Burnout Research: Pandemic Coping Strategies, Toxic Resilience & Imposter Syndrome

• What is burnout?
• Burnout warning signs
• The Three Pillars Of Burnout:
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Habits
• The two corporate risk predictors:
  • Toxic resilience
  • Imposter Syndrome
• Solutions: Symptoms vs root causes
• Actions you can take today
• Strategic solutions, longer-term
• The Natural Resilience Method®
• Book a call with Clare Josa
• Cite this research or interview Clare Josa

Burnout happens after an extended period of mental, emotional and physical stress. People feel emotionally drained, completely overwhelmed, and they struggle to meet their commitments. They doubt themselves, impacting their confidence, and find it hard to perform at their previous level.

It is a sliding scale, with plenty of warning signs, and it can lead to extended staff absence, mental health issues, and it can make valued staff leave a job they previously loved, as well as negatively impacting team dynamics and working relationships.

It impacts performance, productivity, motivation, decision-making, and creativity, and can take months or even years to fully recover, if not addressed soon enough. Yet, in most cases, it is preventable.

Pushing on through and keeping going, despite the crippling exhaustion and overwhelm that burnout creates, makes it much more likely that staff will need extended time off. Every line manager and HR professional should know how to spot the warning signs and be proactively addressing this.

65% of staff have energy levels that are not sustainable, which put them at risk of burnout. 31% reported regularly lying awake at night worrying, which was impacting their energy and their performance.

And the burnout research study analysis showed that, based on their responses, 34% of respondents are currently at high risk of burning out.

Line managers and HR teams need to be aware of the warning signs. You need to be looking for changes in behaviour, which might include:

We all need to play a proactive part in turning this around, and having a framework around which to assess and implement changes is important. So here is what the research found about the three pillars of burnout.

Cultural factors can be driven by the organisation we work for, our team within the organisation, the country we live in, our faith, or other beliefs. In the research study, we focused on those that an organisation can influence.

Whilst culture is perhaps the slowest of the three pillars of burnout to change, there are simple things that could be done within teams by the end of the day today, if the will is there.

Here are the main findings from the burnout research study on this.

The human brain and body are wired to look for threats, to keep us safe. Whenever a 'ping' goes off, it drags us out of flow, and for many it has become a stress trigger. This can fire off the 'fight-flight-freeze' response, flooding the body with adrenalin and cortisol, adding to chronic stress and anxiety - 20, 30, 40 times an hour.

Over time, constant pinging, especially if attached to the perceived threat of time-based escalation, can lead to hypervigilance, where the body gets 'stuck' in the stress response, constantly on the look-out for perceived threats. This is a major contributor to burnout. [Here's a podcast episode Clare did on hypervigilance]

And this isn't uncommon:

47% reported feeling under pressure to respond quickly to pings, even if they were busy, citing constant pinging as one of their biggest sources of stress.

"There's a 10-minute window to respond to a ping, after which I know it will be escalated to my boss. And if that doesn't work, I know they'll ping my director to complain about me."

15% of respondents reported dreading pings, saying they made them feel totally overwhelmed. Only one person in seven was not bothered by them. 

Managing multiple communication channels and being constantly interrupted disrupts concentration, increases the likelihood of mistakes, and directly contributes to the risk of burnout.

There were other culture-led factors that were increasing the risk of burnout and negatively impacting performance:

Highly Competitive Cultures

28% of respondents said they felt judged, criticised or compared with others at work, daily or regularly. If someone is struggling with chronic stress, as has become endemic over the past two years, then they will have a heightened radar to threats (the hypervigilance we discussed above). If they're already doubting themselves, then they will be more sensitive to comparison.

The burnout research study showed that companies that had a tradition of ranking employees, or 360-degree feedback where 'constructive criticism' was required as part of the process, were creating cultures where those 28% were feeling constant, low-level fear, lest their performance drop for even a day. There were working on high alert and, ironically, this was negatively affecting their performance.

