This Airplane Doesn't Come With Oxygen Masks
How to survive the unsurvivable at work
At Work:
I’ve spent the bulk of my career working in healthcare, education, and creative strategy. That means I’ve worked with some of the most under-resourced, super passionate, and burned out people in the workforce: clinicians, teachers, and creatives.
I’ve worked in enough startups, schools, and businesses in transition to know how impractical the conventional wisdom around burnout can be.
“Put your oxygen mask on before helping others…”
“You can’t pour from an empty cup…”
Sounds nice, but is often simply not possible. What if your company’s proverbial taps are dry? What if your airplane doesn’t come with oxygen masks for anyone?
When a company is short-staffed, in crisis, or simply muddling through a large transition— there often simply aren’t enough resources, systems, or infrastructure in place to allow people the freedom to strategically distribute workload, proactively rest, or firm up boundaries.
Burnout is seldom the cause of individual failing or poor workload management. The root causes of burnout are almost always systemic, putting an unfair pressure on individual employees to manage the symptoms of burnout in systems that make it very difficult to do so.
So what do you do when you know you need to do something to take care of yourself, but you work in an environment that makes it really hard to do so?
Maybe your salary is too low to invest comfortably in therapy. Maybe you don’t have health benefits or very much PTO. Maybe you work in crisis management or healthcare and are at the mercy of whoever shows up to your office that day. Maybe you’re down a team member and have no one to delegate to. Maybe you run your own business and taking a week off means losing a week of income. Or maybe working overtime is the only way you can pay other people’s salaries.
How do you manage your own burnout when you can’t leave (or change) the environment that’s burning you out in the first place?
Zhuzh What You Can:
Find small, low-lift, low-cost ways to improve your immediate work environment where you can. Adding personal touches to your workspace can help boost your sense of autonomy and control, which often take a hit when you’re overburdened or working in a relatively uncontrollable environment.
Clear out your “scary” drawer, buy a candle, change your desktop background, reorganize your desk layout just for the hell of it. You’d be surprised how much of a difference a little “zhuzh” can make.
Personalize your work routine by incorporating enjoyable rituals or habits that bring a touch of positivity to your day, even in the midst of chaos.
Aggressively Pursue Beauty & Pleasure
While you may not be in a position to take a luxurious vacation, I want you to double down on anything that brings you a sense of pleasure, beauty, and joy. Think of it as romancing your non-work self.
Even if these moments are brief and scattered throughout the day, intentionally attune to the beauty around you and notice how it feels in your body to enjoy the beauty and pleasure to be had in a five minute music break, reading a novel for five minutes before passing out at bedtime, or savoring a little afternoon treat.
Think of these pockets of joy as teeny tiny top-ups to keep you bolstered throughout your day. Your commitment and intention to savoring these moments will only deepen their effect. Make them as small as you need to become non-negotiable.
Get By With Help From Your Friends
Find your people and stick together. When institutions can support your wellbeing, you need to find that support in community — both at work and outside of it.
Tell your best non-work friends how much you are struggling to keep your head above water and set up an agreement to communicate with them when you need to without feeling guilty about it. Make a dedicated group chat for work venting, or decide that every time you send the “🛟” emoji, you need to cash in on some rant time.
Find your work besties and do the same. Consider setting up regular check-ins with coworkers to commiserate and exchange coping strategies.
Find people outside your company but in your field (or similar position) to connect with. In addition to helping you feel less alone, you might get some ideas you can apply to your own workplace by learning from other’s suffering.
If you’re in this position, please know I understand wholeheartedly how terrible this double bind can be. I’m rooting for you and hoping you find your way out of this crispy burnout as soon as you can.
And now for something completely different…
At Leisure:
The Great British Bake Off has long been a lifesaver of mine. Few shows give me more pleasure and foster more hope in humanity than this gem of a show. I’ve no doubt that you’ve stumbled your way into loving this show, so this recommendation is by no means revolutionary; I can’t imagine how anyone could get through an entire pandemic without cruising through season after season on Netflix.
However, I want to use this space to shout out my current saving grace, the (in my opinion) star of Series 14: Saku!!
This woman delights me to no end and I simply cannot get enough of her on screen. She is perfect and I know I’m not the only one who knows it.
On your mark, get set, BAKE!
Talk soon.
-G x