Beyond Burnout: What to Do When Your Work Isn't Working for You

INTRODUCTION
 
Chapter 1—Be beckoned.
Vocational burnout is emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion, and loss of meaning. The symptoms look like depression, but burnout is not depression. Readers in the throes of burnout are cynical, often negating anything that might help. The root cause of burnout is specifically one’s work or vocation. For Christians, this state is very concerning because honoring God in our work is something he asks us to do. The last thing someone experiencing burnout thinks they want is to be beckoned…but at the same their hearts craveto be beckoned. Chapter 1 validates the readers’ emotional states but gently shares how God is beckoning to be instead of do. It also provides an outline of the book and gives suggestions on how to engage with it. Supporting Scripture: Colossians 3:23.
 
Chapter 2—Be-longing.
When we are burned out, we are tired, dried up, and exhausted. The cultural expectation of achievement creates deep emptiness within. God designed us to find fulfillment in relationship, first with him and then with others. We long to belong, for healthy relationship is where we become our best selves. We burn out because we have given so much; we receive back through relationship. This chapter develops awareness that the root of depletion is the neglect (or lack of) relationship, and provides strategies to increase belongingness. It introduces the solution of connection, which transitions the reader into Chapter 3. Supporting Scripture: Proverbs 13:12.
 
Chapter 3—Be connected.
This chapter provides the framework for the book: Connection. Academic research, insight, and relationship are all important, but they don’t ultimately heal. As Christians, we need a different framework. Healing comes from a great gestalt (e.g., the whole person is greater than the sum of its parts). The biblical model is the Holy Trinity, or Triune God. The union of spirit (Holy Spirit), body (Jesus), and mind (Father) forms God, who is the Ultimate Being. Healing for burned-out Christians comes when they reconnect with the Triune God, with self, and with their work.
 
[The book transitions now into the three areas of reconnection: With God, with self, with work. Each chapter provides specific strategies or “how-to’s,” which will be formed from the major concepts within the chapter. The book will be well-researched with current and relevant academic literature, with a solid integration of Scripture.]
 
RECONNECTION WITH GOD
 
Chapter 4—Be filled.
Culturally, we’ve learned a mind and doing-based approach to solving our problems. But the heart is what is called in the first place. The word “vocation” means “calling” in Latin. The Hebrew word for spirit is “ruach,” which means “air in motion” or “breath.” Ruach also is translated as “life.” Holy Spirit is who placed the vocational calling in our hearts. Thus, our first point of restoration is to ask Holy Spirit to fill the depletion in our hearts. Holy Spirit moves toward us and we receive. We are “filled” again with life and breath for work. Readers reconsider their calling as someone to be, not something to do.
 
Chapter 5—Be nourished.
We tend to drive our bodies to exhaustion. God did not create our bodies to encounter chronic stress. Chronic stress creates a health problem called adrenal fatigue, which is a hormonal imbalance that leads to physical health problems. Burned out workers must take care of their bodies, minimally through an extended period of rest. They also need to make lifestyle changes to keep their bodies healthy, especially if they continue to choose to work hard. This chapter briefly reviews the science of adrenal stress, and assists readers with developing healthier habits in order to “be nourished.” The reader is connected to Jesus, who represents the body in the Trinity. Christians don’t always remember that Jesus was just as much human as he is Divine. Jesus’ physical body had limitations. He rested, ate, and set boundaries. Readers are provided suggestions to do the same.
 
Chapter 6—Be lavished.
Christians often experience a culture of should’s and have-to’s, picked up from religious practice. Often, we equate truth with God the Father. But God moves toward us in both graceand truth (John 1:14). He lavishes us with grace first so that we can experience truth. By first experiencing grace, we can then develop awareness about our work, our habits, and our burnout experience. Readers learn about the role of acceptance in experiencing God’s lavish grace. Additional supporting Scripture: John 12 (the story of Mary pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet, which is a metaphor for how God lavishes grace on those who are burned out—pouring sweet perfume on dirty, tired, feet).
 
