This article about social impact burnout is dedicated to the following people: those who have experienced burnout in social impact work, are on the burnout spectrum, or have managed people who are burned out.
We must start by saying that we celebrate you. Y’all are beautiful people. You are the breed of those who choose to make their life’s work matter. You want to make an impact for good, whether it’s a part of the company mission statement, a top priority for you, or just an unfading passion. The world needs more people like you. And we don’t want to lose you.
But before we hand you the tools to handle burnout, you need to understand what it is we’re fixing.
Social Impact Burnout – What It Is
There are a few factors that can cause social impact work burnout:
- Those who work with highly vulnerable clients – people who are susceptible to violence, abuse, pain and loss, or other suffering – can experience “vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress” (socialworker.com). It’s affecting the victims, certainly, but it’s also affecting the person who is trying to help.
- People can experience emotional strain when they are constantly exposed to larger problems, like poverty, drug abuse, medical issues, and funding issues. Even world problems like climate change, wars, and political unrest can exact a toll. They may see suffering that they cannot prevent or stop and become overwhelmed.
- Burnout (in any field) can also happen as a result of ongoing agitation and stress caused by people who are impossible to work with and impossible to avoid.
Burnout can affect anyone in any job, but the nonprofit sector sees it the most. In a survey of nonprofit leaders, 88% of them said they were approaching or experiencing burnout (source: McKinsey). In social work, more specifically, a frightening (and yet not unsurprising) 75% of employees have experienced burnout during their careers (source: PositivePsychology.com).
Social Impact Burnout – What It Looks Like
The American Psychological Association notes that there are 3 dimensions to burnout in the workplace. Some employees may only have one, are building up to a few, and others have escalated to all of the below:
- Fatigue: The employee feels depleted of energy – emotionally exhausted, and physically tired (e.g. overwhelmed by the amount of work, lack of motivation for work related tasks)
- Mental distancing or cynical feelings: They have negative feelings about the work itself or their coworkers. They may take longer to respond, scale back on responsibilities, feel disillusioned with their work or unhappy about their accomplishments, or dehumanize their coworkers.
- Reduced sense of efficacy: Employee takes longer to get things done, has poor quality work, or feels poorly suited to the job
- Compassion fatigue: May be aware of urgent needs but are incapable of responding
Here is a list of burnout assessment tools if you’re unsure where you or your employees land.
Social Impact Burnout – What It Costs
The results of workplace burnout have a high cost to the organization and the individual:
- Loss of productivity: Regular absences, including more than 2 weeks at a time due to illness, or presenteeism (still working, but not fully functional, more likely to make mistakes)
- Turnover: Job dissatisfaction, resulting in increased likelihood (x6) of leaving the organization or searching for other position (Source: McKinsey)
- Mental health issues: Depression, insomnia, psychological distress, memory deficits
- Physical health issues: Heart disease, headaches, musculoskeletal pain, increased risk of diabetes, dysregulated appetite with changes in weight, compromised immunity
This is alarming on many levels. Consider the fact that work-related burnout usually happens slowly and builds over time. We start out green and fresh, but we eventually begin to dry up. Left unchecked, we become a shriveled shell of our former selves. And then we’re surprised when one small spark results in a full-on wildfire.
The world only improves when we have those doing the work healthy and in the field. It takes self-awareness and support of those with whom we serve to avoid or relieve burnout.
Phew, we got through the bad news. The good news is: burnout can be reversed or prevented!
Wrapping Up
Burnout causes people to lose their efficiency and passion for their work. Unfortunately, Social impact workers are more susceptible to burnout than any other sector. It’s alarming how costly burnout can be for the organization, the individual, and their families. Educating ourselves about the signs and symptoms of burnout is a great way to begin to solve the problem. Keep an eye out for our next blog, because will share how burnout can be reversed!