Meeting Overwhelm

47% of respondents said they had far too many meetings in their diary, many of which weren't really necessary, and that they often got double-booked or had to miss lunch.

"I do my day of meetings and then start work at 5pm." 

Zoom-fatigue isn't just down to video conferencing. It's down to the fact that too many meetings are being scheduled.

The burnout research study showed that a shocking 62% of respondents estimate the number of meetings they now have in a week has nearly doubled since before the pandemic - because it's so much easier to book them and invite everyone, without the need to schedule a meeting room or arrange travel.

Most respondents who said they had too many meetings reported that they worried they would be judged as being obstructive or not committed if they refused to attend meetings. And this daily schedule made it hard to balance home and work. Many reported that back-to-back meetings meant they didn't even get a comfort break for hours on end.

And the challenge they faced was that these meetings create tasks for them, which they no longer have time to do. If they are experiencing Imposter Syndrome, then they were likely to struggle with people-pleasing (a common coping strategy - see below), which would lead to them taking on actions that weren't really 'theirs', making this even worse, leading to an unmanageable workload.

Still 'At Work', Out-Of-Hours

59% of respondents said they felt they had to check their emails outside of working hours, on a daily basis (often multiple times, including just before bed). They worried that if they didn't, their inbox would 'pile up' for the next morning and they wouldn't be able to clear it before the day's meetings started, or they would 'get into trouble' for holding up projects on other timezones.

"If I don't check my emails before I go to bed, then I wake up to howlers in my inbox, which ruins my day before it even starts."

They said this made it hard for them to switch off and that they felt 'wired' and in work mode until they fell asleep, with a negative impact on home life and relationships.

Everything Is Urgent

People report feeling under more pressure than ever before to get things done 'yesterday', living in fear of the requester escalating it to their boss if they don't.

"Nothing can wait anymore. Everything is urgent. I think it's because everyone else is stressed, too."

Respondents reported that bosses have become so paranoid about proving that remote-working-in-a-pandemic / hybrid working doesn't damage productivity that people are scared to ask for deadline extensions and say 'yes' to everything extra that lands on their kitchen-table-desk. In addition, if others are feeling stressed and worried about not meeting deadlines, then this stress gets passed on to team members.

This is also one of the major reasons given for why people felt obliged to be checking emails outside hours.

The burnout research respondents described feeling like they were constantly fire-fighting and they were scared to ever let anything drop.

Workload Too High

The majority of respondents said they are working longer hours now than before the pandemic.

This was particularly true for women with school-aged children, who tended to over-compensate for their need to juggle work and carer responsibilities.

However, there was a feeling in general that workloads are too high. People are struggling to get everything done. And they're scared of being judged or criticised if they don't.

Many reported being asked to 'step up' to take on more work for a short period, but that this became the 'new normal' for them. They didn't feel they could raise this with their boss in case they were seen as being 'lightweight' or 'not committed'.

And there are also behavioural factors that affect workload and the perception of it being too high, including negative self-talk and Imposter Syndrome coping strategies (including perfectionism, procrastination, project paralysis and people-pleasing), as we'll cover shortly.

Toxic Resilience

The mainstream understanding of 'resilience' is the ability to bounce back from adversity, to pick yourself up after knocks, to be thick-skinned in the face of conflict, and to grit your teeth to be able to cope with stress, radical change, and trauma, pretending that you're fine.

In business it's seen as the ability to keep going, no matter what is going on around you, 'toughing it out'. Many CEOs see resilience as the ability to endure and bounce back from adversity. But that first requires the employee to suffer, which should be unnecessary.

This actually describes toxic resilience. And 71% of the research study respondents said this was what was expected in their organisation. But unfortunately it's a major driver of burnout.

But what if we have got resilience wrong?

The opposite of toxic resilience is not, contrary to what some CEOs think, lazing around wearing your favourite 'special snowflake' badge.

