We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re exhausted and have been pushed to your limit. You’re not sure how you can keep going. You may have lost the passion for your role due to its overwhelming demands or tight deadlines.

I often think back to my graduate program years, where I had become all too familiar with being overworked. What was the “secret ingredient” that helped keep things in balance? The coping skills and strategies that you learn and develop early on as a scientist can equip you to handle great levels of stress.

There is a healthy amount of stress in your career that keeps you “on your toes.” Its force and influence can help you rise to the level of certain challenges. Stress can help us function quickly under pressure and give us that added motivation to complete a project. However, although prolonged stress may be optimal in the short term, it can quickly become problematic, putting you at risk of burnout. According to the WHO, burnout can result in energy exhaustion, feelings of cynicism related to one’s job, or loss of professional efficacy.

In some cases, we might not even recognize we are truly  “burned out.”  We keep chugging along because it is  “expected,” or because it became our  “norm.”  We can’t remember anything other than working 90+ hour weeks.

The Dire Effects of Burnout
According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 41% of employees said they felt burned out from their work, 45% described feeling emotionally drained, 44% admitted they felt “tapped out” at the end of their work day, and 23% reported feeling  “down or depressed.”

Furthermore, according to Gallup (2018), when you experience burnout, you are 63% more likely to take a sick day, 2.6 times as likely to be actively seeking a different job, and half as likely to discuss how to approach performance goals with your manager. It is no wonder employee burnout is leading to health concerns, turnover, or suffered job performance, as it diminishes your ability to function normally.

Driving Forces
The five main factors that drive burnout (Gallup) include unfair treatment at work, unmanageable workload, lack of role clarity, lack of communication and support from your manager, and unreasonable time pressure.

Always Being “On”
According to a Harvard Business Review article (July 2019) by Jennifer Moss, burnout can stem from something quite unusual. Moss pointed out that sometimes being overly passionate about your job may actually be a double-edged sword, as we might equate the work we love with “not really working.” This in turn can generate a cyclical belief that we need to do more work, driven by guilt for not always being “on.” In other words, when the workday has ended hours ago, do you find yourself always checking emails and thinking about  “what to do next”? We may not even realize that our work habits can lead to our own self-created burnout.

We live in a global world, where someone may request something from you 24 hours a day. The trick is to be responsive without going overboard by answering everyone at all times. Although passion may fuel you to go above and beyond, it can actually hurt you.

In your career, there is a healthy dose of passion and self-driven purpose needed, especially if you are a scientific leader striving to advance novel cellular or gene therapies, or create the next blockbuster immuno-oncology drug to better human life. However, what if this work-driven purpose overpowers and eclipses your own self-identity, and in turn, adversely affects your work-life balance? When you’re always “on,” your mind is racing and ruminating even when weekends come around or you’re spending time with your family.

Proper balance coupled with purpose is what can ultimately help you to achieve career success. As previously highlighted in my July 2019 Contract Pharma article, “Molding a True Sense of Purpose at Work,” companies that foster a sense of purpose in their employees, and offer them fairness and autonomy over their work decisions, are much less likely to have burned out workers.

Steps to Combat Burnout: Focusing on Your Top Priorities
Biopharma professionals may sometimes struggle to accept that not all priorities or tasks need to be resolved. In fact, it is in a scientist’s inherent nature to be a problem solver. However, as time is limited, so are the number of things that actually need “fixing.”

An insightful career book titled, “Rise,” by Patty Azzarello, provides practical advice on how to tackle the problem of being overwhelmed, when your workload never seems to diminish.

First, can you identify your most low value and repetitive work activities that you can fix or improve?

Mapping Out Your Stress Points
Next, a good strategy is to create three columns on one sheet of paper. In the first column, you can include the tasks that you are doing presently. In the second column, you can list things that you have committed to be done, whether for your boss, team, or for a key customer, but have not yet been done. The third column includes things that you know are still important, but you’re just not going to get to because of the first two lists. These three lists will serve as a point of discussion for you and your boss to agree on or negotiate what needs to be done.

Creating a chart may help you to regain your sense of control, and eliminates the anxiety and thoughts of, “What did I miss? What is important today versus tomorrow?” Perhaps instead of the original twenty items you thought would go into your to-do column, it has actually been reduced to a more manageable twelve.  Revisiting this chart every week helps to keep you on track, as you measure your progress. Just remember that in a sense, you are your own project manager, and it’s up to you to manage your time and stressors effectively.

Self-care, Recharging and Setting Boundaries
Carving out some time in your schedule to think, plan, and refocus on what really matters is a key part of battling burnout. This is your chance to create new processes, focus on the strategic side of the business, or even delegate certain activities to save time on the backend. Designating certain times to be “checked out” can help you to separate the blurred line between personal and work life. When you end your workday, how will you disengage and recharge?

When we get caught in the habit of being always “on,” it can become difficult to return to work enthused and productive. There are certainly exceptions to this rule, if there are pressing deadlines or projects, but you don’t want to get caught up overcommitting every week.

When it comes to sleep, diet, and exercise, these areas often get neglected. Finding ways to fit exercise into your daily schedule, even if for 20-30 minutes at a time, will likely have tremendous benefits for your health, mental focus, and higher energy levels. Self-care also means using vacation time when available.

The Power of Delegation
We have all heard the phrase, “Work smarter and not harder.” This applies to being recognized for getting important work done, and not just trying to do it all by yourself. Thinking of new ways to do things more efficiently, while creatively involving or engaging your team, will help you avoid the trap of being a workhorse. When it comes to delegation, the focus should be on empowering your team to make them more capable. This frees up your time to focus on even higher value things. Don’t be afraid to leverage the strengths of your team and ask for help. Effective team involvement will likely lead to more success in the long run, while celebrating more team wins that can get you recognized as a leader.

Variety is the Name of the Game
When your daily routine becomes repetitive, your mind can go on autopilot. This operational detachment is another trap to avoid. We tend to shut down and become unproductive when faced with back-to-back uninteresting or monotonous work. Even the most subtle changes to your routine can make a big difference. Think of some ways you can mix and spice things up. When do you feel like you are most productive to focus on the most impactful activities?

On a side note, pursuing a side hobby or project to gain a new skill can help you feel a new sense of accomplishment. Something as simple as learning a musical instrument can help you to reground yourself, unwind, and appreciate the true progress of working towards other meaningful goals.

Wrapping Up
Working hard for extended periods of time in the absence of payoff, recognition, or advancement may take its toll. Refocusing efforts on major priorities versus just doing busy work, and coming up with a dynamic, effective plan that you follow, will likely help you overcome and safeguard against burnout.

Although having a heavy workload may sometimes seem unavoidable, you can rise above the demands and make it more manageable. Once you tackle bigger tasks, you’ll see the value and impact this has on your organization firsthand as you gain new insights and experience. If you don’t succeed at first, you will learn, adjust, build trust with your team, and move onto the next big priority that you can successfully deliver on.