Even if you’re fortunate enough to do what you truly love, you still need rest! Yes, even from a job you love, you’ll get tired. Not only is the above myth incorrect, but it’s also dangerous because it implies that if you do what you love, you can work even more, always. After all, you don’t need rest when you’re not working! And then, we come to the topic of chronic exhaustion or burnout syndrome.
The Reality of Burnout Syndrome
In 2019, the World Health Organization included Burnout Syndrome in the official classification of diseases as a phenomenon that occurs in a professional context, resulting from chronic exposure to stress that isn’t managed properly. The emergence of burnout syndrome is rightly written in the context of toxic work environments and systemic shortcomings in organizational contexts.
Researchers like Christina Maslach emphasize that burnout syndrome occurs when there’s a mismatch between a person and the demands of the job.
The six strategic areas of mismatch between individual and job demands as identified by Dr. Maslach are:
- Workload: excessive job demands compared to insufficient resources.
- Control: lack of control and autonomy in decision-making and work methods.
- Reward: insufficient rewards through social recognition, praise, salary increases, bonuses, etc.
- Community: lack of support and security in teams among colleagues, clients, and supervisors.
- Fairness: the absence of fairness, inequality, and discrimination.
- Values: conflict between personal and corporate values, lack of purpose (Why am I here?).
Passion for Work as a Risk Factor
What’s less talked about or misrepresented is the scenario where you’re doing what you love, have a strong sense of purpose and meaning, and have autonomy, but still end up exhausted at the end of the day. Today’s post is inspired by the experiences of my clients, as well as my personal experience. I’m doing exactly what I love, and I see purpose in it, but that didn’t spare me from nearly experiencing serious burnout last spring. I remember being angry at myself, sad, disappointed because if you’re your boss, if you’re exhausted, it’s clear who’s responsible for it.
Now let’s pull the handbrake, consult a bit of science, and replace the condemning tone with a self-compassionate one. Research shows that you can experience burnout at any age, regardless of your industry. Some sectors and positions are at higher risk, such as helping professionals like doctors, medical staff, activists, the non-governmental sector, teachers and educators, executives, and leaders driven by a strong mission.
When you love what you do, when you’re passionate about your work and have a strong sense of purpose and meaning, you’re at increased risk of burning out.
When I first read this, I must admit I felt relieved about my recent experience of almost burning out last spring, but at the same time, I was also puzzled. It sounded contradictory because I’ve known for some time that passion for work is a factor that makes our work meaningful, which increases our job satisfaction and affects our level of engagement.
The question arises: when does passion for work stop being a protective factor and become a risk factor?
Findings from research cited by Jennifer Moss in her HBR article suggest that if harmonious passion for work begins to turn into an obsession with work, the ability to set boundaries and maintain a balance between work and personal life is lost.
With a harmonious passion for work, a person flexibly approaches tasks, and retains a sense of control, and business engagement is an important but not the only aspect of personal identity.
Harmonious passion turns into obsession when we begin to see our work, profession, and job position as the only and most important aspect of our identity and personal value. An inner drive emerges that compels a person to engage in work even when they don’t have to, outside of working hours, at the expense of rest and other important aspects of life – family, friends, leisure, sports, etc. Therefore, harmonious passion for work contributes to a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment at work and represents a protective factor in preventing burnout syndrome. If passion for work turns into obsession, it becomes a double-edged sword. In Jennifer Moss’s words: “It’s more like being in a complicated love affair. One minute it’s thrilling, passionate, and engaging. The next it’s exhausting and overwhelming and I feel like I need a break.”
Obsessive engagement with work creates inner conflict in a person; work not only provides satisfaction but becomes a source of stress and negative emotions. Productivity and focus in business tasks decline, and there’s also a feeling of guilt because we neglect other important life roles and activities.
What to Keep in Mind When Doing What You Love?
In line with all the above, here are a few recommendations to help keep harmonious passion from slipping into obsession.
- Give up the pattern of always being involved in work, responding to emails, and notifications, and working all day. Setting good boundaries is an act of self-care It is important to learn to say NO and seek help as it is important to take breaks and have time for rest even when doing what you love.
- The problem of burnout in organizations requires systemic solutions and is by no means solely the personal responsibility of employees. If you’re a leader, let your actions be an example of setting boundaries and a model of good balance between work and private life. Also, as a leader, take care of your colleagues and yourself – notice any decline in motivation and engagement, symptoms of exhaustion and overload, and react with proposals for systemic solutions.
- Set your own pace of progress and development, without inadequate comparisons with already experienced experts in the business who have been around for years. It’s important to set aside enough time for personal self-reflection. As John Dewey said: ’’We don’t learn from experience but from reflection on personal experience.” Time for a good retro with ourselves is invaluable.
- Social support is very important; strengthening your personal support network is a protective factor in fighting burnout. Mentorship and coaching support are of great help. Despite that, I want to emphasize the importance of peer networking. Connecting with colleagues who are at a similar stage of development brings the exchange of similar challenges, understanding, and sharing of good practices that are closer to us in terms of knowledge and expertise and therefore more applicable.
When you do what you love, it is fulfilling because you have a sense of purpose, and work is a source of satisfaction and well-being. However, be cautious, because if you notice that the job you love completely consumes you, and becomes more like an obsessive romantic relationship after which there’s no energy or desire for anything else, you’ve gone too far. Whatever the job, making sure you recharge and take care of other aspects of life is essential.
Instead of a conclusion, here’s a wonderful quote on the importance of self-compassionate reflection and maintaining an internal compass:
“Some days, some moments, we will be well oriented within that pattern (of living by our values). On other days and at other moments, we’ll find ourselves at odds with our value. In that moment, the moment in which we notice that we’re out of alignment with our value, can we pause, notice our dislocation, and gently return? It’s difficult to imagine a value of any magnitude that will not involve a lifetime of gentle returns.’ Kelly G Wilson (2008) Mindfulness for Two p70”
