Member-only story
What Really Causes Burnout?
A lack of personal growth and development was behind my own
Working too much grinds us down. But not growing is what keeps us from responding skillfully to overwork. Feeling fulfilled, and satisfied with our work requires personal development.
Research shows that the single biggest cause of work burnout is not work overload, but working too long without experiencing your own personal development.
- An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization
When I was 32 I hit that place. I was working with midwives in Afghanistan. My mission didn’t just feel urgent and important, it was. Women and babies were dying for preventable reasons. Midwives needed resources, support, and training.
You can’t do you best work, or live you best life when you are running from, pushing down and avoiding your truth.
All I knew how to do, was try harder. In response to stories of a baby dying on a marble floor while a distracted, overwhelmed, and barely graduated midwife practices her skills for the third stage of labor — I worked harder. In response to donor confusion — I worked harder. In response to an opportunity for increased funding — I worked harder…
