Month: July 2021

What is Burnout?

Chances are you have said or thought to yourself “I’m burned out!” at some point. In everyday life, we often use the term burnout to mean that we are “exhausted” or “wiped out” or to refer to “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation, usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). But in psychological research, burnout refers to more than just exhaustion. The term burnout is used to describe a group of signs and symptoms that consistently occur together and are caused by chronic workplace stress. Different uses of the same word can make things hard to understand – especially since even the terms themselves vary across sources – burnt out, burned out, burnout. Adding to the confusion, the term burnout appears in The International Classification of Diseases – 11^th Edition (ICD-11) but it is not classified as a disease or a medical condition. In 2019, the World Health Organization identified burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” – something due to the conditions of work.

Burnout is defined in ICD-11 as: “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

 

1. feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
2. increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
3. reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout refers specifically to the work environment and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

Researchers have identified exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy as three key dimensions of the burnout experience. We all feel wiped out from time to time but if you are experiencing burnout, the exhaustion is overwhelming – you feel tired almost all of the time, both physically and emotionally. You will also perceive an increased mental distance or detachment from your job, or have a lot of negative and cynical thoughts related to your job. You may feel you dislike a job you previously were passionate about – and this lower engagement itself starts to feel frustrating. It will also be harder to work – you may notice a lower sense of efficacy (ability to produce a desired or intended result) and reduced productivity, accomplishment or ability to cope with the demands of your job. Everything feels overwhelming and the effects ripple into our personal lives.

It is important to keep in mind that burnout is not just an individual problem. Burnout is the result of multiple factors from the work environment. We experience stress when the job demands we face – physical, emotional, or otherwise – are greater than the job resources we have. Think about a campfire – if there is no wood to put on the fire and it’s pouring rain – it’s going to be hard to keep that fire going.

No one wants or chooses the experience of burnout. People would prefer to be engaged and have enough resources to keep up with the demands of work and their day-to-day lives.

How do you know if you are experiencing burnout?

Burnout often has an insidious onset – meaning it gradually emerges over time.

The stage for burnout is set by workplace stress. When job demands outweigh job resources, workers experience stress. When this stress goes on for a long time, or becomes chronic workplace stress, people may experience burnout. People experiencing burnout may notice changes in thoughts, behaviour, emotions, motivation, and bodily sensations. Some signs and symptoms associated with burnout can be found below.

Emotions & Motivations	Thoughts	Behaviour	Body/Physical
Loss of motivation about work; low excitement and engagement Decreased job satisfaction Irritability, frustration, anger Anxiety, worry, insecurity Feeling alone in the world; desire to isolate oneself Feelings of incompetence and failure; drop in self-confidence	Negative thoughts related to one’s job Increased focus on errors, mistakes and failures Cynicism about others’ intentions Increased mental distance or detachment from one’s job Negative or inappropriate attitudes towards clients, customers or colleagues Loss of idealism; increased intention to leave the job Difficulties with concentration, memory, judgment, decision-making	Difficulty producing the results you want or intend at work Lower productivity or accomplishment; inefficiency Procrastination Withdrawal and social isolation Absenteeism, Presenteeism	Persistent fatigue and exhaustion; feeling tired most of the time; low energy; feeling “worn out” Pain (e.g., headaches, backaches); sore muscles Increased susceptibility to cold, flus and infections Sleep problems (e.g., difficulty falling or staying asleep, or early morning awakenings) Gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., digestive problems, ulcers); irritable bowel symptoms (e.g., abdominal pain, cramping); changes in appetite or weight Skin problems (e.g., hives, eczema)

 

Workplace Burnout can be confused with some other mental health and stress related problems such as Trauma and Stress-Related disorders, Mood disorders such as Major Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. For more information on these issues, check out the related factsheets at https://cpa.ca/psychologyfactsheets/.

What causes burnout?

There are many different ideas about what causes burnout but most researchers agree that chronic work stress is a significant factor. Burnout is more likely to occur when job demands outweigh job resources.

Researchers also agree that both situational and individual factors may contribute or increase the likelihood of an individual developing burnout.

