Burnout: The signal that should change everything

Burnout: The signal that should change everything

Burnout doesn't happen overnight.

It's a slow descent. Weak signals that we are rejecting. "It's going to pass" that we repeat to ourselves. Until the day when the body, the heart or the head say stop. In short, it happens.

Here are some testimonies of people in a situation close to burnout, that I have met in recent months:

"It all started with diffuse fatigue, irritability, sleep disorders and this feeling of permanent overflow, even in my family life. It was only when I spoke with a doctor and a coach that I realized that these repeated signals were not trivial: I was flirting with the limits of burnout."

"I left the banking world to join a big four. Very quickly, I was successful with my team. My managers kept asking me to do more, even though I knew we were already at the top of our game. I was keen to do well, to prove my worth. Then the criticism began... about my age. Little by little, I lost confidence in myself. The trigger came from my husband, who is outside this universe, who told me one day: "You're not going back." I broke down, I took sick days. And since then, I feel unable to set foot in the office again. It was the end of a 3-year ordeal."

"I love my job, I find it interesting, but I can't stand the way my manager controls my every move. With my studies and my perfectionism, I aspire to autonomy. Here, the rules change according to his mood, I feel spied on, and trust is absent. I have no choice but to apply elsewhere, otherwise I'll crack. This pains me for my colleague, after 20 years of seniority, who believes that she will never have an alternative. But this situation undermines my private life... then I will leave. »

I am sure you know at least a few people in these cases. It has become the banality of everyday life, like a silent but present norm.

So, how can we avoid getting to this point? Take your time. Take stock. About yourself, about your team, about your organization. With honesty.

And you, when was the last time you took a moment to take stock of this?

The solutions exist. Therapeutic, practical, organizational. But above all, there is a path: that of transformation. Towards a more aligned, more respectful, more lively life.

More than a face-to-face

Too often, the debate boils down to two camps:

• "It's the company's fault": pressure, demands, lack of recognition.
• "It's the individual's fault": he doesn't know how to manage his stress, to set his limits.

What if it was more complex than that? What if burnout revealed a collective, much broader issue?

Because it speaks of our modern rhythms of life. Of our injunctions to perform, to remain available, to adapt constantly. Little room left for rest, for quality relationships, for breathing.

We also see it elsewhere: at school, in our children's sports clubs, in community life. Burnout is the mirror of a society that is exhausted. And between us, have you asked yourself why parents shout and sometimes insult each other at the edge of the football fields on Saturday morning? Do you remember the ranking and comparison system at school? What is the culture of error and learning at the level of your organization? What are your beliefs about the success model?

What if, instead of looking for a culprit, we looked together: how can we do better?

Opening the eyes, acting on several levels

I believe that people who go through burnout are not just "victims" of a system. They are also the symptom of a changing society. Their exhaustion speaks of something greater: the need, at the collective level, to find other ways of functioning. I see them as pathfinders for change. Their stoppage, their sometimes silent cry, points to what is wrong. But let's be clear: alongside these pathfinders, there are also people who take advantage of the social system as it is today, sometimes without trying to get back on track. These two realities coexist. And it is precisely here that the debate must remain open, nuanced and lucid.

The good news is that there is no single path. There are several, complementary.

• Individual: rediscovering practices, awareness that regulate our relationship with work... and ourselves.
• Collective: creating healthier environments, teams that truly cooperate and support each other.
• Societal: questioning our models of success, our productivity standards, our spaces of disconnection.

There is no magic solution. There are tracks, adjustments, tests. Small steps that, put together, change the game.

What could you try, today, to take care of yourself... and your collective?

Going beyond the individual situation, thinking at the systemic level

I believe that burnout is not just an individual tragedy. It's a call. A strong signal to rethink our ways of living and working. Not just to "get better"... but to go differently.

What if you took this signal as an opportunity? An invitation to look differently at what, perhaps, creaks in your daily life?

Go further

This first article is an introduction and there are still many open questions, I offer you this reading path below to deepen the subject

The outline of all the articles is:

1. Burnout is therefore a strong signal for our society. But how widespread is this phenomenon? Discover the alarming figures and the challenges of its official recognition in the next article.
2. Then, in the face of these worrying statistics, it is essential to understand precisely what the term "burn-out" covers. Dive into the analysis to understand its definition and distinguish it from bore-out.
3. After the clarification of clarified the question is: how do you know if you are concerned? The following article guides you through the stages of burnout and offers a self-assessment tool to help you see things more clearly.
4. Understanding where you stand in the process is a crucial first step. But beyond the individual signs, what are the deep roots of this exhaustion? Tear down the societal, organizational and personal causes of burnout.
5. The causes of burnout are complex and often systemic. So, how can organizations and managers take concrete action to protect their teams? Discover an action plan and an essential checklist to build a healthier work environment.
6. Organizations have a major role to play. But for those who are already exhausted, an individual path of transformation is possible. My next article reveals the key steps to get out of it and how to accompany your loved ones on this path.
7. Coming out of burnout is a journey of profound transformation. But what if this individual crisis was also an opportunity for a collective awakening to rethink our relationship to work and life? Continue the reflection with the conclusion of this series of articles which invites us to a more human future.