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In episode 139 of “The JoyPowered® Workspace Podcast,” JoDee and Susan discuss stress and burnout with Jason Cochran, co-founder of iAspire and Dulead.

Burnout is a clinical classification, but it’s unique in that it’s considered an occupational phenomenon; it specifically occurs in the work context. There are three dimensions to burnout: increased exhaustion, increased mental distance or negativity toward the job, and reduced professional efficacy. Culture plays a big part in the six drivers that lead to burnout – work overload, lack of control, misaligned rewards and recognition programs, lack of a supportive community, unfair practices, and values mismatch.

There is a strong relationship among mental health and burnout; up to 25% of mental health diagnoses are caused by work, and untreated burnout can eventually seep into other parts of your life. And burnout seems to be more prevalent today. That may be due to the collision of home and work life; we’re still trying to figure out how to do remote work well, and people are struggling.

Jason shares suggestions for avoiding your own burnout and for creating a “burnout proof” cutlure. It’s important for leaders to open up and admit when they’re going through challenging times. You should also make sure you have someone at work who can check in on you once a month and ask how you’re doing. Use your paid time off and establish agreed-upon, clear boundaries between work life and home life with your employer or manager. Organizationally, we need to measure burnout and mental health stats and empower our people to have a seat at the table and the ability to share their input on what they need for their mental health and burnout prevention.

In this episode’s listener mail, a listener asks how to tell if others are intimidated by your behavior when you practice active listening. In the news, a survey of more than 10,000 knowledge workers found that 95% want flexible hours, compared with 78% who want location flexibility.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Purple Ink
• Powered by Purple Ink
• Susan Tinder White Consulting
• iAspire
• Dulead
• The Geeks Geezers and Googlization Show
• The Employee Experience Advantage: How to Win the War for Talent by Giving Employees the Workspaces They Want, the Tools They Need, and a Culture They Can Celebrate
• Jason on LinkedIn
• ”Workers Care More About Flexible Hours Than Remote Work”

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