Lost Your Flow? 6 Pink Flags Women Can’t Ignore

Let’s Burn-out Burnout

Burnout is a red hot topic for women. It’s common, but that doesn’t mean it’s normal. Now more than ever, women are experiencing burnout, with a third of them considering quitting or "downshifting" their careers, according to a new report. 

We tend to ignore the glaring red flags in relationships, especially when it comes to working. Why? Because subtlety is job burnout’s specialty. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s more like a snowball effect, a collection of 1,000 little things that blend into the commotion that is life. And here’s another issue - the psychological symptoms are not always easy to spot. Flow Research Collective’s team of Ph.D.'s, clinical psychologists, entrepreneurs, athletes, and citizen scientists debunk the age-old myth that work overload is the only reason why we burn out. 

In this article, we’ll brief you on burnout’s origin story, explain ways to amplify flow, and provide solutions for women to beat burnout for good! 

Women Understanding Job Burnout

Traditionally, professions centered around human services, health care, and social activism carried more weight in the burnout department. But now, with the ever-changing workforce social dynamics and demands, this phenomenon is impacting countless industries, including tech and customer service. 

Dr. Christina Maslach is known for her lifetime of research on occupational burnout. She is a Professor of Psychology and a researcher at the Healthy Workplaces Center at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2019, when the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) validated burnout’s visibility and declared it a disorder rather than ‘just stress,’ it became a hot topic of conversation. Around the same time, at an IT Revolution Event, Dr. Maslach reflected on the unsettling reality of the Silicon Valley Workaholics (circa 1960) and its abrasive work environments known as burnout shops.

The Burnout Shop 

The idea for this self-sacrifice business model was to employ Type A personalities to work strenuous hours in exchange for stock options. And while this work-yourself-to-death mentality started out as a short-term strategy, we are now seeing it in the 21st century as our default model with a marathon attitude. 

Highlighted by Dr. Maslach are several human costs that these shops did not take into account:

• Long-term stress and health problems
• Physical exhaustion
• Sleep deprivation
• Disruption of personal life
• Loss of self-worth and meaningful achievements
• Burnout
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Suicide
  

Inversely, these metrics have motivated Flow Research Collective and Dr. Maslach to educate researchers, companies, and other organizations on fighting back against burnout.

If-Then Scenarios To Unlock Flow: The 6 Burnout Triggers

“High job demands, low control, and effort-reward imbalance are burnout risk factors.”  –World Health Organization (W.H.O) 

1. Lack of Control: If you feel like you are on a hamster wheel, never able to move in the direction you’d like, then consider changing boss to expand autonomy.
2. Values of Conflict: If you value honesty and your co-workers do not, then consider leaving the organization and joining one you’re more aligned with.
3. Insufficient Reward: If you are not recognized no matter how hard you try or how many hours worked, then consider negotiating a pay raise.
4. Work Overload: If feelings of satisfaction or accomplishment are nonexistent deadline after deadline, then consider taking time off to rest! (Pro Tip: Do NOT automatically default to this as your main trigger).
5. Unfairness: If you find yourself in a situation where one person receives an unwarranted amount of attention or praise, and you constantly feel like an outsider, then candidly address and resolve the favoritism.
6. Breakdown of Community: If you have lost your routine or social life and are experiencing a change in stability or comfort, then consider building a feedback loop with your direct report.
   

More Ways Women Can Beat Burnout

Co-founders of Flow Research Collective, Steven Kotler, Conor B. Murphy, and Rian Doris, along with their team of coaches and advisors, help entrepreneurs, executives, and athletes reach their peak performance levels by discovering the art of burnout proofing. 

Here are their Top 20 Active Recovery Protocols to connect with happiness, access joy, and ultimately, mitigate chronic stress and crippling burnout:

• Cold showers
• Ice Baths
• Cryotherapy
• Sauna
• Steam Room
• Hot Baths
• Breathwork
• Meditation
• Flotation Tank
• Nature Immersion
• Exercise
• Massage
• Sleep
• Yoga
• Myofascial Release
• Stretching
• Aimless Play
• Pressure (Weighted Blanket)
• Belly Laughing
• Yoga Nidra
  

The Final If-Then Scenario

If you have exhausted all of these solutions and can’t find one that fits your burnout scenario, then it may be your job. Remember, no career or occupation is worth staying in if it is impacting your health and happiness.

Keep a lookout for next month's lineup of Empowering Women who get the chance to share their stories via https://www.femaledisruptors.com/.

Breaking NEWS: Female Disruptors is hosting a Virtual Summit in October. If you are interested in speaking, please click here. If you would like to nominate a friend, click here! Be the first to know about attending sign up here.