top of page
Writer's pictureDr. Mia Eisenstadt

Eight evidence-based approaches to beat burnout

Updated: Mar 5, 2023

Two years into coping with the pandemic, evidence-based tools and techniques to beat burnout are vital for our mental health.



Credit: Polina Zimmerman via Pexels


The COVID-19 pandemic changed life as we know it. On January 9th 2020 the WHO announced Coronavirus-related pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Two years later, the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues in circulation. How ever much we want it to be so, a clean ending to the pandemic looks unlikely.


By this point, fatigue has set in.


Burnout combines exhaustion with cynicism and a reduced sense of competence. It can result in serious physical and mental health consequences, including substance addiction, Type 2 diabetes, and insomnia (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep). Unfortunately, as well as the health consequences, professionals experiencing burnout may be unable to return to work, depleting the workforce further, and in turn, the economy. This is a double blow, given that some of the workforce is already absent due to contracting or exposure to the virus.


Recently, Charlie Massey, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council stated:

“The danger is that, unless action is taken, workloads and wellbeing will continue to suffer, and future burnout rates could get even worse. As we move on from the pandemic, it is vital that doctors’ training and wellbeing needs are central to service recovery plans.”

Whilst healthcare workers are particularly affected, the pandemic affects us all. Because burnout was already a major issue in healthcare jobs before the pandemic, a lot of the evidence of what works draws on studies with health care providers.


In general, for all professionals, if you have a heavy workload, work long hours, have difficulties maintaining work life balance, work in a helping profession and have limited control over your work, then you are at increased risk of burnout.


This blog is the final piece in a 3-part series on the topic of burnout for digital magazine, Inspire the Mind. As a recap, part one offered up an introduction to the science of burnout. Part 2 looked at the effects of Zoom in relation to burnout. In this final blog, I’ll share 8 evidence-based ways to prevent or recover from burnout.


As a researcher at the Evidence Based Practice Unit, I’m passionate about projects that are based on evidence of what actually works. I think that it’s important we refer to the evidence base before testing out programmes that sound great in theory but might not actually work. Most of us wouldn’t take a drug if it had not been scientifically tested, so perhaps it’s important to exercise a degree of caution with our mental health.


First, a quick recap on how psychologists define burnout.

Researchers, Maslach, Schaufel & Leiter, describe the concept of burnout as having 3 parts, that include:

  1. Emotional exhaustion, this means feelings of being emotionally overextended and depleted of emotional resources

  2. Depersonalization, refers to workers’ negative, callous, or excessively detached feelings towards their clients/customers

  3. Reduced personal accomplishment and equates to feelings of incompetence and lack of achievement at work (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001).

Why is it important to draw on evidence-based interventions to tackle burnout?

It takes a lot of resources and time to deliver a programme across a whole organisation, or even within one department. Before embarking on solutions, checking existing research for evidence of if a program works in other settings increases the chances that it will “work” for employees in the organisation.

Evidence that a programme is really effective is most reliable when a trial has been conducted with a control group (a more or less identical group of people that have not received the programme to compare with the group that had the programme). If there are a number of different peer-reviewed studies (subject to critical examination by specialists in the field). Evidence-based programmes to defeat burn out need to be tested on a large group of people, ideally multiple times. Other factors that inform evidence-based interventions (and if a program might work) include a clinicians perspective and an individual’s values.

Disclaimer: this blog is only a rapid overview and a full systematic review is needed on this topic.

8 EVIDENCE BASED STRATEGIES

ONE. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to Reduce Stress


CBT is one of the most widely used approaches to treat depression, anxiety and stress, here in the UK it’s available from the NHS for a range of mental health difficulties. CBT involves a technique that can be quickly applied to change thinking patterns that in turn have an effect on behaviour. CBT may be learned via a pre-recorded video or taught by a facilitator or therapist. CBT programmes often include:

  • Recognising unhelpful automatic thoughts and unhelpful beliefs. Automatic thoughts are those that just pop into our heads unfiltered that may not be based on facts. For example, “I’m terrible at choosing gifts”. Recognising them is like conducting “quality control” where we check that our thoughts are warranted. Unhelpful beliefs are things that we tell ourselves all the time but may not be true.

  • Setting goals — setting goals can help us to achieve what we want from life and work and from the therapy itself and provide greater meaning and a sense of achievement.

  • Understanding your attributional style — how we understand the meaning of events and what causes them.

  • Identifying thinking patterns such as — catastrophising, the tendency assume that the worst outcome might follow from a small event.

The challenge is that, whilst effects are seen after the intervention, these changes are not always maintained months after the intervention.

TWO. Coping interventions


Coping is key to managing stress.



Coping can involve confronting a problem head on, while avoidance is an aspect of burnout. A range of coping strategies may be used in a given situation that include confrontation, distancing, self-control, seeking social support from others, accepting responsibility, putting our head in the sand, avoidance, problem solving, and positive reappraisal (viewing the problem in different terms). Coping interventions often enable people to consider some of the disadvantages of their current range of coping strategies (e.g., watching Netflix) and provide them with new ones, (such as seeking support, exercise and meditation).


THREE. Novel approaches




Some research finds that martial arts can help beat burnout. Caption: Credit- Herbert Santos


FOUR. Learning and skills training and professional identity development



FIVE. Taking a holiday


Photo by Stefan Stevancik on Pexels


Taking a holiday may not change the organisation, but there is some evidence from an Israeli study led by Etzion and colleagues that it can reduce burnout in the short term, but it’s not maintained upon return to work. With lockdowns and shortages of staff, there may have been much less opportunities for staff to take holidays and to take holidays that fit with our ideas of holidays (covid testing pre, during and post trips can change our notion of what a short get away looks and feels like).


SIX. Practice Psychological Flexibility



SEVEN. Learn mindfulness


Mindfulness involves observing one’s thoughts and feelings from a noncontrolling, nonelaborative, and non-judgmental perspective: A way of thinking commonly described as mindful.


EIGHT. Sleep


Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels







Takeaway

In summary, 8 evidence based strategies have been briefly proposed:

  1. Cognitive behavioural therapy

  2. Coping interventions

  3. Learning and skills training

  4. Novel interventions

  5. Taking a holiday

  6. Psychological flexibility

  7. Mindfulness

  8. Sleep

These approaches can be pursued through self-help books, online videos, apps, joining a mindfulness course online or in person, or seeking support from a licensed therapist or coach.


Hopefully, employers will also be seeking to assess risk of burn out in their organisations and put strategies in place to maintain the wellbeing of their employees.


Finally, there are other strategies, from talking to your employer about your mental health, to employers practicing better communication with staff to forming a support group for working parents. It is not that these other strategies do not work, they are just less studied in the literature.


Many thanks, valued readers, for reading.

3 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Kommentare


bottom of page