It’s not the long hours. It’s not the pressure. It’s something much worse than that.
2:30 am, another night awake, not because I have work to complete, but because I worked 11 hours today executing someone else’s strategy that I know will never work, in a way that I did not design, toward a goal that I had no part in creating. And tomorrow, I will do it all again.
In 2015, I was a senior-level executive earning a good income and respected by my team; however, in reality? I was self-destructing from the inside out.
Here’s What We Haven’t Been Told About Burnout
There are two different definitions of burnout being taught and told to us right now.
Definition 1: Too many hours + too little sleep = burnout
Definition 2: No control over how you work + a great deal of accountability for results = burnout
Let me give you examples to help you see the difference.
Example 1:
You’re working 60-hour weeks developing something you believe in. You are actively involved in the decision-making process. Your contributions impact the overall direction of the project. You are tired, but as you think about Monday, you don’t feel dread.
Example 2:
You are working 40-hour weeks implementing processes and ideas that were developed by three levels of management above you. All suggestions you make are either dismissed, modified without your input, or both. You are accountable for failure yet invisible for success. On Sunday evening you experience a tightness in your chest.
Who burns out first? Comment your views.
What Does Control Really Mean At Work
True autonomy at work does not mean that you can do whatever you want. True autonomy means that you have true influence over the things that you are responsible for.
Consider asking yourself the following questions regarding your job:
- Do you have real input into the goals that you are held accountable for?
Is it “Here is the target; go hit it?” or are you actively involved in the development of what success really means and why? - Can you determine how you will achieve the goals you are held accountable for?
Or is each step predetermined, and each method predetermined, and each decision predetermined for you? - Do you have control over the variables that directly impact the results you produce?
If you are responsible for delivering something and have no influence over the timeframes given to you, the resources you have available to you, the budget you have available to you, or the team members that report to you, you do not have control; you have blame waiting to happen. - When you express your opinions and offer alternative solutions, do you get a listening ear?
Do you get nodding heads and then total dismissal? Or do you get listened to, and sometimes action taken? - Are you trusted to make decisions, or do you require approval for everything?
If you are always needing approval before you take action, you are not leading; you are just an executor with a very important title.
If you answered “no” to most of these questions, you are not burnt out due to your inability to manage the workload, but you are burnt out because the workload does not allow you to truly lead the workforce!
What Happens When You Actually Give Control Back
Last year, we had a project spinning out, and the client was unhappy, deadlines were slipping, and the team lead, Meera, was drowning.
I would have stepped in to take control of the situation as in the past; however, this time, I asked Meera if she could be the decision-maker for this project for 2 weeks: “What would you do first if you had full control over this project?” She answered quickly.
“I’d eliminate 50% of the required deliverables; most are based on what may be needed, not what is needed today. I’d allocate our team’s time to those 2 things that would have the biggest impact on the clients’ success, and I would have a straight-up conversation with the client about what is possible.” At that moment I gave her the authority to pursue her plan.
Two weeks after that, the project was back on track, the client was happier than they had been in months, and Meera’s team was energised and no longer burnt out.
Same team. Same workload. Better outcome. The only difference? She had real control.
The Real Questions Leaders Need to Be Asking
Instead of saying “Are the people around you working too much?” Start saying:
- What are they working on that they have no say over?
- How many of their ideas have I actually acted on in the last quarter?
- When was the last time I allowed someone to make a decision I disagreed with and then just let them do it?
- Do I trust my team to make good decisions, or do I just trust them to carry out the decisions I want them to make?
If you are feeling burned-out yourself:
- What am I responsible for that I have no authority over?
- What decisions am I making that someone else should be making?
- What battles am I fighting that I shouldn’t be fighting?
- Why haven’t I pushed back on any of these?
These last questions are the most difficult questions and sometimes the reason is simply: “I’m afraid of what will happen if I do.”
What Research Says About Autonomy (That We Don’t Listen to Enough)
For decades organisational psychology research has shown us that autonomy is one of the greatest predictors of job satisfaction, engagement, and psychological well-being. Not salary, not benefits, not workload, but the ability to make decisions about your own work.
Take that away, and no matter how many wellness programmes you have or how many mental health days you add to the calendar, you’re treating symptoms while ignoring the root cause.
What it Comes Down To
People don’t burn out because they work too long; people burn out when they spend so much of their energy doing things that make them feel unimportant.
- Doing things where they have responsibility for their work but not the power to decide anything.
- Being held accountable for something but not being given the power to take action.
- Executing indefinitely but never being able to decide.
That is not a time management issue; That is not a self-care issue. That is a leadership issue.
And there is no other way to solve the issue but to give people control of the work they are accountable for, the type of control that says, “I trust you enough to make this decision, even though I may have made a different choice.”
Leaders who hold onto control but wonder why their best employees keep quietly falling apart have never worked. Never have.