Natural resilience is about having the skills, the environmental support and the cultural support to be able to be less knocked by life's curve-balls. There are ways to train your mind, your body and your emotions to have a longer fuse, to set yourself free from chronic stress, to do the work that means you're not hypervigilant.

This means that life doesn't knock you as much. You feel calmer, happier, and almost 'immune' to other people's drama. Clare Josa has developed the Natural Resilience Method® to achieve this, which we will cover later.

In addition, organisations have a duty of care for psychological safety that means being shouted at, being put under unnecessary pressure, being bullied, and working with toxic colleagues, or in a toxic environment, or being expected to 'bounce back' after negative experiences must stop.

With natural resilience, there's less to bounce back from. And you're able to connect with your inner still point, so you stay in flow, where others are freaking out.

When employees feel they have to push on through, keeping going even if they're exhausted, and pretend they're fine, bouncing back from knocks, they no longer feel it is safe to ask for help or to reduce their workload. That's toxic resilience.

This is our physical working space. Does it support the way we work best? Does it feel safe - physically and psychologically? Does it give us the interaction or quiet we need? Do we love working from home? Or do we dread the kids Zoom-bombing a client pitch and our colleagues knowing the colour of our dressing gown?

There's more to this than beanbags in meeting rooms. And hybrid working hot-desking will be a trigger for many on this.

Our working environment, be it home, office or a favourite cafe, plays a role in the foundation layers of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs - in meeting our physiological needs and our sense of safety and security. It also hits the middle of his pyramid in our need for belonging. So hot-desking can trigger not feeling safe, because we are randomly sitting with people who may be strangers, in an unfamiliar environment, every time we go back into the office.

Workplace dynamics and politics play a role here, too. Are there toxic team mates or energy vampires lurking by the coffee machine? How might this impact someone's ability to feel safe, expressing their ideas or opinions?

Plenty of important work is going into how to make workplaces Covid-safe, but we need to be consciously aware of how these choices might impact how people then feel in the workplace.

58% distractions in their working environment are stopping them from concentrating, on a daily basis. And 77% said that their working environment drained their batteries.

For some who were working from home, this was children or carer responsibilities, or even neighbours. If they didn't have a dedicated space to work, then this could also create stress. For others working from home, however, that environment supported them and boosted their productivity.

For some in the office, the additional noise, after 18 months of relative quiet, was very distracting. And hearing everyone else's 'pings' was a large source of stress. Whereas others thrived in this noisier environment. [Here's a podcast episode on the different needs of extroverts vs introverts]

71% of respondents said that working from home had blurred their work-home boundaries, making it harder to switch off, especially in international companies where out-of-hours meetings on different time zones had become the norm, because people no longer had to be in the office for them, outside of core hours.

But returning to the office wasn't the fix, for many, in part because they now find the multi-hour commute more stressful, they are worried about Covid safety on public transport, and the reduction in both train times and childcare hours for many was a major stress trigger.

There's more to preventing burnout than beanbags in meeting rooms. And there's no one-size-fits-all solution. It's essential to talk openly with staff about what kind of working environment would best support them to thrive.

Do our habits support us topping up our batteries or draining them? And going deeper than that, how are our thought habits impacting our energy levels?

Are the stories we tell ourselves making things better or worse? What is driving those habits? And how could we shift from 'fighting' to 'flowing' in our work?

Our habits, deeply held beliefs, subconscious conditioning, and sense of self all impact the actions we take and how we feel about taking them, which explains why two people can be in the same environment and culture, but one will experience burnout and the other won't.

It doesn't mean one is wrong and the other is somehow better.

Those who are close to burnout aren't weak. The problem is that they've been strong for too long.

Of the three pillars of burnout, our habits are the one where our power lies. And, contrary to what we might think, it's the pillar where we can make the fastest changes.

In addition, making changes to our habits by rewiring the brain and the body to feel calm, confident and courageous makes it easier to influence our environment and organisational culture in positive, empowering ways. These habits, developed from our life experiences, explain why two people can go through the same situation and one will be fine, whist the other could be traumatised.

