere w i t h my personal

A P P E N DI X

1 59

I n the assessment of change , staff members indicate whether they see thi ngs improvi ng or gett ing worse in key areas of organ iza� tional life. The central area of concern here is the quality of prod� ucts or serv ices: Has it been getting better or worse over the previolls six months? The analysis considers specific areas of change, such as quality, staff morale, or involvement in decision mak ing, as wel l as members' overall assessment of change. aware� M ission and Goals section assesses ness organi zation's m ission and goals as well as on work. I n the M anagement section pervisor staff members give their v iews on of the organization's central and immediate management. By some of the same questions abollt bot h leve ls management, the survey can spot where staff members are running into confl ict with management and where they are finding support and encour� agement. The Communications section assesses the organization's capacity to exchange t imely, accurate, and relevant information. The Performance Appraisal section asks how recently staff mem­ bers participated in a performance appraisal and whether they found the experience to be of value. An assessment of these s i x ind icates 'what it is l ike to be on the receiving end of areas policies in the organization. Safety looks at physical hazards ( for k'oJ,.,'''-''' hazards with equipment; poor air quali ty ) , hepat i t is ) , per­ ( for example, customers w ith colds; patients ( verbal ( back injury from l ifti ng ) , abuse; sexual harassme nt ) , and career hazards (dead-end are es­ loss) . The analysis identifies occupational groups or pecially vulnerable as wel l as those that a re sllccessfully managing these hazards. The Center for Organizational Research and Devel­ opment has developed the Workplace Hazards Assessment Measure ( W H A M ) from a model that defines risk as i ncreasi ng w ith the prevalence and lethal ity of the hazard, and decreasing with the con­ trol that staff members gai n over the h azard through tra ining and occupat ional risk experience. This model was successful i n

1 60

A P P E N DIX

among airc raft ma i ntenance technic ians, example. W H A M permits a detailed examination o f staff issues surrounding problems with a hazardous work environment. Work and Family provides a brief assessment of the interaction between work and family. I t looks at the potential f()f intelference as welt as for mutual support. This section recogn izes that staff members have many dimensions to their l ives beyond work. I t con­ s iders boundary of the management envi ronment: what ex­ ten t are olltside demands i ntrudi ng on organi zational life ? To what extent is organizationai l lfe interfering w ith staff members' personal l ives? The Six Areas of Organizational Life

The next section of the Staff Survey measures the six areas of orga­ n izational life , prov idi ng i ndicators of mismatches O [ h armony. Workload

Extent to which d emands are manageable or overwhe Imi ng

Control

A mount of control people

Reward

The effect iveness of

in thei r jobs and recogni t ion

systems Commun i ty

The organization's n',nnn",

to

and

commu n i ty Fai rness

Respect and fairness among

in the

orga nization Val ues

Persona l and orga nizational values about work

The fol lowing are examples of sample items: Work load

Th is job demands more than I can fi t into a work day.

Control

I am my own boss the tasks that

I

am

i t comes to purs u i ng

A P P E N DI X

1 61

peop le receive

recogn ition and

thei r contributio n t o the orga n ization. Community

a good job of

Thi s orga n izat io n

respond i ng to the d i st i nc t c u ltural perspect i ves

of its c l ie n t population. Respect i s evident i n relations h i ps w i th i n the

job p rovi des me w i th opportu n i ties to work that I fee l is i mportant. The survey items make a c lear d ifferentiat ion among the vari­ ous areas; for example, they determine whether the organization is experienc ing p rimarily a problem in workload, control, or a combination the two. values section offers an opportunity for members to express the i mportant values they bring to thei r work and to contrast these with what they percei ve to be the organiza­ tion's values. This section of the survey provides a c lear view on the six mismatches that we have d iscussed in this book. Personal Experiences

Staff members complete the M aslach Burnout I nventory in con­ j u nction with the Staff Survey. Their overall responses to the M B I indicate the organization's place on the continuum from burnout to of burnout's t hree w i th d istinct assessments components of energy, involvement, and effectiveness. Leve l

of e mo t ion a l

,

c reative , or phys ical

energy.

of concern or cynicism abollt work.

I nvolvemen t

Degree

Effe c t iveness

The i mpact of work o n personal accomplishment.

The fol lowing are sample items :

1 62

A P P E N DIX

Exhaustion Depersonalization

I fee l emotionally I 've become

from m y work.

more cal lolls toward people since

I took this j ob. Personal

I fee l e x h i larated after working closel y

Accomp l ishment

w i th m y recipients.

areaS of personal The Staff Survey considers two ence: physical symptoms that are often assoc iated w ith stress ( for example, headaches, stomach upsets, sleeplessness) , and one's com­ mitment to the organizat ion and to one's profession. These aspects of personal experience are rel ated to the cont inuum from burnout to engagement. Physical Symptoms Com m itment

with j ob stress

Hea l t h problems

Dedication to organ izational goa ls and to one's occupation

The following are sample items: Physical Symptoms Commitment

sleeplessness ?

How often do you I fee l content \'iith occupat ion I have

the

or for myself.

Open-Ended Questions

An open-ended question at the end of the Survey-"Please comment on any issue i mportance to you regarding this organi­ zation"-supplements survey with a k ind of infort11a­ tion. Generally, 20 percent to 30 percent of staff members write a comment ranging from one l ine to many pages. I n our surveys peo­ ple have laid out clear plans f()r change in the ir area, expanded on the sect ions of the survey, pointed out i mportant issues neglected by rhe survey, expressed frustration emphatical ly, and related in­ structive moral tales.

APPENDIX

1 63

Analyz ing the written comments for unique qual itative data can be hard work. We have found that the effort pays off, but it is time consum ing and demand ing. The earlier, more structured sec� tions of the S taff Survey produce quantitative d ata that can quickly scanned and analyzed. They provide an efficient way to process information from hundreds or thousands of people across an organization and provide them with feedback in a matter of weeks. Processing the written comments takes l onger. The comments are typed i nto a word processor, read by the research staff, and ana, lyzed with a qual itative research program. This analysis produces an index of themes. A reader can look up an issue-such as perfor­ mance appraisals-and find all of the comments pertain ing to this area, noting cross�references with other themes. The tion receives a volume containing an i ndexed copy of a l l com� ments. This is a valuable resource for people wanting to ga in a deeper understanding of the issues behind the survey. USI NG THE RESU LTS

The initial survey assessment provides a baseline for assessing fur� ther progress toward organizationa l objectives . Follow�Llp surveys measure change, indicati ng w here things are p rogressing wel l , where they are meeting with mixed s uccess, and where progress i s problematic. The survey identifies the hot issues for an organization. I t shows which aspects of the organ izational env ironment are out of sync with similar organizations or with the asp irations of staff members. The relationships among the variolls measures in the survey show the leverage points. A lthough managers cannot d i rectly influence the thoughts and fee lings of people throughout the organization, they can change policies on decision making, establ ish professional de� velopment programs for supervisors, and restructure the work load. The survey indicates which management initiatives are l ikely to h ave the greatest beneficial impact on staff.