A number of risk factors for contributing to burnout have been identified:

Individual risk factors

• Demonstrating perfectionism in every aspect of one’s work, without considering priorities
• Placing too much importance on work (e.g., work as sole focus of life)
• Low self-esteem, cognitive rigidity, emotional instability and external locus of control
• Certain personal situations (e.g., major family responsibilities) disrupting work-life balance
• Difficulties in setting limits and boundaries (leading to work-life imbalance)
• Having high expectations of oneself and heightened professional conscience
• Difficulty delegating or working with a team in a stressful environment
• Inadequate adaptation strategies (dependence, poor time management, high need for support, unwise lifestyle habits, difficult interpersonal relationships)
• A highly driven, ‘A-type’ personality that is high in competitiveness and need for control

Situational risk factors

• Work overload
• Lack of control and inability to participate in decisions related to the way one’s work is done.
• Insufficient reward and recognition (e.g., financial compensation, esteem, respect) can be devaluing and heighten feelings of inefficacy.
• “Toxic” Community where work relationships are characterized by unresolved conflict, lack of psychological support, poor communication, and mistrust.
• Unfair treatment or incivility and disrespect can lead to cynicism, anger and hostility.
• Values conflicts on the job, where there is a gap between personal and organizational values, can create stress as workers must make a trade-off between their beliefs and work they have to do.
• Poorly defined responsibilities, ambiguous roles, and difficult schedules have also been identified as stressful when the situation persists.

What helps people with burnout?

The best practice approaches for burnout are multi-faceted, involving a high focus on self-care strategies for the individual, and reducing work environment stressors.

Burnout interventions should focus on both:

• the individual (e.g., increase employees’ psychological resources and enhance coping; providing rest and respite from demands; enhancing the use of self-care strategies), and
• the environment (e.g., change the occupational context and reducing sources of stress, primarily related to work demands).

There is more research on individual strategies than on environmental or organizational strategies. However, there is research evidence for the primary role of situational factors and it appears that individual-focused interventions are not sufficient to tackle severe burnout. Workplace stressors also need to be considered and addressed.

How can you prevent or deal with burnout?

For individuals

• Change work patterns (e.g., work less, take more breaks, avoid overtime)
• Develop coping skills (e.g., time management)
• Improve interpersonal effectiveness skills (e.g., assertiveness and conflict resolution skills)
• Prioritize self-care (e.g., exercise, eat healthy, get enough sleep)
• Practice relaxation, meditation and/or mindfulness strategies
• Obtain social support (from colleagues and family)
• Change the way you think about your work (e.g., using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
• Enhance self-understanding through psychotherapy
• Enhance emotional intelligence skills (e.g., self-awareness and self-regulation of emotions, as well as other awareness)

For organizations

• Ensure employees have a sustainable and manageable workload – where demands are realistic.
• Involve employees in decisions that affect their work tasks so they have some opportunity to exercise professional autonomy and control/ability to access the resources necessary to do an effective job.
• Recognize and reward employees for work well done.
• Build a healthy community where employees have positive relationships and social support. Develop communication and conflict resolution skills so employees have effective ways of working out disagreements.
• Develop fair and equitable organizational policies. Treat employees with appropriate respect.
• Define organizational values, job goals and expectations.
• Promote good health (including mental health) and fitness

How can psychologists help people with burnout?

Psychologists educate workplaces (leaders and employees) about burnout so they understand what it is and how to handle it, via all-team or leadership-specific workshops and professional development sessions.

Psychologists can also conduct assessments on individuals to help figure out if they are experiencing burnout and develop a plan for addressing it. Psychologists can help workplaces identify organizational factors that may be contributing to stress and burnout.

Psychologists can help you build individual skills, such as coping, stress management, time management, and emotional intelligence. Psychologists can help organizations develop programs for improving employee engagement, reducing stress, and preventing burnout.

Psychologists engage in research to help us better understand burnout and develop the best strategies for preventing and treating it.

Finally, Psychologists can advocate for people experiencing burnout.

For more information:

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial and some municipal associations of psychology often maintain referral services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/PTassociations/.

You can find additional information and free self-help resources on mental health in the workplace and burnout at:

• Workplace Strategies for Mental Health (workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com)
• CSA National Standard for Psychological Health & Safety in the Workplace (https://store.csagroup.org/ccrz__CCPage?pagekey=content&contentkey=Z1003HealthandSaftey_EN)
• World Health Organization https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/en/
• Mental Health Commission of Canada (https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/what-we-do/workplace)

Sante mentale en milieu de travail:

• https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/Francais/ce-que-nous-faisons/sante-mentale-en-milieu-de-travail
• https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/fr/
• https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence//fr/

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Dr. Melanie Badali, Registered Psychologist at the North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic, and Dr. Joti Samra, Registered Psychologist, CEO and Founder of MyWorkPlaceHealth.

Date:  May 17, 2021

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657

 

When does relationship conflict become relationship distress?

