Beware of burnout, workers warned

Are you in a people-helping ministry like teaching, counselling, social work or healthcare? Then watch out for burnout, warns Mutheu E. Talitwala in her book, Burnout.

Subtitled ‘How my Past Defined my Drive in Life and into Burnout and my Bounce Back to Wholeness’, Burnout is more than just Mutheu’s personal struggle. It provides insight into a condition that has caught the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO).

In May 2019, WHO recognised burnout as a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.

It manifests in energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, negativism or cynicism related to one’s job and reduced professional efficacy.

A section of Mutheu’s book could be described as a litany of blunders the nurse, who holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of South Africa, made before she plunged into burnout and inpatient hospital management.

PERFECTIONISM

Ironically, Mutheu – a Baptist pastor – could have avoided the burnout if only she had obeyed the Bible, she says.

“I did not observe the rest that God observed after he created. God created in six days and He rested on the seventh,” she writes.

“I also did not differentiate between excellent and perfect as opposed to perfectionism.”

Mutheu describes a perfectionist as one who believes “everything must be done perfectly and in the shortest possible time”.

She went for nearly six years without leave – just so none of the balls she was juggling, including a university teaching job and a prayer ministry, could drop.

Being a mother and wife of a university vice-chancellor, who was going through an administrative crisis and recovering from a nasty accident that confined him to a wheelchair increased her stress.

Before succumbing to burnout, Mutheu was also working on her PhD thesis and polishing a manuscript for publication.

“My thinking was that there were things that just had to be done,” she writes

With the advantage of hindsight, Mutheu, who spiced her hectic schedule with local, continental and global assignments, blames her burnout on “utter foolishness”.

MULTIPLE TASKS

She was pushing herself and was being pushed by others to accomplish multiple tasks.

A senior research fellow at a university, who did not wish to be named because of the stigma his family attaches to burnout – technically known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – shared his pre-diagnosis experience. He is on prolonged leave, testimony to the devastation of burnout.

His situation was aggravated by the drive to work, which included a heavy lecturing load, “in a perfect way”. He was frustrated and worked up whenever he felt he hadn’t achieved his goal.

Then chronic fatigue with bouts of anxiety and panic attacks set in, often accompanied by sweating and palpitations.

Because he couldn’t understand what was going on, he was irritable, even angry, at trivialities.

“My sleep became erratic. I found myself exhibiting extreme mood swings,” he recalls.

With access to the best private hospitals and clinics, he sought more medical attention and underwent a battery of tests, including magnetic resonance imaging. Nothing out of the ordinary was detected even as more drugs were prescribed.

Eventually, the lecturer lost interest in his surroundings, withdrew from social circles, stopped attending church and developed hatred of “noise” he equated with “charismatic” singing.

When he dragged himself to church, it was to the earliest, least “noisy” service.

He was diagnosed with CFS in August 2019.

FOUR PEOPLE

“The thematic area I was teaching should actually be handled by four people,” he explains.

When a physician found out that – and that he had not taken leave for five years – he prescribed just that.

With Covid-19 restrictions, many Kenyans could be experiencing the symptoms Mutheu and the don suffered. Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Anne Kagia says working-from-home arrangements are causing burnout in her clients, who find themselves putting in longer-than-average hours.

“Additionally, they have very many Zoom meetings and still have to beat personal deadlines, predisposing themselves to burnout,” she says.

Dr Kagia adds that those with young families – a majority of her clients – “are having to juggle their work, deadlines and household roles, especially when the little ones demand attention”.

An expectant working mother’s situation is compounded by the fact that she is already vulnerable to pre-eclampsia – high blood pressure that develops around the 20th week of pregnancy.

Sitting at a desk for hours poses the risk of developing a blood clot, with fatal consequences.

The working-form-home challenge has been compounded by the recent mass layoffs, even as companies that are “committed to excellence” continue to pile up pressure on the remaining skeletal staff.

Rev Loicè Noo Okelo, a licensed psychologist and ordained Anglican Church of Kenya minister, singles out teachers.

“Working from home is a whole new scenario for them. If they have a spouse, he should attend to their needs, which is rarely an issue in normal workplace situations,” the minister says.

Health and social service workers and other professionals in the frontline of Covid-19 pandemic response are experiencing exhaustion – a point raised by Rev Okelo and Dr Kagia, who say their situation is stressful.

Apart from the long working hours, they have to wear cumbersome protective gear, which can trigger stress.

Rev Okelo says online content delivery of 45 minutes to two hours is worse than the face-to-face teaching.

DIGITAL LEARNING

“Controlling children is difficult since students are challenged with digital learning etiquette and discipline. It exhausts the facilitator who has to cope with situations in different homes, like abrupt power outage,” the minister adds.

“If you have 50 to 100 students in different locations with a variety of gadgets, you’re burnt out by the time you’re done.”

Dr Kagia and Rev Okelo point out increased online meetings of “six-four-three hours” as aggravating the situation of the working-from-home cadres’ lot.

Despite President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxing Covid-19 rules, the stringent conditions to be met before the situation returns to normal are enormous.

The pandemic will continue to take its toll on people, with burnout as a threat or a reality.

A way should, therefore, be found to monitor and evaluate the working-from-home load and factor it into insurance, Dr Kagia suggests.

Mutheu, on the other hand, prescribes learning to respect our limitations, taking time away from work with meaningful leisure time and learning to say “no” to unrealistic demands.