How to keep yourself from burning out completely

When we think of burnout we often picture overfull diaries, endless meetings and inboxes that explode faster than popcorn in the microwave. That does not alter the fact that workload genuinely plays a part. On the other hand, there are people who work sixty-hour weeks without batting an eyelid. How is that possible?

Working for too long in a way that does not suit you
Burnout is rarely about too much work. What it is about: working for too long in a way that does not suit you. Suppose you naturally need structure and clarity. At the same time you work in an organisation whose unofficial motto is ’we will see where the ship runs aground’. Another example: you are always looking for connection and harmony. But you are part of a working environment in which competition and elbowing your way forward are seen as a healthy sport.

Swimming with your clothes on
One more example: you go all out for results and progress, while every proposal first has to be assessed by six layers of consultation, three committees and a steering group before a decision is taken. Of course, you can adapt. We all do. Only: adapting costs energy. And adapting over a long period in a way that does not suit you feels like swimming with your clothes on.

The triangle that determines everything
Burnout arises from a mismatch between three things:

1. Drivers: what motivates you naturally? What gives you energy? Is that structure, harmony or creativity, for example?
2. Behaviour: do you have to cut through issues while you would rather align them with others? Do you have to improvise while what you are looking for is clarity? As long as your behaviour matches your drivers you use relatively little energy, because you do not have to compensate.
3. Environment: is your working culture competitive or hierarchical? Or rather people-oriented or procedural? And, above all, does that culture actually suit you? When it clashes with your dominant drivers, friction arises.

When drivers, behaviour and environment are in balance, flow arises. You then gain energy from what you do.

You may go home tired, but you are not burned out. When that balance is structurally absent, chronic stress arises. And stress that persists for months or perhaps years stacks up. Until your head and body say: this far and no further.

Conclusion: get to know your drivers
Burnout arises because you have worked for too long in an environment that does not match who you naturally are. Do you want to stay employable for the long term and prevent a new burnout? Then ask yourself the important question: does what I do every day fit with what truly drives me? Because when your work is in line with your drivers, effort does not feel like exhausting your reserves. It feels like meaning. And meaning gives energy. Even on a Monday morning.