1 64

APPEN DIX

Critical Issues

Identi fying the hot issues is a critical contribution of the survey. Managers have limited control over their areas of responsi b i lity. The ir areas are interlocked with other areas i n the organ ization, so that every attempt at change becomes an occasion for interdepart� mental negotiation. Furthemlore, the big issues always involve peo­ p le , a l l of whom have m i nds of thei r own. A ttempts to i mprove organizat ional l ife are fraught with d ifficulties, as vulnerable to un­ foreseen and unwelcome consequences as they are l ikely to lead to sllccessful outcomes. Managers have a limited number of opportu­ n ities to in itiate change. Each failed initiative increases resistance to the next attempt from staff members, other parts of the organ i­ zation, or central management. Unsuccessful change initiatives are expensive and cause i nconvenience for many people. So it is i m­ portant to get it right. Three outcome s of the S taff S urvey help managers to get i t right. First, the analysis looks a t the relationship between the three core dimensions of burnout and the six areas of organizational l ife. This analys is h igh lights the hot issues for the organization, where the major m ismatches and harmonies are . Second, the strong rela­ t ionships between the six areas and organizational measures h igh­ l igh t the leverage points for management: What do managers control that has a meaningfu l i mpact on people? Third, the open­ ended answers often suggest productive strategies for implementing change. They communicate ideas from the staff members who are doing the work. They indicate what the organization is prepared to tolerate in terms of change. Work Group Profiles

I n addition to a comprehensive report on the entire organization, the Staff Survey can be reported in terms of profiles on workgroups. These profiles ind icate a work group's score on the s taff's personal

AP P E N D I X

1 65

experience, the six areas of organ izational l ife, and the management environment, F igures A. I and A.2 offer profiles of two hospital units . dashes in the upper area of the profiles indicate the h ighest score o f a unit the hospital the dashes in the lower area indicate the lo\vest score of a unit in the hospi tal. The bars in the graph indicate the average score of a work group on that measure. The overa l l aver� age score for entire hospital is on the zero line of this graph. In the first example (see F igure A . I ) , the work group has prob� lems w ith burnout, as i ndicated by high scores on Exhaustion and Cynicism and low scores on Efficacy. scores on Symptoms and Commitment are close to the overall average. The six areas of or� gan izational l ife suggest that hot issues for this work group are reward and values. This group gave the most negative rating to received these areas of any i n hospital. Workload and ratings that were sl ightly h igher than the average, and community was rated lower than the average, This analysis suggests that a n intervention based solely on re­ ducing workload would be unlikely to have much of an impact on the relationships these members have with their work. An ini� tiat ive that targets reward and val ues is likely to be much more promising. The assessment of the management environment suggests the appropriate leverage point for i m prov i ng reward and values is this unit's relationship with larger organization. The low group gave to organizational goals and to central management are in sharp contrast to i ts pos itive rating of immediate supervision and i ts indifferent rat ings of other aspects of the management environ­ ment. The group appears to be experienc i ng a crisis in its relation� ship with the larger organization, with members of the work group attached to their own values and goals and i n direct oppos ition to those of the larger organization. This pattern suggests that the nurse manager for this unit could he pivotal in any ini t iative to build engagement w ith work for this group.

Difference from Average , o

b ''''

:...

( SD)

o I

Cynic ism

==?

I

Exhaustion

I

I

I

I

•

I(� I

Symptoms

I

::::::J I

I

I I

("

Reward Comm u n i ty

I

Fai rness

I

I

I

Values

•

i

I

I

I I

I

:=J

Goals ManagemelH

I

=:::J

I

Change

Communication

I

C

I

Control

Supervision

I

] I

Work load

I

I

I

I

J I

I

,..---

�

Appraisal

I

Fa m i l y ,md \vork

I

I

::::::J ] o

o

o

I I

A P P E N DI X

1 67

I n the second example (see Figure A . 2 ) , the work group is en­ gaged with their work, as indicated hy low scores on Exhaustion and Cynic ism and high scores on Efficacy. The group reports infrequent symptoms and strong commitment. The six areas of organ izational life suggest that the hot issues for this work group are workload , control, fairness, and values. This group gave the most extreme rat­ ing of any group in the hospital to nearly a l l of these areas. The assessment of the management environment incl udes a moderately pos itive rating of the organ ization's goals and a moder­ ately critical v iew of management as well as a strong e ndorsement of the immed iate supervisor and an opt imistic v iew of change. Memhers of the unit feel well informed in comparison with their colleagues i n other units in the hospital hut express skept ic ism ahout the performance appraisal system, which is consistent with their ind ifferent rating of the organization's reward systems. This unit can serve as an ideal in terms of staff member rela­ tionships w ith their work. It i nd icates the resi l ience of staff mem­ bers-things do not have to he perfect to support engagement w ith work, hut some areas are critical. It indicates that it is i mportant f()r some key areas-work load , control, Llirness, and values-to be in harmony with staff members. The work group profiles of responses from the M B l and the Staff Survey create a picture of a group's crises and opportunities. Process Objectives

The Staff Survey is designed to address concerns of staff members dur­ ing the CU1Tent crisis in the nature of work and the workplace. The process of voicing concerns and perceptions helps staff memhers par­ ticipate more actively in the development of their work environ­ ment. Wide distribution of survey reports followed by open meetings and d iscussions on the issues can be a powerful catalyst in developing a stronger sense of community in a complex organization. The work group profi les contrihute to t he e mpowerment of teams throughout the organization. They provide a sense of a single

Difference from Average (SD) ,

,

o

ExhaustlOn

,

a

o

(x;

�

II

•

Efficacy

I

I

Symprnms

i

Comm i tment

I

Workload Control

I

Reward

Fairness

Supervision Communic,ltion

I

[

I

I

I

I

I I

I

i--�

I

�

I

I:::::J

�

I

I

r-'---

I

I C

and Work

j,

I

I

•

I

j

Va lues

Goals

I

[

I I

Com munity

Management

a

�

I1o

(:)

o

I

I

•

I I

APP E N D IX

1 69

unit within the broader context. Profile reports h ighl ight values that units share w ith the larger organization and points o n which they have a unique perspective. This is the kind of information that teams can use to address their problems and opportunities. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lei ter, M. 1'., and Robichaud, L. "Relationships of Occupational Hazards w i th Burnout:

Assessment of Measures and Model s . " Journal of

Occupational Health Psychology , 1 99 7 , 2 , I - I I . Leiter, M . P , and Schaufe l i , W. B . "Consistency o f the Burnout Construct Across Occupat ions." Anxiety , Stress , and Coping, 1 996, 9 , Maslach, c. , J ackson, S .

and Leiter, M . P. ( 1 996). The Maslach Burnout

InventOY)'. (3rd ed.) Palo A lto, Cal if.: Consulting Psychologists Press.

