Returning to work after a burnout: a difficult moment for which everyone must mobilize

We have heard a lot about burnout in recent years.

If this had the merit of lifting the veil on an evil still little known before, the other side of the coin is its trivialization. While it is true that some can take advantage of the trend to go green for a few weeks, there are especially many people who are really victims of a burn-out (the

burnies

): they are absent for several months and, for them, it is a real lifeline and a long convalescence that is not to be taken lightly.

I have already spoken to you about burn-out in the helping professions, I have explained to you that NO, after a burn-out, one is not weaker, I have also given you leads to explain your burn-out around you. This week, I wanted to speak to colleagues, bosses, occupational physicians, people you trust and all the other people who surround, welcome and support (when this is the case) people who return to work after a burnout.

A way to support

In fact, the idea for this column came to me while listening to the story of a woman who had been burnt out for 2 years, slowly ready to start work again around September, in agreement with her doctors (including the doctor at work). She tells me:

Julie, I don’t feel well at all. I received a letter from my employer a week ago telling me that I have to go back to work in a month. The symptoms return: palpitations, disturbances of

a

sleep and mood, want to cry,… I don’t know what to do

. »

It’s extremely violent as a way of doing things, and it’s the perfect way to bring someone down the slope of relapse. This lady, 3 weeks from her recovery, does not know in which department she will be (her former position is occupied), whether she will resume medical half-time or full-time, at what time she is expected, where she should surrender (she works in a very large institution). These elements are great sources of anguish and I am sorry and angry that human beings are treated in this way. This way of doing things is administrative and in no way takes into account the human and emotional aspect of this recovery. It is exactly this way of doing things that leads individuals into the abyss of burnout.

Can’t we put more humanity in what we do?

You colleague, who are going to welcome someone after a long absence, you have the right to be a little angry. After all, your colleague’s burnout has probably had a direct impact on you, on your workload, on the atmosphere at work, on your morale. Companies do not take it into account enough either. Of course, a long absence has consequences on an entire system and you have the right to be upset. But, in your opinion, now that you have read one or other of my columns on the subject, is it really the “victim” person who should be blamed? Isn’t this a bigger problem?

Collaboration avoids relapses. It’s a whole system that needs to be educated to best manage burnies. Companies need to be aware of this in order to move forward.

When the idea of ​​resuming is a stressor

Clearly, if the very idea of ​​going back to work worries you, it’s because now is not the time. Only here, sometimes we have to. Financial considerations and professional or family imperatives sometimes have greater decision-making power than our well-being. So we’re getting ready to start over. In these cases and in all other cases of recovery, it is imperative that employee and employer collaborate, talk to each other, consider together the best solutions. A constructive discussion where everyone can express their desires, needs and the changes they want.

I tell you again, the burnies are strong people, unable to set their limits, with a large framework of human values. They are the ideal profile to be the victim of harassment and to do more. Treating them, when they come back, exactly the way they were treated before they left, is purely counter-productive.

Learning for everyone

and

In the literature, there are many books talking about what burnout means to people who are victims of it. We explain to them how they must reorganize their lives, their ways of apprehending the world. The lines of these books explain why they are in burn-out, why they have the ideal profile for that and what they must change in themselves to not fall again. They are told, systematically, that this is a wonderful learning opportunity that presents itself to them and that the glass should be seen as half full. All of this is profoundly and eminently true. Your burn-out is there for a good reason and to allow you to learn something that will change your life.

I would also like companies to take the time to do the necessary learning. These learnings that we invite them to do through the prism of the exhaustion felt by their employees. What should be changed? How to improve the functioning of the company? How can human resource management be improved? Is there toxic management within the company? What factors influence employee burnout? How to stop it from happening again?

Apprenticeships aren’t just for burnies. Companies, small, medium or large, must also learn. Otherwise, it will only be an eternal restart. In this regard, I recommend to you, dear companies, an exceptional tool offered by Bright Link, based on several years of research carried out by UCL. Their team is dynamic, human and extremely professional. They will be able to accompany you on this journey of eradicating burnout within your company.

Everyone, employee and employer, must take responsibility and learn lessons. Only then will the return to work be timely and healthy, and prevention will win out over cure.

See you next week.

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