Conflict is a normal part of being a couple. However, all of us need to feel loved, understood, and respected by the people we are close to, and conflict in these relationships can undermine our emotional security. What makes the difference is how the conflict is handled. Couples who resolve conflicts constructively strengthen their relationships over time by improving intimacy and trust. Constructive strategies include stating opinions and needs clearly and calmly listening to and attempting to understand the partner’s point of view.

Conflict becomes destructive when needs are not expressed or when they are expressed in ways that criticize, blame, or belittle the partner. For instance, a woman who is hurt that her husband plays golf every weekend may accuse him of “selfishness” instead of expressing how lonely she feels when they are apart.

Although research does not provide a “one-size-fits-all” explanation for why certain couples are more vulnerable to distress than others, the critical nature of how couples resolve conflicts and provide emotional support to one another is widely agreed upon across the literature. However, there are several areas besides how couples handle conflict that have consistent support as factors that predict distress in relationships. For instance, various personal, social, economic, and environmental determinants of health (e.g., income status, job security, health status, education level, experiences of past discrimination), can act as external stressors that may exacerbate strains in the relationships. Individual differences, such as traits like neuroticism, may also impede relationship functioning.

When a couple is distressed, typically one partner takes the position of not saying how they feel while the other partner takes the position of blaming and criticizing. This pattern, which is very common in distressed relationships, tends to get worse over time. These couples often feel trapped in fights that are never resolved. Some couples may also handle conflict through means of avoidance. Avoiding conflict still damages relationships because partners become increasingly disengaged from one another.

Finally, couples who experience ongoing conflict can become aggressive with one another, and may push, slap, or hit each other during arguments. Importantly, other destructive forms of aggression include emotional and/or verbal harms, often manifesting as non-physical and control-oriented behaviour such as cyber aggression.

The impact of conflict on individuals and families is significant. Indeed, individuals who are repeatedly involved in relationship-related conflicts are at a higher risk for a variety of mental and physical health issues, notably depression, alcohol misuse, various illnesses, and increased mortality. They get sick more easily and die earlier than happily married couples.

Distressed couples do not cope well with life’s inevitable stressors, and they may run into problems even when they go through normal changes, like the birth of a child. Children who witness repeated conflict between their parents also are at risk for emotional and behavioural problems. One of the most serious impacts of relationship conflict is divorce. The most common reason given for divorcing is infidelity, with a lack or loss of intimacy being a key driver of the infidelity. Of course, ongoing and unresolved conflict contributes to both relationship distress and loss of intimacy.

How can psychology help?

Three distinct forms of psychological treatment have been shown to help distressed couples.

Behavioural Marital Therapy (BMT) and Cognitive Behavioural Couple Therapy (CBCT) involve helping couples to communicate more effectively and to problem-solve in ways that resolve their conflicts. Emotion-Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) tackles the unmet emotional needs underlying relationship distress. Instead of trying to solve problems, the couple therapist helps the partners to talk about their needs to feel loved and important to each other in ways that promote compassion and new ways of interacting.

Clinical trials of these therapies show that the majority of couples feel more satisfied with their marriages by the end of treatment. A few studies have also shown that the gains couples made in therapy are still evident two years later, or even that the couples’ relationships continued to improve.

Unfortunately, few couples seek psychological treatment early enough. As a result, programs for relationship enrichment and the prevention of conflict have been developed. These programs focus on improving communication and teaching conflict resolution skills to couples before they are in trouble. Often, they are offered to groups over a weekend or series of weeks. Although these programs are effective in the short-term, research shows that couples often have difficulty maintaining these new skills once the program ends. ‘Discernment Counselling’, which is considered a brief intervention, may be one means of approaching these issues.  Specifically, it helps couples to determine whether they wish to take steps toward divorce or to commit to working on the relationship for a set period of time.

Where do I go for more information?

• Couple relationships and cognitive-behavioural marital therapy can be found at http://www.gottman.com
• Emotion-Focused Therapy can be found at http://iceeft.com/
• Prevention and enrichment programs can be found at http://www.smartmarriages.com

You can consult with a registered psychologist to find out if psychological interventions might be of help to you. Provincial, territorial and some municipal associations of psychology often maintain referral services. For the names and coordinates of provincial and territorial associations of psychology, go to https://cpa.ca/public/whatisapsychologist/ptassociations/.

This fact sheet was originally prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Valerie E. Whiffen, Ph.D. R.Psych., Private Practice, Vancouver, BC in October 2009.