For further information on MBI, contact: Consulting Psychologists Press 3803 East Bayshore Road P.O. Box 1 0096 Palo A lto, California 94303 Tel . ; 1 -800-624-1 76 5 Fax: 1-6 50-969-8608 www.cpp�d h.com For further information on the Staff S urvey, contact: The Center for Organizational Research and Development Acadia University Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada BOP l XO Tel: 1 -902-585-1 67 1 Fax: 1 -902-585-3323 http://ace.acad iau.ca/science/cor/home. httul

Endnotes

1.

2. 3. 4.

5.

6.

Los Angeles Times ,

Sept. 24, 1 996. HerakHournal ( Spartanburg, S .c. ) , Feb. 1 0, 1 996. San Francisco Examiner, Feb. 2, 1 994. Phillips , K . Boiling Point: Democrats , Republicans , and the Decline of M iddle�Class Prosperity . New York: Random House, 1 993 , p. 1 96. Gephardt, R . , and Obey, D . "Downsizing the American Dream: A S taff Report of the House Democratic Pol icy Com m i ttee." [http://www.house.gov/democrats/research/downsize.html] . March 1 1 , 1 996. Anderson, S . , a nd Cavanaugh, J. "CEOs Win , Workers Lose : How Wal l Street Rewards Job Destroyers." The Institute for Pol� icy S tudies' Third Annual Analysis of Executive Compensation .

Washi ngton, D.C.: The I nstitute for Policy Studies, 1 996. 7. Appelbaum, E., Berg, P. , and Baker, D. "The Economic Case for Corporate Responsibility to Workers." Economic Pol icy I nsti� rute I ssue Brief no. I l l . Cambridge, Mass.: The Electronic Pol , icy Network, 1 996. 8. Crystal, G. C. In Search of Excess : The Overcompensation of American Executives . New York: Norton, 1 992. 9. Some of these cases were adapted from Yandrick, R. M. Behav� ioral R isk Management: How to Avoid Preventable Losses from Mental Health Problems in the Workplace .

San Franc isco: Jossey�

Bass, 1 996. 171

For Further Reading

The fol l ow i ng references provide a ful ler explication of theory and research on which our book is based. I n the first we describe the most recent source materials, beginning with our own work and then those of col leagues. I n the second we provide a l ist of a v ariety of earlier books on the topic of burnout. Schaufeli, W. , Maslach, C, and Marek T. ( eds. ) . Professional B urnout: Recent Developments in Theory and Research. Washington, D.C : Taylor & Francis, 1 993 . The chapters in this edited volume were written by a n interna­ tional group of the leading scholars on burnout. They present Hn array of theoretical perspectives on burnout, d iscuss the state of cur­ rent research, and suggest d irections for future scholarly work. Maslach, c . , J ackson, S. E., and Leiter, M. P. Maslach Burnout Manual ( 3 rd ) . Palo Alto, Cal if. : Consulting 1 996. For those interested i n burnout research, this manual summathe current empirical findings and outlines future further study. Chemiss, C Beyond Bumc)Ht . New York: Routledge, 1 995. This bex)k presents individual case studies of a group of h uman services professionals, who had first been i nterv iewed ten yeHrs 1 73

1 74

FOR F U RT H E R READI N G

earl ier. The author d iscusses key factors that seem to have been im­ portant for those who overcame burnout and fCl!' those who d idn't. Kleiber, D., and Enzmann, D. Bumout: An lmemational Bibliography . Gi1ttingen, Germany: Hogrefe, 1 990. This reference book l ists all stud ies and articles on bumout pub­ l ished in the 1 9705 and 1 9805. It contains a brief su mmary of this literature ( in both English and German) . Potter, B. Beating Job Bumout: Flow to Transfonn Work Pressure into Productivit)'. Berkeley, Cal if.: Ronin Publ ishing, 1 993. Potter, B. Finding a Path with a Heart : Ho'tv to Go from Bumout to Bliss . Berkeley, Calif. : Ronin Publ ishing, 1 99 5 . The two Potter publ ications are self-help books that draw on the workshops conducted by the author. The focns is on individual strategies for coping with burnout, and both books con tai n lots of ex erc ises, drawings, s tories, cartoons, and quotes. EARLIER BOOKS Cedoline, A . ] . Job J3 Ztnwztt in Public EdHcation . N ew York: Teachers Col­ lege Press, 1 982. Che rn iss, C. Professional

B ZtnlO Z t t

in H uman Service Organi zations . N ew

Ymk : Praeger, 1 980a. Chern iss, C. S taff B ZtnlOZtt : Job S tress in the Human Services . Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage, 1 980b . Edelwich, J . , w ith Brodsky, A .

B ZtnlOZ t t :

S wges of Disillusionmen t i n the

Helping Professions . N ew York: Human Sciences Press, 1 980. Farber, B. A . ( ed . ) . S tress ami

BUnl o z t t

in the

H ztr1um

Service Professions .

N ew Yor k : Pergamon, 1 98 3 . Freudenberger, H . J . , and R iche lson , G .

BUnlOH t :

The H igh Cost of High

Achievemen t . Garden C ity, N . Y. : Doubleday, 1 980. Gold, Y., and Roth, R. A. Teachers Managing S tress and Preventing B z trnmtt . Bristo l , Pa . : Fa l mer Press, 1 99 3 . Golembiewsk i, R . T. , and M unzenrider, R. F. Phases of BUnlouc : Develop­ ments in Concepts ami Applications . New York: Praeger, 1 988.

FOR F URTH ER READING

1 75

Golembiewski, R. T., M unzenrider, R . F., and Stevenson, j . G. S tress in

Organizations : Toward a Phase Model

Bumout. New York: Praeger,

1 986. j ones, j . W (cd. ) . The Burnout Syndrome . Park R idge, I l l . : London House Press. 1 983 . Maslach, C Burnout : The Cost oj'Caring. Englewood Cliffs, N .J . : Prentice Hall, 1 98 2 . McConnel l , E.

(cd. ) . Bumout i n t h e Nursing Profession . S t . Lou is:

M osby, 1 982. Paine, W. S .

