The burnout phenomenon is increasing everywhere and according to Professors Leiter and Maslach, authors of Banishing Burnout, job stress costs the U.S. economy a staggering $300 billion each year in sick time, long-term disability, and excessive job turnover. Could you and your organization benefit by the ability to recognize both the causes and the cures?

As organizations grow people often feel that demands increase while appreciation for how they contribute diminishes. As vendors grow customers often feel less appreciated and find it harder to make connections in an ever increasing impersonal environment.

The vastly disproportional compensation between employees and executives leaves the employee feeling they are responsible for making the profits but not sharing in them in spite of their ever increasing time requirements to get their work done. Private lives are interrupted by the use of information technology with cell phones and PDA’s intruding on everyone…everywhere. As management centralizes decision making and takes authority away from front-line workers frustration levels rise for both customers and providers, neither of whom can get the information they need to move forward.

Employees are witnessing the outsourcing of previous in house services to smaller specialized and more focused organizations. Simultaneously their jobs are exported to developing nations with lower labor cost. Significant feelings of insecurity and ever higher stress levels develop.

How is the work environment for you and the people you interface with? Can you identify with any of the causes mentioned above? How about the people you work with and the customers you serve? How are you dealing with the causes of burnout?

Some take the attitude that “this too shall pass,” and wait the hard times out, hoping things will get bet¬ter. A long vacation can’t hurt, but won’t it be the same on your return? You could quit, but what guarantees your next job will be better? Many employers define their mission with lofty phrases while their actions show no respect for their people. How can you make your existing workplace better?

If you have an unmanageable workload it needs to be handled differently. Are you too available and interrupted constantly? Do you accept too much work or establish unrealistic deadlines? Time management training can assist with all these issues.

Do you have too much responsibility and too little control? Many organizations have ineffective leadership and teams that are micro managed. With leadership and management training focused on key processes, people, and procedures, control can be established.

Insufficient compensation, lack of recognition, and unsatisfying work are morale breakers. Management training must stimulate common sense systems to re-balance all three areas.

Workplace issues often involve divisiveness, poor communication, or alienation causing people to dread coming to work. Team-building, human relations and communications training are critical to this situation.

Disrespect, discrimination, dishonesty, destructiveness, favoritism, and meaninglessness work are all symptoms that values are lacking. All the training in the world won’t reduce burnout unless coupled with values and lived daily.

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