RECONNECTION WITH SELF 
 
Chapter 7—Be freed.
Burnout is a result of unfulfilled expectations from one’s work or vocation. Herbert Freudenberger, the researcher who coined the term burnout, believed that it was a result of unfulfilled expectations in one’s work. Christians who desire to honor God experience a desire to be effective for God may experience a “superhero mentality.” The superhero mentality is unrealistic, leaving workers to feel like failures, disillusioned about their work, and doubting their ability to be “good Christians.” In this chapter, readers identify the extent to which they experience the superhero mentality. They are provided exact steps to free them from the superhero mentality.
 
Chapter 8—Be edified.
Americans get a strong, cultural message to “be amazing,” which leads to equating worth/identity with achievement. Research indicates that burned-out workers have internal factors that predispose them to burnout, such as certain personality traits and coping styles. In this chapter, readers develop awareness of their unique qualities that predispose them to burnout. They create a plan to manage these qualities in healthier ways. Readers are edified through Scripture, which replaces the maladaptive cultural message to be amazing.
 
 
Chapter 9—Be held.
The biggest unaddressed factor in burnout is experiences of personal loss and stressors (e.g., death, divorce, etc.). It can be shameful to acknowledge that you’re not okay, and it can threaten one’s ability to work and support a family. Workers that need time off can’t earn a paycheck; they continue to work quietly wounded because they can’t survive financially any other way, making them extremely vulnerable. In this chapter, readers identify the extent to which they experience burnout from loss and personal stressors. They are walked through a process of loving encouragement, and they are given permission to seek help (time-out or counsel).
 
RECONNECTION WITH WORK
 
Chapter 11—Be fulfilled.
Fulfillment in one’s work is what we strive for, yet most Americans say they are unfulfilled. Research indicates a strong, positive link between career satisfaction and doing work that satisfies their values. Many workers take jobs that provide for their families without thinking about what they deeply value. By discovering core values, readers will increase their fulfillment and career satisfaction. This chapter provides an exercise for readers to discover their core values, whether they continue to work in their current job or decide to seek other work. Insights from Scripture are provided as context for forming core values. Readers are given strategies for to ensure that their values are fulfilled as they work.
 
Chapter 12—Be retooled.
Our culture is fraught with overwhelming demands to do more, be more. People respond to these pressures by increasing their workloads, without ever stopping to analyze if their patterns are ultimately working for them. Their unchecked habits come at a high cost (for example, hidden addictions). This chapter assists readers in identifying new strategies and healthy patterns, especially around managing workloads. Research on neuropathways and healthy habits forms this chapter. Readers learn practical and applicable strategies to change their habits in order to better manage the day-to-day.  
 
Chapter 13—Be clear.
One of the most important strategies for navigating work is to have clear boundaries. This chapter assists readers with learning to say “yes” to things that advance their calling, and “no” to the things that distract from their calling. These boundaries are not only effective for day-to-day management, but also for the reader’s long-term career trajectory. Readers end this chapter with a clear vision of their career goals, both short-term and long-term, as well as encouragement and strategies to set clear boundaries in order to move toward their goals.
 
CONCLUSION 
 
Chapter 14—Be released.
This final chapter sums up the central thesis of the book: Connection is the ultimate restoration of burnout. Readers are reconnected to God in spirit, body, and mind. Readers are reconnected with self and with work. Readers are given permission to be who they are, and to navigate work as human beings and not as human doings. Readers revisit the concept of belongingness, and are encouraged to prioritize connection and relationship as the ultimate shield of burnout for the future.
 
APPENDIX.
To-Be List. The reader is given a “to-be” list rather than a “to-do” list. This section of the book is several pages, mostly blank, but with inspirational quotes. It can be artfully designed. It’s a great section of the book for readers to journal, doodle, or write down insights.