(cd . ) . Job Stress and BumOUL Thousand Oaks, C a lif.. Sage,

1 982 . P ines, A . , and A ronson, E.

Burnout : Cames ami Cures . New York:

Free Press, 1 988. P i nes, A . , A ronson, E.,

Kafry, D. B lOnout: From Tedium to Personal

Growt h . New York: Free Press 1 ,

Ve n inga, R. L, and Spradley, ] . P. The \vorl
CotJc with Job Bumout . Boston: Litt le, Brown, 1 98 1 . Wesse lls, D. T., Kutscher, A . H . , Seelaml, I .

Seider, F E., C herico ,

D. j . , and Clark, E. J . ( eds . ) . Professional Burnout in Medicine Helping ProfC5S ions . New York: Haworth P ress, 1 989.

the

About the Authors

CHRISTINA MASLACH is professor of psychology at the Uni­ versity of California, Berkeley, where she has been on the facu l ty since 1 97 1 . She is best known as one of the p ioneering researchers on burnout and the author of the Maslach Burnout Inventory ( MB l ) , the most w idely used research measure in the burnout She has conducted research in a n umber of areas within social and health psychology. In addi t ion to writing numerous articles, Maslach has worked on books including Burnout: The Cost of Caring and the co-edited Professional Burnout : Recen t i n Theory search . I n recognition of these research accompl ishments, the Americ an Association for the Advancement of Science made her a Fellow, honoring her "For ground breaking work on the app lica­ tions of social psychology to contemporary problems." She was pres­ ident of the Wes tern Psychological Association, and won the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of California at Berkeley. Recently, the American Psychological Associ ation rec­ ognized her expertise as both a researcher and teacher by selecting her to deliver the prestigious G . S tanley Hall Lecture at its annual convention. M aslach received her A . B . , magna cum laude, in soci a l rela­ t ions from Harvard-Radcliffe College, and her Ph. D. in psychology S tanford Unive rsity. 1 77

1 78

A80 U T THE AUTHOR S

Maslach's academic career was actually her second choice; originally inte nded to become a professional dancer. She maintains passion for the peric)fIning and arts and tries to keep her fi lled with as much theater and mllsic as possible. M ICHAEL P. LEITER is professor of psychology and dean of facu lty of science at Acadia Unive rsity i n Canada. He is director of the Center for Organizational Research and Development, which appl ies h igh-qual ity research methods to human resource issues confronting organizations. He devel oped the Staff Survey for as­ sessing the way people perceive complex organ izations. This proach to organizational l i fe arose from h is extensive work with organizations that are undergoi ng major organizational change in North A merica and Europe. H is research , which has received con­ sis tent fi nanci a l support from the Soc i a l Sc iences and Humanities Researc h Counc i l of Canada, is publ ished i n m aj or psychological and management j ournals. He received his B.A. degree in psychology from Duke U n iver­ sity, his M .A . from Vanderb i l t Un ivers i ty, and h is Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He teaches courses on organizational psy­ chology and on stress at Acadi a U nivers ity. The researc h center provides a l i ve ly bridge between university s tudies and organizaconsultation for h i msel f and h is students. is of Leiter's maj o r i nterests outs ide of music. plays baroque flute and Celtic music with friends i n Nova a nd h e believes that fine music has a i n common with harmonious orga nizational l ife.

Index

A Abbott, T, 4 Absenteeism, 67, 68, 69

Achievement. See Effecllveness Adams , S., 1 4 3

Agee, W. , S

A lcohol, 1 9 A l len. R . , 8 -9

A l l ied S ignal, 8 Anger: burnout and. 2 3 , 2 7 , 29, ,0; burnout intervention 9 � ; COlll­ muniry hrcakdown and, 1 4 , 5 1 ; con· flict and, 1 4 ; fairness and, 3 1 . 3 2 A nx iety, 14, AT&'C 8-9 A udits. See

1 1 7- 1 26; values conflict and, 5 7 . Sec Ecoalso Bottom Line; nomic val ues versus human values Burnom: benehts 7 2-74; bottom l ine and Bottom l ine); causes of Causes of bu mom ) : UN of. 1 8-20, 2 1 , 64, 65-69. 76-7 7 , 1 5 3 ; cure tor, overVIew of, 2 1 2 2 : de· tined, 1 7 , 24; e mo t i on a l tallout of ( see occupations for. Emotions); ; how onc experi· 20; history of, ences, 2 .3 -.37; as individual dysfunc­ tion, 1 8 , 2 1 . 30, 3 2- 3 4 , 3 7 , 6 1 -64,

2 3 , 28, 30, 69

B Bankers Trust. 4 Benehts:

burnout, 72-74; reduction i n , 5 , 29, 4 5 Barerness, 2 7 . 2 9 , 5 1 , 68, 1 3 2 Blaming, 1 5 , 2 7 . 3 2- 34 , 6 2 Blood pressure: h igh , 1 9 , 4 2 , 66-67 Bossidy, L., 8 Bonom Ime: burnour and, 2-3, 7, I I .

! 8- 20, 2 1 , 26, 64, 65-69; c ustomer service versus, 1 6- 1 7 , 5 2 , 56-5 7 , 'i 8 , cuts; Downsizing; 1 4 1 . See also Economic values versus human values Braun, 4 3 5-36 , 48, 14, cuts: burnout , 58-59; burnout prevention ;md,

and, 74, 8 1 ; reasons for ing, 6 1 -78; serious nature of, 2 1 , 65-76; of (see 2 1 , 2 8-1 2 , as soc ial 14, 3 7 , 70-72 : trivialization of, 2 1 , 6 1 6 2 ; why 62-6�; 34- 3 6 and, workplace Rush administration, 46

c Canada: taxation i n . 46 Career advanct'ment, 1 5 , 46 A7 Carct'r

48, 49, 5 7 intervention.

