We’re delighted to share a blog from Clive Cary this week who is currently studying for an M.Sc. in Organisational Psychology at City University. Clive is researching burnout and would love to hear about your experience and in particular your ‘come-back story’. Over to Clive….
What have business leaders learned from their experiences of burnout; and can it lead to them seeking and finding greater meaning in their work and personal lives?
My mission in this blog is to talk openly about burnout, but focus less on the breakdown episode than on looking at the lessons learned on the way to a personal and work-related recovery. I want to hear participants’ own stories of burnout and how it has shaped their current lives, and re-focused their ‘search for meaning’ (Frankl, 1959). In simple terms, I’m interested in peoples’ comeback stories…because we all love a comeback story, don’t we?
In the coming three-months, I’ll be examining what participants think caused their burnout, how it affected them; and how it led to a period of re-imagining and re-thinking about their careers and life balance. I’d like to know if participants have actively sought greater ‘meaning’ in their work and personal lives as a result of their experiences, and if life is ‘better’ than before they experienced burnout.
I want to listen to the advice that participants would offer other people about changing their lives post burnout. Finally, I’m interested to hear what burnout survivors/ heroes think about how individuals and organisations might work together to pre-empt and perhaps prevent burnout.
As far as I can see so far, the research into ‘recovery from burnout’ is very limited, and this is a ‘gap’ that needs plugging quickly. The root of this study is to find out how we can help people deal with a very challenging time, and potentially transform a negative situation into a positive outcome.
In June, I hope to give you a progress update, including any early recurring messages or themes as I interview participants and study the rich stories which I know will be out there. Finally, in July, I will share the key themes and sub-themes which emerge from the study, and outline what I hope to do thereafter.
Before closing, I must quickly confess a deep personal story of burnout, based on my own experiences. In my case there was very little help from my employer, from people who had suffered similar experiences, or even from my local health professionals; and my hope is to make a small difference in how we help people through such challenging times.
So, if you have a story that you’d like to share, in complete anonymity, then please do get in touch with me, Clive Cary on 07976 576363, or message me on LinkedIn, or email at clive.cary@city.ac.uk
This research is part of an MSc Organisational Psychology dissertation project ending on Friday 15th July, 2022.
Thanks for reading part 1 of 3 of this blog – I hope to see you next time!
Clive Cary
