6 root causes of academic burnout (Part 1)
With everything we’ve collectively experienced over the last two years, burnout is unfortunately all too real for many academics and folks working in higher education.
As a coach and academic myself, signs of burnout are something that I’m seeing more and more in my clients, colleagues, and friends.
One good thing about our larger cultural conversations around burnout is that there is now a growing body of research on the signs and causes of burnout. Researchers like Christina Maslach have studied the burnout experience in various different occupations and have found 6 root causes of burnout. Those causes are high workload, a perceived lack of control, lack of reward or recognition, poor relationships, lack of fairness, and a values mismatch.
Reading that list, it’s not too hard to see how those causes might be present in academia and higher education! Let’s go through the list one by one and see how they might be present in academia:
High workload - This is pretty straightforward, and unfortunately is all too relevant across many different roles in higher education. Workloads have always been very high in academia, but the last two years have made them even higher. With the impacts of COVID and “The Great Resignation”, many departments and campuses have lost high numbers of staff, without clear plans or a budget for replacing those positions. This has left many folks taking on the work of other positions in addition to their own. Add responsibilities of caring for children or family members on top of that, and you have a recipe for an overwhelmingly high workload.
Perceived lack of control - The research is clear that people who have more control and influence over their work are less likely to feel burned out. This might seem like good news for tenure-track faculty, who often have a higher degree of control over their research work, but there are other ways that this might creep in. For example, say you’re in a position where teaching in person doesn’t feel comfortable yet, but your institution is requiring that classes be delivered in person. That perceived lack of control over your work environment can contribute to burnout.
Lack of reward or recognition - At the end of the day, we all just wanna be appreciated! Reward and recognition can look different for different people. Some folks want their accomplishments to be publicly acknowledged or they want to be appropriately credited for their work on a project. For others, their need for reward and recognition comes in the form of being paid a fair salary - something that’s sadly lacking in higher ed. Regardless of how you want to be recognized or rewarded, if you find that that’s lacking, this can contribute to burnout.
Poor relationships - Community and social relationships are so important for our personal and professional wellness. Many academic departments have great cultures of collegiality and connection. Others might have a culture that’s more “everyone for themselves” where folks work on their own projects, and only occasionally come together to build community. Even just having a few close, quality relationships at work can be a buffer against burnout.
Lack of fairness - Like many institutions, academia was historically created with inequity and racism baked into its culture. Despite the fact that many departments and institutions espouse values of fairness, equity, and even antiracism, those inequities are still present. Maybe you find out that a white male colleague had a higher starting salary than you were given, or maybe you find that as a person of color, you’re constantly asked to participate in and lead department DEI efforts. That lack of fairness in treatment can lead to later burnout.
Values mismatch - I believe that aligning your work with your core values is the key to professional fulfillment and happiness. There are cultural values in academia more broadly, but also specific departments or institutions might have their own set of values. It’s also important to think about espoused values vs. enacted values. For example, does your department say that they value family and work-life balance, but consistently deny tenure to working mothers? Does your unit say that they value feedback, but punish those who speak up? Those enacted values can be a lot more telling than the espoused values. Finding misalignment between your own values and your institution’s enacted values is a recipe for burnout.
So these are the causes of burnout in academia, but what are the signs of burnout in individuals? Stay tuned for part 2 of this series, where I’ll talk more about signs of burnout that you should look out for in yourself and others.