84-99; of burnout preven tion, 1 19 1 1 1 5- 1 2 7 : 1 79

1 80

I N DEX

Cllises of hu rnout, 9- 1 7 , 1 8, 26, 3 7 , 3 8-.D0; individual qua l it ies and , 1 8 . 2 1 . 30 • .1 2 - 3 4 , 37, 6 1 -64, 69-70; in­ terrelationship of. 87 . 92, 98, 1 2 5 , 1 50 - 1 5 .3 ; social narure of, 1 8 , 21 - 2 2 , 2 8- 3 2 , 3 4 , 3 7 , 70-7 2 , 1 4 8. See also Community hreakdown; Control, lack of; Fa i rness, hurnout and lack of; Rewards, insufficient; Signs of hurn­ out; Va lue conflict; Work over load CEOs. See Management: senior Character defect: hurnout from, 2 1 , 3 2 , 34 Chretien administration, 4 6 Cit icorp, 4 Clinton ad min istration, 46 Col leg ia l re la t i uns hi ps. See Community Commitment: job insecurity and, 49; measuring, 1 62 . 1 6 5 , 1 67 . See a/so Loyalty Commu nication: hurnout prevention and, 1 3 - 1 4 , 1 0 6- 1 07 , 1 09- 1 1 0, 1 2 2 , 1 2 3- 1 2 4 , 1 3 5 ; measuring, 1 5 8, 1 59 Communications task force, 1 2 3- 1 2 4 Community: hottom l i ne amI, 67-68; hu i ld i ng, 1 38 1 40; hurnout prevention and, 1 04 , 108, 1 09 , 1 23 1 2 4 , 1 2 5 , 1 3 5 , 1 3 8- 1 40, 1 4 6, 1 5 0- 1 5 3 ; i n changi n g workp l ace , 1 46- 1 47 ; ide­ alism of, 1 47 ; measuring (staff sur­ vey ) , 1 1 2- 1 1 5 , 1 23- 1 24 , 1 2 5 , 1 60, 1 6 1 , 1 67 . See also Community a

breakdown Community hreakdown: hurnout and,

1 50- 1 5 3 ; interrelationship w i t h other hurnout causes. 87. 9 2 , 98. 1 2 5 , 1 5 0- 1 53 ; l a c k of, h y employees, 6 - 7 . 1 1 - 1 2 . 26. 2 7 . 4 2-44. 4 7 . 66-67; lac k of, management and, 7. 40-4 1 , 4 3 -44. 5 3 . 9 1 . 9 3 , 1 0 3 - 1 04 ; measur­ ing (staff survey ) , 1 1 2- 1 1 5 , 1 2 1 - / 2 2 . 1 60 . 1 67 Corporate slogans, 1 .3 0- / .3 1 Corpora ti o ns : mult inational, 3-5, 8; re­ cent changes i n , 1 -9, 3 4 -36,

1 4 2 - 1 47 COSt: of hurnout, 1 8-20, 2 1 . 26, 64. 65-69, 7 6-77 . 1 5 3 . See aLwJ Bottom [me Counse ling, 5-6, 69 Crea t i v ity: human values promot ion and, 1 29 ; importance of, 7 .3 ; loss of, 1 1 . 1 9. 28, 4 1 , 4 2 , 47-48. 5 3 Crisis intervent ion. See Intervening- in hurnout Critical issues: identifying, 1 6.3 1 64 , 1 6 5 , 1 67 Croshy, J . , 1 1 8 . 1 2 2 - 1 23 Customer service: bottom l i ne versus, 1 6- 1 7 , 5 2 . 56-57 , 5 8 , 1 4 1 ; hurnout and, 29, 30. 3 6- 3 7 ; hurnout interven­ tion and . 84-88, 89-9 1 ; hurnout pre­ vention and, 1 .36; downs izing and, 36-.37 ; h igh-touch johs and, 20; value confl ict and, 1 6, 5 5 -5 7 , 58. 69. 1 3 6 Cynicism: hurnout and, 1 8, 24, 2 5 , 2 7 , 28; management and, 4 8 , 5 3 ; measur­ ing, 1 6 1 . 1 62 . 1 6 5 . 1 67 ; patient satis­

1 -3 , 9, 1 1 , 1 .3-1 4 , 1 5 , 26, 48-52; i n ­ t er re l a t ionsh ip w i t h other hurnout

faction and, 1 27 ; va lue conflict and, 1 2 5 , 1 3 2 , 1 46

causes, 87 , 92, 98, 1 2 5 , 1 50- 1 5 3 . See al.\() Community

D

Commu nity task fmce, 1 39 Compensat ion. See Pay Compet i t i ve pressures, 3-5, 2 6 , 28, 4 5 , 50, 5 3 Complex ity: increase in, 3 5 , 4 1 Computer manufacturing, 4 Computer software designers, 7 3 Confl ict: burnout and, 1 4 , 36. 49. 5 1 -- 5 2 , 68; b u rn o u t prevention and , 1 1 5 ; re­ solving, 87, 1 3 4 . 1 3 8 , 1 39-1 4 1 . See also Va l ue confl ict Consulting. 1 4 5 Cuntract wmk, 1 3 . 29, 4 5 . 50-5 1 , 5 3- 5 4 . 1 5 ') Control: gaining. 87 , 88-9 3 , 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 .

Decision mak i ng . See Cont rol ; M an ag ement Dec ision making task force, 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 Depersonalization. See Detachment Derress ion, 1 9 , 2 3 . 3 2 . 3 4 . 1 5 6 Detachment: hu rnout and, 1 .3 , 1 8 , 1 9, 20. 29, 30. 13 ; community breakdown a nd , 1 2 . 49; crisis intervention versus, 8 1 ; joh insecurity and, 49; lack of con­ trol and, 67 ; measuring, 1 56 , 1 6 1 . 1 62 , 1 6 5 , 1 67 ; value confl ict and, 58. 146 Deve l opi ng countries: jobs moved to, 3-- 5

I N DEX

1 {3 Dilben c omic Disense. See Distancing. See Detachment Downsizing: anxietv about, 1 0, 1 4 3 ; burnout and, 1 0:"-1 1 , 1 6, 3 5-36, 38-4 2 , 65-66: customer service :mG , 3 6-37; globalization a n d , >-5 ; to ind­ f1ciency, 95-96; long-term employees and , 29, 4 7 ; power red ist r i bu tion and, 6 -7 , 5 4 ; senior management benef1ts from, 8-9; and, 1 4 1 ; unfai rness technolugy and, 3 , 5 3 -54; values clari fication 1 4 1 ; workload 1 , 38-4 1 , 9 5 . See CIllO Bottom l ine; Economic values versus 19 A., n

