The Myth of Burning Out

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The world tends to perpetrate this myth that individuals can do something about burnout. We always frame things as like, i got this job, this job is mine. If i gout fire, it's on me. Environment matters. Contex ma s in the corporate world. But we're not recking, we're not doing a good job of recognizing the fact that society and the corporate culture has an active role in burnout.

Mitt Romney once mistakenly quipped that people were either "makers or takers" echoing a common sentiment among US politicians that by working we provide society with value and are rewarded with a sense of dignity. But what if we considered that each of us had dignity that wasn't engulfed in our work identity? Would we be less susceptible to burnout if we accepted ourselves as enough as we are, regardless of our job status?

Having come through a dark period of burnout himself, Jonathan Malesic firmly believes that we all have dignity. Period. He has written a timely book called The End of Burnout: Why work drains us and how to build better lives. We are delighted that Jon has come to talk to Behavioral Grooves Podcast about what leads to burnout and how to prevent it.

Jon delves into how the Protestant work ethic can contribute to burnout. And echoes Jennifer Moss’ sentiments from last week's episode that burnout is an issue with corporate culture, not an individual problem.

And to Tim's delight, Jon provides some historical context to the first musical mentions of burnout by Bob Dylan and Neil Young back in the 70s. We learn why that period in particular was a pivotal moment in the US labor market and how this is reflected in music from that era.

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Topics

(2:28) Welcome and speed round questions.

(7:47) The expectations of work vs. the reality of work.

(11:38) Jonathan’s experience of burnout.

(16:21) The 6 factors that can lead to burnout.

(21:29) Solutions to burnout.

(23:43) How the Protestant work ethic contributes to burnout.

(27:43) Putting dignity before work.

(32:44) How Jonathan wrote his whole book listening to just one album.

(37:33) Bob Dylan and Neil Young started singing about burnout in the 70s.

(42:45) How to avoid burnout.

(45:56) Grooving Session with Kurt and Tim on the causes and solutions to burnout.

Links

Jonathan Malesic: https://jonmalesic.com/

“The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives” By Jonathan Malesic: https://amzn.to/3tDdS8j

The Parking Lot Movie by Meghan Eckman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Parking_Lot_Movie

Christina Maslach: https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/christina-maslach

Michael Leiter: https://mpleiter.com/author/mpleiter/

Episode 247, Dr Phil Zimbardo: Stanford Prison Experiment, 50 Years On: What Have We Really Learnt? https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/stanford-prison-experiment/

The Pope’s Encyclicals: https://www.papalencyclicals.net/

Herbert Freudenberger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Freudenberger

The Myth of Sisyphus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_Sisyphus

Episode 301, Jennifer Moss: How To Fix Burnout (Hint: It Isn’t Another Yoga Session): https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/how-to-fix-burnout-jennifer-moss/

Episode 281, Sesil Pir: Why Leaders Need To Care For People, Not Manage Them: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/care-for-people-not-manage-them/

Behavioral Grooves Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

Musical Links

Neil Young “Ambulance Blues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LTiKJlB62g

Bob Dylan “Shelter from the Storm”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gsDBuHwqbM

The War on Drugs “Lost In The Dream”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3HqnHUohOo

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan “Mustt Mustt”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDfELfpumEE