Lawyers are no strangers to burnout. We just don’t give it the importance it deserves. It is treated as a taboo word in office which can only be used by the HR. It’s important to realise that you don’t just suddenly burn out one day. It’s a process. Find out the stages that lead to burn out, how burnout may look or feel like, assess which stage you are at and take action.
Burnout, a word all too familiar to the legal community. Lawyers usually work round the clock and pull all-nighters for work on a regular basis. And let’s admit it sometimes we love to boast about it to others. We like to feel important. Sometimes, we use it to get out of social commitments. But in the entire process, we lose track of our own well being, which results in burnout. We fail to exercise caution.
What is burnout
“a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: (a) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; (b) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and (c) reduced professional efficacy.”
– World Health Organisation
The World Health Organisation has recognised burnout in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon. WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: (a) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; (b) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and (c) reduced professional efficacy.” Psychologists have also referred to burnout as an experience of exhaustion, wear out, cynicism towards value of occupation, chronic fatigue resulting from excessive work demands etc.
What I understand personally is that burnout is when you work your body and mind to such an extent that you burn both ends of the candle and there is no ‘you’ left. All that is left is a robot who works continuously to satisfy the never-ending asks of the occupation. There is no time for emotions, no time for people, no time to eat or sleep. But no matter how much you give, it is never enough and so you give more and more.
Every lawyer has experienced some stage of burnout at least once in their career. I believe it is the number one issue faced by lawyers which makes us unhappy and is also the most ignored one. We are told in a number of ways that it is a part of our job to give it our all, that we need to work harder all the time; that the only way to make it to the top is to work 24/7 and to be available all the time; to seize the opportunity. Anything less and you are looked down upon, you are labelled as lazy and not serious about your career. I strongly believe, we need to dispel this belief and expectation from the legal community and normalise having time for oneself to relax. It is not easy coming out of burnout and it is shown to lead to mental health issues such as depression. It is a serious issue so please let’s take it seriously and that is why I have illustrated below, psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger’s 12 stages of burnout . I have tried my best to portray how these stages may look like by taking you through the burnout cycle in Sima’s life. You may or may not relate to everything, the stages may not always be in order and each person’s situation may depend on their personal experiences but hopefully this will will give you some idea of how burnout may look or feel like.
HERBERT FREUDENBERGER’S 12 STAGES OF BURNOUT
STAGE 1: COMPULSION TO PROVE ONESELF
Sima has been working at her office for four years. She joined with five other people. She wants to prove to everyone at her office that she is a good worker and is good at her job. She needs to move ahead of her peers. Her aim is to become a boss in this organisation or start her own practice. She is driven and ambitious and is ready to dedicate herself to her work to prove her worth and make a name for herself.
STAGE 2: WORKING HARDER
Sima has been working very hard. She wants to work on different types of matters and is always ready to take up new assignments. She has been recognised as a dedicated and hard worker and the organisation is very happy with her efforts. Her work is good and she calls herself a perfectionist. She has high expectations from herself and sees to it that she looks at all work product herself to ensure quality. Her bosses give her more responsibility and work since she can handle it and delivers results.
STAGE 3: NEGLECTING OWN NEEDS
Sima has been multitasking quite a lot and juggling a number of assignments at the same time. It makes her feel powerful and irreplaceable. It’s a new challenge everyday. Everyone can rely on her to get the work done. She is dependable. Sima has started eating her lunch and dinner at irregular times and sometimes skips them altogether to allow herself time to work and send out urgent deliverables. She stays up for long hours regularly and is working on most weekends. She has cancelled a number of social commitments to meet family and friends due to work. She believes she has to make these sacrifices to get ahead in her career and work is the most important thing right now. Her bosses ask for it and praise her personal sacrifices and set an example for other employees. Sima continues to add other things in her life in the ‘can be done later’ list.
STAGE 4: DISPLACEMENT OF CONFLICT
Sima has become a little irritated and agitated at work and has been snapping at her colleagues. She hasn’t spent time with any of her friends and family and has been continuously working and juggling things for a long time. She is doing very well and is a top performer but she feels a constant responsibility on her shoulders. She feels tired all the time and has started getting backaches and headaches quite often. She tries not to think about any negative thoughts about work and her life and dismisses them since urgent work needs to get done. She is not able to understand the changes in her behaviour and thoughts and is scared of a crisis if she delves deep into them, so she immerses herself in work.