1 81

and, 2 4 , 2 ), 4 2 ; erosion of, 2 " 2 4 -26; 5 2 ; managemem fa i rness 1 04- 1 06; measuring, 1 1 0 - 1 1 5 , 1 1 9- 1 26, 1 5 5- 1 69; need 2 2 ; orgato, 7 4 -76, nizational 1 0.3- 1 27 ; six to, 1 48 1 5 3; v a l ue conflicts and, See aho I nvolvement Enjoymem, See Job satisfaction Ethics, 1 7- 1 8, 3 1 -3 2 , 48, 68, 1 28- 1 2» Europe: executive pay in, 9 Exce l lence. See Quality Exec utives. See Exh'11lstion: humou t and , I I , 1 7 , 1 8 , 24, 42; 2 5 , 2 7 ; health hours 48; measuring, 1 65 , 1 67 ; patient satisfact ion ! v,llue conflict 58, 1 2 5 ; work mh'rI,,:>n
E Economic values versus human v al ue s: hurnout causation and, 2-.), 7 , 9- 1 0, 1 5 - 1 7 , 44, 48-5 7 , 69, 7 7-78; burnout inrervenrion and, 86-87, 89-9 1 ; eth ics and, 1 2 8- 1 29; op t i ng llut of ur­ ganizationai llfe and, 1 4 2 · 1 46; pro­ moting human values and, 1 28- 1 47 . See also Bottom l i ne; Budget cuts; people in, 5-6. See also and , Effect i veness: burnout 2 4 , 1 02 , 1 24 ; burnout and ineffectivetllCnsuring. ness 1 56 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 Efficiency, 90, 95-96 Emotions: 3 1 , ) 3 : erosion of, 2 3 , 2 7 - 3 2 ; exhaustion 4 1 ; social context 2 8 ·· 3 2 ; underrating of, 30· , I ; work group conflict and, 5 1 -5 2 . See also specific emotions Employee Clssimmce pr ograms , 6 3 , 64-65 , 7 0 Empowcrmem: myth o f. 7 1 7, 24, 2 5 , 4 1 -4 2 , Eneq:.,'Y: burnout 4 7 ; burnout and, 1 0 2 ; 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 65 , 1 67 .

77.

F Fa irness: burnout and lack of, 1 4 - 1 6, 26, 27, 3 1 -3 2 , 5 2 - 5 5 , 68; burnout pre­ vention and, 1 0 3- 1 04 , 1 0 8 , 1 24, 1 40 · 1 4 1 , 1 50- 1 5 .>; emotions and, > 1- 32; interrelationship with other hurnollt causes, 98, 1 2 5 , I 5 0- 1 ') 3 ; management and, 1 03 - 1 04; measu r1 1 2- 1 1 5 , 1 2 4 , 1 60, 1 40- 1 4 1 , 1 50-1 5 3 . 39-40, 1 58, 1 60

Feelings. See E mot ions F itzgeral d , B . , 1 1 8, 1 20 Flow: loss 47-48. 50 Focus groups, 1 1 2 , 1 3 5 Friends: relat ionships WIth, 1 9, 3 0 Frustration, 1 4 , 2 7 , 4 1 , 69 , 9 3 Future, 1 48- 1 54 G Gonder pari ty, 1 24 (J i l lette, 4 Global ization, 3-5, 37 Goal orienta tion: burnout prevention anJ, 1 0 3 - 1 2 7 Goals: 5 7 , 58-59, 69, 1 46, 1 58,

1 82

I N DEX

ind ifference, See Detachment

H

1 8, 2 4 , 2 7 , and, management 48; measuring, 1 56 , 1 6 1 , 1 62 , 1 65 , 1 67 : overcoming,

l le" daches, 1 9, 4 2 Health: burnout 68,

9 2 -9 3 , 96-98; value conflict a n d, 58,

SUring 1 59

1 2 5 , See also Effec tiv eness

I lealth enre costs: burnout and, 66, 67, 68, 69

l lea l t h care obl igations

administra t i ve 4 1 ; benefits of addre,s-

ing burnout i n, 7 3 ; burnout ;md, 7, I J , 2 0 , 3 1 , 36-37 , 67, 1 1 9 , 1 23 ; burnout

intervention and, 8 8- 9 ) ; burnout pre­ 1 2 7 , U8-1 40; vent ion and, 1 commun ity breakdown and , 1 1- 1 4 , cuntml 1 3 5 , 1 3 8- 1 40; 88-93 ;

of

67; staff dency I 1 9 1 26; value conflict 58-59, on, 1 65- 1 67 1 3 1 : wor k grou p Heal t h insurance cn,",'r::w<, manage1 . 4 ') , See also HMOs ment organizations) High hlood pressurt\ 1 9, 4 2 , 66-67 High-risk occupations, 20 H igh-touch occupat lon;;, 20, ,2 1 , j 1 , See also Health care professiona ls; Teachers History of burnout, 20-2 1 HMO, (health m anagement organiza­ tions), 7 , 1 1 , 4 5 , 88-9 )

Insecurity, Sce Joh I ntervening i n hurnout,

79- 1 0 1 : c ase studies t()[, 84-99: i n exploitative control 99- 1 0 1 ;

8 4l

process, organ i "f'\I·,,�,eh.,s to, 7 4 76: orga­ 9 3-94 ;

80-8 1 . 87-88, 92� 9 ) ,

from , 72-74; organizational context and, 8 3 , 86-8 7 , 90-92 , 97-98 , 99- 1 0 1 ; preventing

versus, 80-8 1 ; problem-solving process for, 79-99; t i me req u i red for, 8 2 : work grnups and, 8 2 8 3 , 84-8 5 , 87-88, 89-90, 92-9 3 , 94-99; work overluad red uction and, 84-88, See (lLw Pre­ venting hurnout I ntrinsic worth: decrease in, 2- 1 1 24 -1 2 5 ; Involvement: burnout hurnout prevention and , 1 02 , 1 24 ; 1 6 1, 1 62 . See a/so

4

See Trus t H()sti l i ty, Hot Issues:

to, 95-96 Information sector: and, 5-6 I ngraham, S,' 1 2 2 Injustice, See Fai r ness innov'ltion. See Crea t i V i ty

8 1 - 1 0 1 ; i n i tiating the process of, 8 2 ,

satb;fac tion and, 1 2 7 ;

I iolleman,

I neffic ienc'l:

3 0 , 3 1 , 68

1 63 - 1 64 , 1 65 , 1 67 Hours: i ncrease in, 'i, 40-4 I luman resource management: tightening of, 6-7, 4 3 Human resources task force, 1 1 8- 1 1 9 Human services occupations: hu r n ou t and, 20-2 1 , 3 1 , See aL�o Health care

pwfes,;iunals: Teachers l luman values, See Economic val ues versus human value:;; Value confl ict: Va lues Hypertension, 1 9, 4 2 , 66-67

J Jackson: S, E" 1 56 Japan : execllt i ve pay i n , 9 Job l"yalty, See Loya lty Job satisfac tion, 1 -2 , 1 1 , 2 8, 29"-30, 47-4 8 Job security, 3 - 4 , 6, 3 6, 44-4 5 , 4 7 , 48, 49, 1 4 1 Juhs: lo:;s of. See Downsizing Joy. See J oh satisf
K l RM , 4 [ lIness. See Health I mmune system: humour