Updates: It was first updated in September 2012 and again, by the CPA’s Head Office Staff and Dr. Cheryl Harasymchuk, Ph.D., Carleton University, in June 2021

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657

 

What to expect from an interview

A job interview is a social interaction between two or more individuals, (1) interviewer(s), and (2) a job applicant. Before an interview, it is likely that the interviewer and the job applicant know very little about each other. They have likely never met before, and the majority of the information would have come from the applicant’s resume, a pre-interview test results, or some initial correspondence via email or telephone.

As such, the interview process is a tool to gather additional information so both parties can make an informed decision about whether they want to continue or start an employment relationship.

For example, the interviewer is trying to assess two key “elements of fit”:

• Person-job fit: based on skills and experience, is the applicant qualified to perform the duties of the position?
• Person-organization fit: based on personality and values, will the applicant be a good fit with the company’s values, culture and preferences or interest?

At the same time, the applicant is trying to understand whether they will feel comfortable in that job/position and happy working for that organization, so they are also assessing the organization as a potential partner for this employment relationship. To promote themselves as a great place to work, the organization may highlight positive aspects about the job, the working conditions, and other organizational benefits during the interview.

During an interview, there is often some embellishment on both sides. For a job applicant, there is an incentive to put your best foot forward, which can lead to exaggeration or dishonesty about your skills or experience. In the same way, some organizations may embellish about the position, organization or benefits in order to recruit the best potential candidate.

Finally, there is a time element on all of this. There is a lot of information being shared in usually less than an hour. So there are cognitive demands on both sides to do a lot of things in a very limited amount of time.

Interviews can vary in a number of different ways, including format, interviewer(s), and medium:

Format
Type	Brief Description	Pros	Cons
One-to-One	One internal interviewer from the hiring organization	Most common type of interview, making the format more predictable	Singular perspective/assessment; more potential for bias
Panel	Multiple interviewers from the hiring organization	More diverse perspectives/less bias, can share tasks and responsibilities among interviewers	More cognitively demanding for applicants to interact with multiple interviewers
Group	Multiple applicants interviewing at the same time with one or more interviewers (e.g. for large organizations)	Cheaper for the hiring organization; chance to “check” the competition for applicants	May be more stressful for the applicant; fewer opportunities to put “your best foot forward” when being assessed alongside other applicants
Serial	Back-to-back interviews at the same organization but with different interviewers	Opportunity to gather different perspectives for the hiring organizations. Chance to meet with more people to assess the company for the applicant	Cognitively demanding for the applicant; can be confusing as to who/what you said in each interview; requires a lot of preparation

 

Interviewer(s)
Type	Brief Description	Pros	Cons
Supervisors/Colleagues	Future supervisor or potential colleagues	Opportunity to highlight in-depth expertise and background  (e.g. use of jargon and/or technical terms)	Not always interview experts, which can lead to  interview being conducted in a very unstandardized way or introduce different types of bias
HR Professionals/ I/O Psychology Consultants	External professionals with expertise in interviewing/HR processes	Expertise in how to conduct and/or design fair and appropriate interview assessments; more structured, less bias	Not experts in the job/subject matter, so language needs to be adapted (avoiding jargon and/or technical terms)

 

Medium
Type	Brief Description	Pros	Cons
In-person	Face-to-face meetings between interviewer and candidate	More room to clarify/expand on answers; opportunity to develop rapport and give-off a great impression using non-verbal cues	Heightened pressure/interview anxiety; difficulties with scheduling and more costly
Phone	Interview over the phone	May mitigate some interview anxiety; eliminates geographic distance	Less time to “sell yourself”; difficulties building rapport, zero non-verbal element
Synchronous Video	Live/video-conference interview	Similar to in-person, but more flexible and cheaper/easier to schedule	Risk of technical issues, poor internet connection, limited non-verbal elements
Asynchronous Video	Recorded video format	Most flexible option (can complete where and when you want). Very standardized and thus fair by default	Risk of technical issues, no interaction with an interviewer (so no verbal or non-verbal feedback), no opportunity to probe or follow-up

What kinds of questions can be asked?