Here are the main findings from the habits pillar from the burnout research:

The Two Types Of Fear

Clare Josa's research over the past 18 years has shown that there are two types of fear:

1. Legitimate Fear
   This is the genuine survival-level fear that instinctively protects us, if we're doing something dangerous such as walking along a slippery cliff path on a muddy day. 
    
2. Mind-Story Fear
   These are the stories we tell ourselves about what might go wrong. It's the what-iffing and catastrophising that takes over in the dark of the night, holding us back from taking actions on our goals and dreams.
    
   These mind-story fears feel as real as those that are legitimately keeping us safe from physical danger. With them, we're trying to keep ourselves safe from psychological and emotional harm, without realising that the self-talk is actually making this worse.

The problem is that your body feels every thought you think [podcast episode explains how this works] and it can't tell the difference between these two types of fear. Also, we convince ourselves that the mind-story fears are real. And if we tell ourselves those stories often enough, it rewires the brain to spot outside-world evidence to support those fears, discounting the evidence that contradicts them.

This leads to people avoiding taking action on core tasks, to avoid these fears, which is why 28% of respondents reported procrastinating multiple times a day. It's a coping strategy that is a warning sign for burnout and can be a significant stress response.

This is why one of the most potent ways to prevent or turn around burnout is to learn how to choose which thoughts to feed. [Here's a podcast episode Clare did on this] With 52% of respondents saying they get stuck in negative thinking on a frequent basis, this is an urgent area for training.

And that's surprisingly simple, when you know how, as we'll discuss soon. Neuroplasticity means we can rewire the neural pathways that drive our thoughts, with support from the body, to turn the inner critic into a genuine cheerleader, which can be life-changing.

Confidence

Stress, exhaustion and hypervigilance all reduce our confidence, and 54% of respondents reported regularly doubting themselves, lacking confidence, despite their colleagues thinking they have their act together.

This impacts all areas of work, from creativity and communication to 'to do' lists and decision making.

Self-doubt is made worse by burning out, and it makes people work harder, increasing the likelihood of burnout.

Our habits and life experience dictate whether a situation knocks us for six or we sail on through. And there is plenty we can do to rewire those habits, in the body and the brain, so we can feel calm, confident and courageous.

The 2022 burnout research study found that Imposter Syndrome is one of the most important predictors of whether or not someone is at risk of burning out.

Imposter Syndrome is the fear of being 'found out' as not good enough or a fraud, even though the outside world thinks you're confident. As you will see, it is a core driver in burnout.

In the 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study, 52% of respondents had struggled with it daily or regularly in the past year. From the 2022 burnout research study, we found that this figure has risen to 62%. This is in part due to increased stress and hypervigilance, which makes us more aware of criticism, and also due to the reduction in non-work contact with colleagues, meaning worries get internalised with over-thinking - hence the urgent need for us to focus on learning how to choose which thoughts to feed.

This is also having a direct impact on the gender pay gap and lack of diversity in leadership roles. [Contact Clare to discuss the research on this]

Here are some of the core statistics from the 2022 study:

'Comparisonitis'

In addition to feeling compared by their organisation or colleagues, 76% of respondents said they are comparing themselves with others and judging themselves as not being good enough, daily or regularly.

Clare Josa defines Imposter Syndrome as:

Imposter Syndrome could be described as the secret fear of others judging us, the way we're judging ourselves.

So the more we compare ourselves, the more we judge ourselves, and this makes Imposter Syndrome and its self-sabotage protective behaviours worse.

The impact of feedback - positive or negative

'Constructive criticism' is a common part of working life for many people. And, indeed, receiving feedback on our performance is an important part of growing. But for the 62% of people who are struggling with Imposter Syndrome, the classic ways of giving feedback, as used in most organisations, are very damaging.