42

Kimheriy,CI" rk, 'j Kirkwood

4

I N DEX

L Leiter: M. P., 1 56, 1 5 7 , 1 78 1 4 , 64, 6 7 downsizing a n d , 7 9, 1 6, 29, 4 7 . Sec aLIO Commi tment M

care. See H MOs (health m,ln' agement organiz
183

lvl lS111arche, between I'l'rson and Callses of burnout M ission statements: commu n i ty and, 1 4 7; (onfllcr resolution and, 1 3 8; engage· ment and, 1 1 58 , 1 59; value conflict and, 57, 58-59, 69, 1 30- 1 3 3 , 1 46 Moh i l , 4 D., 1 1 6- 1 1 8, 1 1 9, 1 2 2- 1 2 3 1 7- 1 8 , 3 1 - 3 2 , 48, 68, 1 28 1 29 8 Morrison Knudsen tv\nt ivation: employee assistance programs and, 7 0; loss of, 28, 29- 30; source 59 M u l roney admin i;;trat ion, 46 lvl u l t i natilll1a l corporari n n s , S 41 N Nissan, 4 Nu�es,

Health carc nr,,,," ""''''

o 5 7 , 58-59, 69, M ission sntements Openness, 52-5 3 , 78; 1 3 5 , IN Opting Ollt nf organizational l ife , 1 4 2 1 46 Overload , See \Vmk overload

Part-t i me jobs, 4 5 , 1 5 3 Pay: concessions i n, 4 - 5 , 45-46, 6 7 : i nad· 1 1 , 26, 39-40, 4 5-4� 6 7 . ; i nequity of. 8-9, 1 1 , 1 2- 1 3 , 1 5 , 26, 3 5 , 4 7 . '54, 94, 1 2 4 . 1 26; 8-9, 5 4 of senior Pension plam: in. 5 . Sec also So· c ial security taxes 1 5 , 1 2 2 - 1 2 3, J �H, Performance 1 59 , 1 67 . also Promotions Pfister Faucets, 3-4 Phi l i ps, 4 Phy.s ic ians. See Health care professionals PulitiC:JI correctness, 1 4 I'ov·;t'[: reJistribu t ion of. 6-7, 1 1 - 1 2. 2 6 . Sec abo Control Prevalence of hllrt10ll t , 1 -2 , 9 , 1 , 2 4 , 76 Preventmg burnout, 1 02- 1 2 7 ; of, case study Ii Jr. I I 5.. 1 27 ; communicatioll and, 1 3 1 4 , 1 06 - 1 0 7 ,

1 84

I N DEX

1 09- 1 1 0, 1 2 2 , 1 2 3- 1 24 , l .3 5 ; crisis i n ­ tervent ion versus, 80- 8 1 ; emp loyees

Quitting jobs: burnour and, 7 4 , t) 1 . See

aLso Opting

of organ izmi()nal l if(�

;lnd, 1 06- 1 08, 1 09- 1 1 5 , 1 1 8- 1 26; en-

R

and, 7 7 , 1 0 2 - 1 0 5 , 1 20, 5 3 ; goa! orientation and, 1 0 3 ;

Ramos, r. , I 2 4- 1 2 5

h u man values promotion and, 1 28- 1 4 7 : I n it i a t i ng, 1 0 5-

manage-

ment and, 1 0 3 - 1 06, 1 0 7 , 1 1 0

1 1 1,

1 1 3 , 1 1 5, 1 1 6 - 1 1 8, 1 2 1 - 1 2 4; Maslach

Burnout Inventory ( M BI ) and, 1 1 2 , 1 5 5- 1 56, 1 6 1 - 1 62, 1 69; as 1 1 0, 1 1 6, approach

to,

I OJ - I Z 7 , p roc ess a nd , Z 7 ; staff surveys

79-8 1 ,

Reag,m a d m i n btration. 46 Relationships. See Community; Commun ity breakdown;

i ssues: Friends

Remuneration. See Pay Respect; beneht

7 8 . 9 5 ; hurnout pre-

vention and, 139; lack of, 1 4 , 1 5 , 26, 2 7-28, 49, 5 2-53, 68, 96. See aLsl) Fair-

1 0 7, 1 09- 1 1 5 , 1 1 9- 1 2 5 , 1 3 5- 1 3 7 , 1 39- 1 4 1 , 1 56- 1 69; t ask hlfces and ,

Renremcnt: early, 1 44 - 1 4 5

1 1 4 - 1 1 5 , 1 1 8- 1 1 9 , 1 20 - 1 2 4 , 1 2 5--

Rewards: burnour preven tion

1 26 , 139; t i m e required fur, 1 1 5- 1 1 6,

1 2 2- 1 23 , 1 50- 1

1 54 ; work groups and, 1 08 , 1 1 1 , 1 1 4 ,

9 3 -99, I n , 1 50- 1 5 3 :

1 1 5. SCI.' a/so imervenmg i n humout

a nd ,

ga i n i ng more,

68; insufficient, 1 2- 1 3 , 26,

Pride, 1 3 , 1 9 , 28, 2 9--30

67; inrcrrdHtionsh i p w i t h other

Prohlem-sol v i ng process: hurnout inter­

burnout causes, 92, 9t), 1 2 5 , 1 50 - 1 5 3 ;

vention and, 79 -99; burnout preven­ tion and, 79-8 1 , 10 3- 1 2 7 Process: burnout intervention as ongoing,

and, 1 04; meas u nn g survey), I I Z-1 1 5 , 1 22 - 1 21 , 1 60, 1 6 1 , 1 65 , 1 67

80-tl l , 8 7-138, 9 2 93. 98-99; bt; rn()�!l prevention as ongoing, 2 2 , 1 09, 1 1 0 ,

s

1 1 6, 1 2 5- 1 26 Produ c t i v i ty: hurnout and , 1 9, 3 3, 6 1 , workplace condit ions

64, 65-69, 74; hurnout lrltervenrion m : d, 7 4 --75; com mu n ity breakdown materialistic view an d . 48;

and,

power red istribution and, 6-7 ; techand, 5 -6; workload and, 38-.39,

Sec

\'(/ork overload

for, 1 58 , Salaries. Set' Pay Sarte l l i , W., 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 Satist:JCtion. See

satisfact ion

27

Professional develop ment , 48, 49, 5 7 PmIH()tions, 1 5 , 46-47. Sec aLso Perfor­ mance Psych iat ric

