“I have depression”: How to deal with emotional burnout? How to deal with burnout syndrome in staff How to cope with emotional burnout.

Scientists believe that burnout is not just a mental condition, but a disease that affects the entire body.

The term "burnout" was introduced in 1974 by the American psychiatrist Herbert Freidenberger. At the same time, he compared the state of a “burnt-out” person with a burned-out house. From the outside, the building may look unharmed, and only if you go inside, the degree of devastation becomes apparent.

Now psychologists distinguish three elements of emotional burnout:

• exhaustion;
• cynical attitude to work;
• feeling of inadequacy.

Exhaustion makes us easily upset, sleep poorly, get sick more often, and have difficulty concentrating.

Being cynical about what we do makes us feel disconnected from our peers and lack motivation.

And the feeling of inadequacy makes us doubt our own abilities and perform our duties worse.

Why does emotional burnout occur?

We tend to think that burnout is simply due to the fact that we work too hard. In fact, it is due to the fact that our work schedule, responsibilities, deadlines and other stressors outweigh job satisfaction.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley identify six factors associated with employee burnout:

• work load;
• control;
• remuneration;
• relationships in the team;
• Justice;
• values.

We experience burnout when one of these aspects of the job (or more) doesn't meet our needs.

What is the risk of burnout?

Fatigue and lack of motivation are not the worst consequences of emotional burnout.

• According to researchers, chronic stress, which occurs in people with burnout syndrome, negatively affects thinking and communication skills, and also overloads our neuroendocrine system. And over time, the consequences of burnout can lead to problems with memory, attention and emotions.
• One study found that those who experienced burnout experienced accelerated thinning of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the region responsible for cognitive performance. Although the cortex thins naturally with aging, those who experienced burnout experienced a more pronounced effect.
• It's not just the brain that's at risk. According to another study, burnout significantly increases the likelihood of developing coronary insufficiency.

How to deal with burnout?

Psychologists advise looking for ways to reduce the workload at work: delegate some of the responsibilities, say “no” more often and write down what causes you stress. In addition, you need to learn to relax and enjoy life again.

Don't forget to take care of yourself

It is easy to forget about yourself when there is no energy for anything. In the state, it seems to us that taking care of ourselves is the last thing we need to spend time on. However, according to psychologists, just her and should not be neglected.

When you feel like you're close to burnout, it's especially important to eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get enough sleep.

Also remember what helps you relax and make time for it.

Do what you love

Burnout can occur if you do not have the opportunity to regularly devote time to what you love.

To prevent job dissatisfaction from turning into burnout, consider what is most important to you and include it in your schedule.

At least a little every day, do what you love, and once a week, devote more time to it. Then you will never have the feeling that you do not have time to do the most important thing.

try something new

Do something new, for example, which you have long dreamed of. It may seem counterintuitive, given that you're already busy all the time, but in fact, a new activity will help to avoid burnout.

The main thing is to choose something that will restore strength and energize.

If adding something new to your schedule is completely impossible, start by taking care of yourself. Focus on sleep and nutrition, and try to get at least a little exercise every day. This will help to avoid the consequences of burnout and return to duty.

Usually people feel tired at the end of their work shift, towards the end of the working week, or just before a vacation. Unfortunately, there are times when you feel overwhelmed all the time. At the same time, you notice a lack of enthusiasm for work. Along with fatigue, its faithful companions settle in your mind: detachment, cynicism and indifference. There is emotional burnout.

The scourge of modern people

Burnout symptoms are becoming more and more common these days. This is due to modern labor realities and a busy rhythm of life. Employers are becoming more demanding and working conditions are becoming more stressful. The situation is often supplemented by a restless atmosphere in the team, intrigues and gossip. Let's talk about what causes emotional burnout and how you can overcome this condition.

The scorched house analogy

The term "burnout" itself was coined in the 70s of the 20th century by the psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. There is a clear relationship with the concepts of "scorched earth" or "scorched house". If you've ever walked past a burned-out building, you know how sad and depressing it is. Wooden buildings burn out almost to the ground, leaving only part of the walls. Concrete structures are more lucky. But if outwardly the brick houses affected by the fire almost do not change their appearance, then inside the eyes of the observer a sad sight appears. You will be amazed at how fierce the fire can be, and what the extent of the disaster can be. Dr. Freudenberger drew an analogy with a scorched concrete structure and emotional burnout in people. Outwardly, a person practically does not change, but his internal resources are completely devastated.

