Arianna Huffington on burnout being a workplace crisis

Arianna Huffington on burnout being a workplace crisisArianna Huffington on burnout being a workplace crisisIn 2016 I founded Thrive Global to end the stress and burnout epidemic, citing the Belgian philosopher Pascal Chabots definition of burnout as civilizations disease. And this week, burnout welches elevated by the World Health Organization from a built-in feature of ur always-on world to a fully defined occupational phenomenon that stems directly from our collective crisis of workplace stress.Its a real milestone to have the World Health Organization for the first time include burnout in its handbookInternational Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Burnout, according to theentry, is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has bedrngnis been successfully managed. It is characterized by three key factors feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion increased mental distance from ones job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism rel ated to ones job and reduced professional efficacy.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moraWhy is this so important? Moving burnout from the I know it when I see it column - where it was in 2007, when I collapsed from sleep deprivation and exhaustion and broke my cheekbone - to a fleshed-out workplace problem means we are now in a position to more effectively combat it. Only when we begin to understand our biggest problems can we also begin to effectively address them. And judging by thebroadmediacoveragegenerated by the World Health Organizations news, its clear that not only is burnout in the zeitgeist, but that people are hungry for solutions.Theres something almost cathartic about legitimizing burnout, as the medical world catches up with a ubiquitous condition that has long shaped our lives - especially for young people. As Anne Helen Petersen wrote in aviral BuzzFeed articleea rlier this year, Burnout and the behaviors and weight that accompany it arent, in fact, something we can cure by going on vacation. Its not limited to workers in acutely high-stress environments. And its not a temporary affliction Its the millennial condition. Its our base temperature. Its our background music. Its the way things are. Its our lives. According to Linda and Torsten Heinemann, authors ofa studyin the journalSAGE Open, burnout has become one of the most widely discussed mental health problems in todays society. And that was in 2017.So the World Health Organizations designation is, in its way, something to celebrate. In past eras, weve believed wildly inaccurate things about ourselves and the world. We believed the world was flat. We watched as doctors went on television to recommend their favorite brand of cigarettes. In our time, we are mucksmuschenstill breaking free of the collective delusion that burnout is simply the price we have to pay for success. Calling burnou t what it is - and just as important, ending the era in which its existence can be minimized or even denied - represents a step forward.At Thrive Global, were working to end the global burnout crisis, but we are also relentlessly covering both the crisis and solutions, using all the tools at our disposal totell stories about burnoutand - just as important - give peopletoolstoidentify the signsof burnout andMicrostepsto combat it. Our community of 40,000-pluscontributors, our partnerships with companies around the world, and the guidance of our scientific advisory board have made it clear that burnout is one of the biggest issues of our time.This is true not only for individuals but for businesses. The World Health Organizations announcement represents a big opportunity for companies committed to fighting burnout within their ranks. If youre a business leader looking to improve your employees health and performance, the World Health Organization just handed you a gift.Its clear t hat employee burnout is having a significant impact to the bottom line, including through attrition - and burnt out employees are over 30 percent more likely to leave their jobs. Its why nearly a third of caregivers have had to leave their jobs to care for someone. Its why over 75 percent of expecting mothers say theyre excited to go back to work after giving birth, but 43 percent of them will quit their jobs at some point after that. And employee attrition costs businesses an enormous amount of money, with some estimates suggesting the costs can be as high as 1.5x or 2x the departing employees annual salary.Think about it If employees are experiencing any of the symptoms in the WHOs new definition of burnout - depletion and exhaustion, negativism and cynicism, reduced professional efficacy - are they going to put in their best performance? Or are they more likely to cut corners or to leave?Now, with burnout in the spotlight, companies have a fresh opportunity to step up, for the sake of their people and for the health of the bottom line. Focusing on peoples actual experience at work is no longer a nice-to-have, its a must-have for anyone who wants to succeed in the long run. To find the cure to civilizations disease, its going to take a commitment to getting to the root causes of burnout.This article originally appeared on Thrive Global.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people