With Imposter Syndrome, people conflate their behaviour / performance with their sense of identity; who they think they are. So any evaluation of their actions is automatically taken personally and they experience it as being judged, as a person, even if it was well-intentioned.

79% of the burnout research respondents said they worry and beat themselves up if they receive negative feedback, taking it personally, with two thirds those giving a lot of energy to thinking about it, often for weeks.

But this wasn't only a problem with negative feedback. When you're running Imposter Syndrome, you get stuck on the 'praise-criticism roller coaster' and it's harder for you to know for yourself whether you have done a good job. You actually need more feedback than most people, but this has to be done the right way.

72% of respondents said that positive feedback was difficult to receive. They described it triggering the fight-flight-freeze response, as they were waiting for the 'but'. And 39% of respondents would volunteer that 'but' and criticise themselves, if the feedback-giver didn't.

"I spent the whole first year when I got promoted living in fear that they would fire me for not being good enough. It was a real shock when I got an outstanding performance review. I had no idea."

There are ways to prevent this problem, with the most effective approach including line manager training, a review of the in-house feedback / performance review strategies, and targeted support for those with Imposter Syndrome to help them shift from judging themselves, to being able to evaluation their performance, instead.

Lost ideas, innovation & inspiration

We tend to assume that everyone feels comfortable speaking up with their ideas, sharing their opinions, and even challenging things that won't work.

But one of the biggest self-protection strategies from the 2022 burnout research study was holding back with speaking up with ideas in meetings, due to Imposter Syndrome. This has become even easier for meetings that are virtual and video-free - no one notices you wanted to say something. And this is also a form of self-sabotage, because it means others can't see the person's true potential.

11% feel confident. That's just one in ten of your teams. 28% hold back with their 'edgier' ideas or challenging the status quo. 27% say they have to psych themselves up to speak out and often find it hard. 21% push themselves to do it, but find it scary. And 13% say it takes a lot to get them to share an idea or opinion, because they feel scared they might be criticised, so they do their best to avoid it.

The body's fight-flight-freeze mechanism and neuroscience also explain why creativity and innovation are also lost due to stress, worry and anxiety, due to re-routing of blood flow in the brain to prioritise survival over strategic or inspired thinking. This is something that runs completely subconsciously, so goes beyond the reach of learned behaviour and coping strategies.

How Imposter Syndrome trashes productivity

The 2019 Imposter Syndrome Research Study allowed us to understand how it impacts productivity and performance, both on a psychological level and also a practical, neuroscience basis. From it, we were able to create the 4 Ps of Imposter Syndrome model, which explains why those who are struggling with this tend to work longer hours and feel that their workload is impossible.

In brief, here is how Imposter Syndrome adds to our workload, increasing the risk of burnout [there's a podcast episode on this here]:

What happens with 'golden opportunities'? How people hide.

"I feel like if I'm in the spotlight, everyone will see if I make a mistake. So I do my best not to go there. But it hurts to see someone else get the chance I secretly wanted."

Holding back from being visible or speaking up with their best ideas means people are less likely to be top-of-mind for promotions and other opportunities. This is one of the ways that Imposter Syndrome directly impacts the gender pay gap, because this holding back from being visible was much more common for women than for me.

60% of female respondents reported actively avoiding going for promotions, unless (or even if) they tick every box, whereas the male respondents tended to push on through the fear (which triggered future anxiety). The research found that this is a major reason why female 'rising stars' leave a company they love - because they are scared of the public 'shame' if they go for a promotion and don't get it.

For 49% of respondents, being visible directly triggers anxiety. And burnout, lockdowns, and hypervigilance have increased these self-protective behaviours. They are coping strategies that deal with the symptoms, rather than the causes.

59% of respondents were aware that Imposter Syndrome was causing them to self-sabotage, but they didn't know how to prevent this.