Three levels of burnout

Modern researchers distinguish three degrees of burnout: exhaustion, cynicism and inefficiency. Let's take a closer look at what all these stages lead to. Burnout exhaustion causes feelings of anxiety, difficulty sleeping, lack of focus, and even physical illness. Cynicism is sometimes referred to as depersonalization or self-perception disorder. At the same time, one's own actions are perceived by a person not from the inside, but from the outside. There is a strong feeling that control over oneself has been lost, there is a feeling of alienation from the people with whom a person works, a lack of interest in work. And finally, the third factor robs you of the confidence that you are doing a good job or doing your job well. This feeling does not grow in a vacuum.

No one wants to fall into the trap of emotional burnout. On the one hand, everything is simple: you need not overload yourself with work. But, on the other hand, everything is much more complicated, and trouble can sneak up suddenly. To know how to cope with this condition, it is necessary to be able to determine the causes of its occurrence.

What causes burnout?

In fact, the opinion that burnout comes due to the lack of days off and holidays is a fairly common misconception. Alexandra Michel, science writer at the Association for Psychological Science, says: “Burnout occurs when there are more negative work-related factors than positive ones. When a project is under deadline, there are too high demands from the boss, there is a lack of working hours and other stressors are present. At the same time, rewards for work, recognition of colleagues and recreation take up much less space.”

Conditions

UC Berkeley professor Christina Maslach has been studying this problem since the 1970s. The expert and colleagues suggested six workplace environmental factors that are responsible for burnout. These include load, control, reward, value, community, and fairness. A person feels emotional emptiness when two or more of the factors listed above do not meet his needs. For example, an employee has a small salary with overly high requirements and hard work. Unfortunately, many workplaces cannot meet the basic needs of the staff. One large study conducted in Germany by Gallop found that 2.7 million workers report symptoms of burnout. In 2013, a survey was conducted among directors of enterprises in the UK, during which it turned out the following: 30 percent of managers believe that the personnel of their firms are prone to mass burnout.

Risks and consequences

The consequences of this phenomenon are comparable only with a catastrophe of a universal scale. According to Dr. Michel, burnout is not just a state of mind. This condition leaves an indelible mark on the minds and bodies of people. Fatigue and loss of interest in work are just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the risks of burnout are more serious. Individuals suffering from burnout experience chronic psychosocial stress that is detrimental to personal and social functioning. This suppresses cognitive skills and adversely affects the neuroendocrine system. Over time, the effects of burnout lead to problems with memory functions and reduced concentration. There are also great risks of causing damage to the psyche, in particular, the occurrence of a depressive disorder.

Burnout affects brain function

This problem has been studied by scientists repeatedly. So, one of the later scientific studies showed that in people suffering from emotional burnout, the prefrontal cortex of the brain becomes thinner. This important department is responsible for cognitive functions. Normally, the prefrontal cortex becomes thinner with age, as the body naturally ages. But, as we see, this process under certain conditions can start much earlier.

Risks of coronary heart disease

Stress and other negative emotions cannot but affect the work of the heart. Another study of nearly 9,000 burnout workers found that this category has a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease. These and other consequences sound pretty bleak, so let's turn the topic in a more positive direction. Fortunately, burnout can be overcome.

How to overcome the problem?

When a person feels the effect of burnout on himself, he shows concern about his condition. The first thing that can alleviate panic is to reduce the amount of work done. Psychologists suggest looking for ways to manage workload in the following tricks: delegation of orders, the ability to refuse help, and keeping a diary. There you can write down the conditions that make you feel stressed in the workplace. However, burnout is associated not only with professional workload. Learn to look at the world wide open again, try to enjoy leisure, hobbies and any sweet moments that are not related to work. In order to balance the negative and the positive, you need to learn to enjoy life again.

Do what you like

It's easy to forget about yourself when you're going through a burnout period. You live under the yoke of constant stress, so the only outlet is to increase the number of delicious dishes in your diet. However, sweets will not save you from the problem itself. But a healthy diet, enough water and exercise can quickly bring you back to normal. Try to do what you like, find time to meet with friends. To conclude, in the words of software engineer Kent Nguyen: “Burnout comes from not being able to do what you love or what is important to you on a regular basis.”