STAGE 5: REVISION OF VALUES
Sima has stopped meeting her family and friends and does not really speak to people anymore except her colleagues. Her work load continues to increase. She is told that she needs to give it her all and she is on the right track to her promotion. Sima is motivated to work harder and does not feel the need to find time to speak to family and friends right now. When she gets done with work and wants to speak to someone, she has no one left to turn to. Work, job and promotion are priorities in Sima’s life right now. She has invested so much into it and needs to make sure that it was all for something. She needs that promotion. Her work has become the sole determining factor of her self-worth. Her job and her work are the only things of value now. The ‘can do later’ list is set aside for later.
STAGE 6: DENIAL OF EMERGING PROBLEMS
Sima’s aggression has increased. She snaps at colleagues as well as her friends and family. She has become intolerant and cannot understand why people cannot work like her and be more efficient. She thinks of other people as stupid and lazy. How hard is it! If she can do it, surely everyone else can do it too. She expects others to put in the same number of hours and dedicate as much time to work as she does. Without realising, she herself perpetuates the 24/7 work culture and anyone who does not fall in line with this is excluded by default or is treated as not being serious enough. Her problems are increasing and she blames them on the amount of work and work pressure, blissfully unaware of the change in her thinking and personality. But hey, she did get promoted!!
STAGE 7: WITHDRAWAL
Sima feels alone and isolated. Even if she wants to reach out to her friends, social anxiety overcomes her. She hasn’t responded to any of their messages. She can’t just call and not have to explain. She tries to get rid of these negative feelings by drinking alcohol. It started with getting a drink with colleagues after a late night of work and slowly alcohol has become her only friend now. She feels that her life is not going anywhere and is devoid of any hope. She cries herself to sleep and has withdrawn herself from everyone. But when it comes to work, she sets everything aside and ‘becomes mentally strong’ and continues to work on her never ending to-do list. That money is not going to make itself. She has added pressures after her promotion and is expected to do more.
STAGE 8: BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES
Sima’s behavioural changes are becoming more and more visible to her family, friends (whatever is left of them) and her colleagues. She used to be a happy go lucky personality. Now she barely speaks to anyone, doesn’t engage in any activities, stays alone and drinks a lot. Her work has started to take a hit as well. She is unable to focus and feels like she is drifting away. She is no longer sure of why is she doing this. Even her bosses have started raising concerns on the reducing quality of her work and her inability to deliver. They tell her she is not living up to the standard. She feels hopeless and worthless.
STAGE 9: DEPERSONALISATION
Sima feels like a robot. Her functions and her life are mechanical. She gets up and goes to work, works till late and sleeps and gets up and follows the same routine again. Everything feels irrelevant. She cannot foresee any future. She has stopped eating on time or doing any of the things she used to like. What’s the point? Work is more important so let me finish that first otherwise the client will get mad and bosses will shout at me.
STAGE 10: INNER EMPTINESS
Sima feels empty inside. She clocks in and she clocks out. She desperately needs to feel alive again. She falls into a pattern of alcohol and overeating. Where else could she go? To the friends who she abandoned?
STAGE 11: DEPRESSION
Sima cannot get out of bed anymore. Her life and her work have lost all meaning. She has fallen into depression and cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. All she sees is darkness. She cries every night thinking she is not good enough to be liked by anyone. Maybe it would be better to die than to live like this. No one will miss her. She feels like she has no purpose and life has nothing to offer. She is utterly tired and exhausted of carrying on.
STAGE 12: BURNOUT SYNDROME
Sima’s suicidal thoughts have become recurring. She is unable to carry out any of her physical and mental activities. She is completely burnt out.
TAKING ACTION
“Don’t wait to live your life because life is much more than a job and your worth is definitely not determined only by your work title.”
I am sure you would have experienced atleast some of these thoughts at some point. I know I have. This makes it all the more important to address them now while there is still time. I hope and wish that each one of you takes out a couple of minutes as you read this post and take stock of where you are at and help yourself before you end up in the last stages of burnout. Take some time to relax regularly; go for that trip with your friends instead of cancelling; attend your parents’ birthday or anniversary dinner; play that videogame you always wanted to; take your spouse to the restaurant he/ she has been planning to go for so long. Don’t wait to live your life because life is much more than a job and your worth is definitely not determined only by your work title.