Jelb security 1 8 , 1 9, ZO, 2 7 Self-emplnymenr, 1 4 Z- 1 4 5 Self-i mprovement, 7 9 Self-respect: loss of, 1 5, 1 6- 1 7 uf burnout, 1 7- 1 8, 2 3 - 3 7 ; measur­ ing, 1 56, 1 6 1 - 1 62 . See allo Causes of Self-confidence: loss

hurnout as, 3 2 ,

.D,

l4. 1 56

Q burnout and, 1 9, 6 5 ; burnout i n ­ tervention a nd . 74-7 5 , 9 1 ; hurnollt

burnout; Ci'nicism; Exhaust ion; Ineffectiveness

prevention and, 7 7 , 1 02, 1 1 7- 1 1 t),

Sleep d isturbances, 1 9, 4 2

1 1 9- 1 26 ; cost cutnng and , 5 7 ; lack of cuntrol a nd , 1 4 ; staff s u rveys and,

Social dysfunction: burnuut as, 1 8 , Z 1 ,

1 1 9- 1 2 5 ; value

c o n fl ic t

and, 5 5, 5 7 ;

w o rk overload a n d , I I management task force, 1 1 8, 1 1 9 , 23

2 8- 3 2 , 3 4 , 3 7 , 70-72 Soc i a l mteraction. See Com mu n i ty ' 'll1d, 1 4 , 5 5 , Social Isolat ion: 5 6 . Sec als o Com mu n i t y' breakdown; Detach ment

I N DEX

Social security taxes, 4 6 Software des i ner:;, 73 Soul: e rosion of, 1 7-2 1

and, 78; hurnout p revent inn and,

�

1 3 5, 1 39

u

S taff surveys: analyzing, 1 6 3 ; hurnout pre­ vention and, 1 0 7 , 1 09- 1 1 5 , 1 3 5- l l 7 , 1 3 9- 1 4 1 ; c ase of, 1 1 9- 1 26 ; dehot issue identiscription of, 1 fic a t ion and, 1 6 ,- 1 64 ; Maslach Burnout and, 1 1 2 , the re1 5 5 - 1 56, sllits of, 1 6 3- 1 69; work group and , 1 64 - 1 69 2 8 , ) 2 , 68 S t rategies: 69 S tres, management: ind ividual approaches to, 62-63 , 64-65, 70-72 Strikes: public sector, 4 5 Su nheam, 4 Surveys. Sec Staff surveys Symptoms of hurnou t . See

of hUmllll[

T Tas k forces: hu m ou r 1 1 4 -1 1 5 , 1 1 8- 1 1 2 5 - 1 26, 1 3 9 Taxes: increase i n , 4 6 Teachers: benefits

burnour

in, hurnout intervention find, hum our risk find , 2 0 ; 70-72, comm unity breakdown and, 26; engagement l'Osion 24-26; loss of

�

control by, 7 , 26; and, 3 5-36; 1 2- 1 3 , 2 5 , 2 6 , 9 3 -99, 1 33 ; and, 5-6; u n fairness 26; v[llue confHct and, 1 9, work overload and, 1 2 , 2 5 , 35, 4 1 Teamwork: loss of, 47-48, 4 9 , 5 0-5 I , 67-68; i ntervention and, 75-76. See clw Work Technology: by, 3, soc i a l and, 1 4 , 5 5 , 56 Te nsi on, 1 0 , 1 9, 26, 30, 3 5 - 3 7 , 4 2 Texas Instruments, 4 Tex i l e i n ustry, 4 TIleft, 28, 3 2 , 68 Thornh i l l , E, 1 1 8- 1 1 9 Ti me: bumollt i ntcrvent ion requ ires, 8 2 ; 1 1 5- 1 1 6, hurnout

t

1 5 4;

1 85

d

4 0- 4 1 1 4 , 1 5 , 27-28, 29, 44,

U lcers, 4 2 U n i ons, 6-7, 40, 4 5 , 6 7 , 1 00, 1 24 , 1 26

v

burnou t 1 6- 1 7 , 26, !la, 1 33 , 1 36, 1 38- 1 4 1 ; ,md, 1 04 , I S O- 1 5 J ; cus­ tomer service and, 1 6, 5 5-5 7 , 5 8 , 69, 1 36; i nterrelationship w i th other humour c auses, 87 , 92, 98, 1 2 5 , \ 5 0- 1 5 3 ; management a n d , 1 6, 5 5 , 1 04 , 1 3 2 , 1 3 3, I .38- 1 3 9, 1 40 1 4 1 ; measu r i ng values ( smff survey ) , 1 3 5- L3 7 , 1 60, 1 1 2 - 1 1 5 , 1 24 - 1 1 6 1 , 1 6 5 , 1 67 ; mission statements and, 5 7 , 58-59, 69, 1 3 0 - 1 3 3 , 1 46; resolv­ ing, 8 7 , 134 , 1 3 8, 139- 1 4 1 . See also Confli c t; EconomIC values versus human values; Values Values: ta lented employees and, 1 3 3 - 1 4 1 ; co111mu1 4 2- 1 44 ; hen i ty and, I tween actions and, 1 3 1 - 1 3.3 ; early ret i rement and, 1 44- 1 4 5 ; hu m an , pro­ llwtinr:, 1 28- 1 47 ; i ndepe nde nt con­ s u l t ing and, 1 4 5 ; measuring (staff survey), 1 1 2 --1 1 5 , 1 24 - 1 2 5 , 1 3 5- 1 37 , 1 60, 1 6 1 , 1 6 7 ; mission Sl
Value cnnflict: 5 5-59,

w Wages. See Pay \Vcak ness: burnotJ{ as, I , 3 2 , 3 4 \Vi thdrawal. Sec Detachment \Vork 8 2 -8 3 , burnout prevention and, 1 08 , I I I , 1 1 4 , 1 1 5 ; conflict i n , emotions and , 5 1 -5 2 ; profiles o n , a n d , I I I ; va lues 1 64- 1 69 ; 1 38. See also chuification ;md, 1 Teamwork Work overload: bottom ne and, 65-66; hurnolJr an , I I , 1 5 , 2 3 , 26 ,

d

li

1 86

I N DEX

)8-4 2 , 4 7 ; hurnout prevention and, 1 04 , I I Z - 1 1 5 , 1 1 9- 1 2 1 , 1 50- 1 5 3 ; In­ terreiation;;hip with other hurnnllt (�nN'�, 8 7 , 92, 98, 1 1 ')0- 1 ') 3 ; mea1 1 2- 1 I ,) , suring (staff 1 1 9- 1 2 1 , 1 60, 1 67 ; rcducing, 84-88 \Vorkers: management and, 1 1- 1 4 , 48, 5 2 5 3 . 68 Work load msk t( )rce, J 2 0

Work place: recent changes i n the, 1 -9 ,

14- 1 6 , 1 4 2- 1 47 Workplace Hazards Assessment Measure ( W HA M ) , 1 59- 1 60 Workweek: 5, 40 4 1

x Xerox, 4