Here are the ways people described themselves as feeling, when they were running Imposter Syndrome, and when they imagined life without it. Remember that 62% of the research respondents experience life through the filter of the left-hand graphic, daily or regularly, but there are strategies they can use to shift to the right-hand graphic experience:

Imposter Syndrome causes burnout. And burnout makes Imposter Syndrome worse. The great news is that if you tackle one, you improve the other. But ignoring them is no longer an option.

Lunchtime yoga classes, de-stressing app subscriptions, and beanbags in meeting rooms, are all a great start, but they don't address the real causes of burnout.

If someone does that yoga session, silently freaking out at the number of 'pings' that will be waiting for them back at their desk, wondering when they'll next get a break between meetings, or what mood a particular co-worker might be in, or how they're going to meet an unrealistic deadline, it's not going to cut their stress levels.

To truly address burnout, we need to take actions to support people with the symptoms, but also with the causes. And that's why the Three Pillars of Burnout model can help - the with culture, the environment, and the habits.

There are things you could do today, under the three pillars of burnout model, which could start to make an immediate difference. For example:

Culture

These are ideas of things you could start today, while you look at the larger cultural causes from the burnout research study, which we discuss below.

Environment

Habits

What else could you do?

Thinking back through the three pillars of burnout, what small steps could you take today that could make a big difference? What support might you need to make those changes? What would be the very first step?

And then it's time to look at longer-term, strategic solutions.

These may take a little time, but many are easier to implement than we might think. And if employees see you taking action on this, it gives them hope, which can help to start turning burnout and Imposter Syndrome around.

Culture

Environment

Habits

Over the past 18 years, Clare Josa has used her research and training to create the Natural Resilience Method®. These strategies have already helped many thousands of people to change their lives, growing their confidence, preventing burnout, and stopping Imposter Syndrome. And there are five core steps to the process:

Clare runs trainings in this which change lives in just a few weeks. People can take the course for themselves - it's affectionately known as the Inner Critic Bootcamp™ - and individuals can register here or it can run in-house for your organisation.

She also certifies people to become Imposter Syndrome First-Aiders, who are Natural Resilience Method® Coaches. They are able to support people in-the-moment, with 'first aid' strategies to reduce stress, worry, anxiety and self-sabotage. They are also trained to teach people, 1:1, how to rewire their brain and their body, so they can start turning their inner critic into a genuine cheerleader and prevent the root causes of burnout, whilst significantly reducing Imposter Syndrome.

You can download the course prospectus here.

Clare also runs training for line managers on Imposter Syndrome, preventing burnout, and how to give feedback so that it inspires behavioural change.

These programs can be run in-house [book a call with Clare to discuss this option].

Once a year, Clare runs them as public-access trainings, where you can send between one and five members of staff.

The 2022 public-access round of this training starts on April 25th and places are limited. You can find out more and book places here:

• Inner Critic Bootcamp
• Imposter Syndrome First-Aider

Both of these trainings run virtually, so can be accessed from anywhere in the world. And they are a proven, research-backed blend of self-study and small-group tutorials.

The Natural Resilience Method® has been proven to reduce burnout. And it also cuts stress levels, improves performance and productivity, helps teams to thrive, and reduces the risk of Imposter Syndrome causing people to self-sabotage.

Here is what past students say:

Clare Josa has specialised in Imposter Syndrome for nearly 20 years and is considered the UK's leading authority in the area. She is the author of 8 books and speaks internationally on how to change the world by changing yourself.

She was the lead researcher on this burnout research study and her work in this field and Imposter Syndrome led to her creating the Natural Resilience Method® with strategies that have supported thousands of people in changing their lives, creating breakthroughs in just a few weeks.

She created the world's only post-grad certification program for Imposter Syndrome Mentors, and also trains non-coaches to become certified as Imposter Syndrome First-Aiders and Natural Resilience Method® Coaches, making a measurable difference in their organisations.

To talk to Clare about potentially working together on burnout, please book a call:

Got questions? Want to cite this research or to interview Clare about it? Here's where to get in touch with Clare and her team.