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A professional burnout rarely happens out of the blue. Leaders and executives need to learn to interpret signs of chronic stress early on, former banker Claudia Kraaz writes in an essay for finews.first.

finews.first is a forum for renowned authors specialized on economic and financial topics. The texts are published in both German and English. The publishers of finews.asia are responsible for the selection.

Burnout is a tragic occurrence for the individuals concerned – but it also comes at a high cost to companies. When it happens, employees tend to be away from work for several months and need to be replaced during their absence. The alternative is that other team members have to take on the duties of their absent colleague, meaning that they themselves are placed under greater pressure.

People are largely aware of the problem surrounding burnouts today. However, many companies fail to properly recognize the fact that the period leading up to an employee’s burnout also incurs considerable costs.

«Burnout? No medical diagnosis»

That is because the affected employee is no longer able to deliver the same level of performance from a quantitative and qualitative perspective – and this impacts team morale and client satisfaction, and thus also has financial consequences. It is therefore vital to recognize the symptoms of chronic stress or a pre-burnout.

What exactly is burnout? There is no official medical diagnosis. Burnout is not mentioned in the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) published by the World Health Organization. For doctors, it is therefore only applicable as an additional diagnosis to another illness.

To be pragmatic, I would say: burnout is a result of high levels of prolonged stress, combined with inefficient coping strategies and a lack of recovery. It is important to be aware that the actual breakdown usually comes at the end of a very long process and – based on my experience of real-life cases – there is often a trigger, professional or private, that brings an already unstable house of cards crashing down.

«Tirelessly, extremely committed»

There are three distinct phases leading up to a breakdown. The first can be summarized as «activity and aggression.» The individual concerned works tirelessly and displays an extreme level of commitment to meeting high expectations – although they are frequently «only» his or her own inflated expectations. They have the feeling of being indispensable and of no longer being able to delegate.

This results in the individual reducing his level of social contact and neglecting his own needs. The employee has a growing distrust of others and is intolerant and irritable – a clear warning sign that he is unable to cope.