Tackling Burnout: How to Deal with Stress and Safety in the Workplace
"In 2019, the World Health Organization identified a syndrome it labelled 'burnout' resulting from chronic workplace stress. Now people who report feeling depleted of energy or exhausted, mentally distanced from or cynical about their jobs and experiencing problems getting their work done can be diagnosed with a workplace injury. Burnout as the result of workplace stress carries significant implications for employers. Canadian occupational health and safety standards require employers to protect the physical and mental health of their workers. If people are meeting the criteria for burnout, organizations may be neglecting their legislated duty to ensure psychologically safe workplaces."
"The good news is something can be done. While it will require genuine organizational commitment, prevention and mitigation are key. But to get at the heart of the problem, we must first ask if employers are even tracking psychological safety in the workplace. Of those that do, most merely encourage staff to exercise more, meditate, sleep better and eat a more balanced diet. This is, quite simply, passing the buck onto an already depleted workforce and does nothing to address the core of the problem. The answer is not to recommend Band-Aid solutions, suggesting employees try even harder in their downtime to compensate for organizational neglect."
"For meaningful change, organizations must first implement clear policies reflecting their commitment to workplace mental health and psychological safety, and appoint a wellness champion and leaders who model these values. The next step is identifying workplace hazards through employee engagement surveys, workplace risk assessments, incident investigations, exit interviews and disability claim data if available. Identifying controls to prevent psychological harm is also necessary."
The Conversation, June 14, 2021: "Tackling burnout: How to deal with stress and safety in the workplace," by Kristen Deuzeman
Harvard Business Review, August 24, 2017: "High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It," by Laura Delizonna
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
Maté, G. (2003). When the body says no : the cost of hidden stress (1st ed.). Toronto: A.A. Knopf Canada. (Available for curbside pickup to the U of T community here)
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), November 22, 2018: Mental Health - Recognizing Psychological Health and Safety Hazards
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10)-2014: Chapter XXI Factors influencing health status and contact with health services
Photo Source: Erfurt, C. (2018). Man covering face with both hands [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/sxQz2VfoFBE