(1)   Traditional / Popular

• Examples: “what is your main weakness?” what is your main strength? where do you see yourself in 5 years? why should we hire you?”
• Reatively easy to prepare because they are quite generic (a quick “google” to find most common questions should do the trick!)
• Can be considered as poor/sub-optimal interviewing techniques

(2)   Knowledge-based

• Examples: “what is the best technique to deal with…”
• Focused on job-specific questions, such as tools, techniques, methods, concepts, etc.
• As an expert in the field, you should have the background and expertise to answer these types of questions quite easily

(3)   Past-behavioural

• Example: “tell us about a time when you’ve dealt with/experienced….?”
• Based on actual behaviour – asked to reflect on what you have done in the past, ideally in a workplace or school-based context, to demonstrate whether you possess job-relevant skills or abilities
• Aims to assess if you have specific skill(s) such as leadership, communication, problem solving, time management and stress management – the question is often matched to the type of skill they are trying to assess.
• Can be considered as a “best practice” for interviewing

(4)   Situational

• Example: “imagine that you are working in…?”
• Based on intentions – aims to assess similar skills as past-behavioural questions by asking how you would handle a specific, hypothethical workplace situation/issue
• May include some kind of dilemma or challenge you to decide between two or more potential alternatives to solve a problem
• Usually includes a lot of details to create a specific context, including what the problem is, what you resourcing constraints are, etc.
• Can be considered as a “best practice” for interviewing

(5)   Brainteasers

• Example: “why are manhole covers round? how many ping pong balls can you put in a Boeing 747?”
• Not looking for the right answer, but instead, aims to assess your cognitive/problem-solving processing: how do you react to this weird situation where you have a bit of pressure on you? What kind of logic you do follow?
• Can be considered as poor/sub-optimal interviewing techniques

How to prepare for an interview

(1)   Try to identify the “selection criteria”

• Selection criteria is what the company is looking for – what are the skills, abilities experiences qualifications that they want to assess in this interview?

How and where?

• In the job ad → Role description and required qualifications, skills, or experience
• On the company (career) website → Culture, values, etc.
• Reaching out to connections within the organization
• Using online job descriptions
  • O*NET (https://www.onetonline.org/)
  • NOC (https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/)

(2)   Demonstrate how you can match the selection criteria

• Identify potential questions and find a relevant experience

(3)   Use the STAR technique

When asked to describe a past experience or emphasize qualifications

1. Situation – What was the context, when did it happen, what problem did you face?
2. Task – What was your role, position, or responsibilities (e.g., leadership)?
3. Action – How did you react, what action did you take, what decision did you make?
4. Result – What was the result or outcome for you, your team, or your organization?

(4)   Use honest impression management tactics

What does that mean?

• Present your skills, abilities, and experiences in a true but positive light
• Emphasize how your beliefs, core values, or personality align with the interviewer’s or the organization’s
• Take responsibility of your past errors or failures, but explain what happened, and describe how you learned from these experiences (e.g. providing contexting, such as COVID-19)

(5)   Apply effective coping strategies to manage interview anxiety

Use…

• … emotion-oriented coping strategies (e.g., share your anxiety with others, like friends, family members, partners, colleagues)
• … or problem-oriented coping strategies (e.g., practice, use breathing techniques)

Adapting to video interviews

As more and more businesses shift to a remote or hybrid working format, a lot of interviews are moving from in-person to video or technology mediated.

Video interviews come in two key formats: (1) synchronous video interviews (SVIs) using tools (e.g. zoom, skype), or (3) asynchronous video interviews (AVIs) using a platform where you actually are invited to go online and answers questions without any live interaction, and then those answers are watched later on by an interviewer.

SVIs	AVIs
• Live interaction • Similar to in-person • Can be facing a panel of  interviewers • Somewhat flexible (location)	• Not live (recorded only) • Talking to your camera only a largely novel experience • Multiple raters possible or  automatic (AI-based) scoring • Very flexible (location + time) • Preparation or re-recording  opportunities

Tips for video interviews

• Use the same 5 tips as with traditional interviews
• But also…
  1. Check your tech (computer, webcam, sound/mic, internet)
  2. Find the right time and place (quiet, natural light, book enough time, etc.)
  3. Consider your background (no distraction or bias-inducing content)
  4. Use options available to you (preparation time, re-recording)
  5. Practice even more!

For more information:

More on the psychology of interviewing from Dr. Nicholas Roulin: “The Psychology of Job Interviews.” (2017). Taylor & Francis.  https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Psychology_of_Job_Interviews/RS6EDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

More on video interviewing: https://theconversation.com/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997

An article on virtual hiring: https://theconversation.com/how-to-land-a-job-when-companies-have-shifted-to-virtual-hiring-144997

This fact sheet has been prepared for the Canadian Psychological Association by Dr. Nicholas Roulin, PhD, Associate Professor of I/O Psychology, Saint Mary’s University

Date:  June 30, 2021.

Your opinion matters! Please contact us with any questions or comments about any of the Psychology Works Fact Sheets:  factsheets@cpa.ca

Canadian Psychological Association

Tel: 613-237-2144
Toll free (in Canada): 1-888-472-0657