Stress and a high pace of life accompany most of us throughout the year. In the spring, chronic fatigue is often added to this, caused by a lack of sunlight and vitamins. All this can lead to the so-called professional burnout syndrome. Even the most successful specialists are not immune from the loss of interest in the profession.

groundhog day
As soon as you take your head off the pillow, you sluggishly wander into the bathroom, remembering with horror that today is only Tuesday, which means that the weekend is still far away. Standing in a traffic jam on your way to the office, mentally scold narrow roads, broken traffic lights and inattentive pedestrians. Already an hour after the start of work, you feel tired, any business requires serious tension from you. Everything annoys you - colleagues, boss, reports, emails and even a pen with a company logo. You look at your watch more and more in anticipation of the evening ...

Finally, the work day is over. After spending a couple more hours in a traffic jam or the subway, you return home, but you can’t cope with a bad mood even with your family. You go to sleep with the sad realization that tomorrow everything will be the same again.

Did you recognize yourself? Work no longer makes you happy, and communication with prospective clients does not inspire you? If you feel that life has turned into a continuous groundhog day, then most likely there is a so-called professional burnout syndrome - the depletion of the emotional resources of a working person against the background of chronic fatigue and stress. HR managers call this phenomenon demotivation.

At-risk groups
Who is more at risk of "burning out" at work? There are several risk groups. Firstly, these are specialists who work with people on a daily basis - teachers, doctors, journalists, PR specialists, account managers, recruiters, salespeople, etc. Agree, it’s not easy to meet with the most diverse representatives of humanity every day from year to year , listen carefully to them and try to help them, not always receiving gratitude in return.

Secondly, introverts can “burn out” at work, that is, those who keep all their experiences in themselves without splashing out emotions on others. Finding himself in a stressful or uncomfortable situation for himself, such a person will not express dissatisfaction for a long time, accumulating negativity. Chronic fatigue and professional burnout often become a natural consequence of this.

Finally, another category of workers who are at risk of burnout are perfectionists, that is, those who always strive to do their job the best. A “red” university diploma, successful independent projects, victories in professional competitions - all this is given to perfectionists not for beautiful eyes, but is the result of daily hard work. Several years of work with almost no days off often turn into a syndrome of professional burnout.

Who rests well, he works well
So, if you notice in yourself such signs as irritation in relation to your once beloved work, dislike for colleagues, a feeling of routine, chronic fatigue, insomnia, or, conversely, drowsiness, lethargy, then it's time to take care of your condition. Otherwise (sadly, but this is a scientific fact), daily stress can lead to a serious deterioration in health - systematic headaches, gastritis, hypertension, heart problems, etc.

How to prevent this and regain simple joys - inspiration before starting a new business, satisfaction from what has been done, a real drive from work? It is best to start your own rehabilitation program with rest. How long have you been on vacation - with travel, sea, delicious food and sun? By the way, it has been proven that a long absence of the sun in itself provokes depression in people. What can we say about the mental state of office dwellers, sometimes for months "sunbathing" under the light of a computer monitor!

So take a vacation if possible. Beach or ski trips with children, fishing alone or a spa with a girlfriend, conquering mountain rivers or excursions to cities and countries - there are many ways to get new impressions and rejuvenate. Choose the one you like best.

Learn, learn and learn
A good remedy against professional burnout is to increase the educational level. Think about what knowledge you lack in your work. In what direction would you like to develop? For example, if your specialty is PR and you are in charge of public relations in an investment company, why not move up a notch by acquiring an economics degree as well? Studying will not only drive away the blues, but also open up new horizons in your work, and provide an opportunity for career growth.

If you do not need a second higher education, think about trainings, advanced training courses, seminars, conversational language clubs, etc. Sometimes even banal English courses give an amazing boost of energy: you meet new people, raise your language level, and at the same time take a break from work, because a change of activity is the best rest. In addition, investments in education are the most reliable.

Update workplace
A much simpler, but surprisingly effective way to combat burnout is to change your workplace. You can offer to swap places with a colleague, you can just move your table and chair a little. Throw away unnecessary papers, clean up your computer folders, dust where the cleaning lady doesn't, and you'll be surprised how much easier it will be to breathe.

If possible, if it is not prohibited by company rules, add pleasant little things to this - for example, a houseplant in a pot, a photo of loved ones, etc. Being at work will become much more pleasant. Of course, the fight against professional burnout is not limited to one cleaning at the workplace - this method is good in combination with others.

Workout
Scientists have proven that regular fitness classes contribute to the production of hormones of joy. Make time for sports in your busy schedule. Let it be what you love - oriental dances or yoga, swimming or volleyball. The joy of movement will transform your life - more strength will appear, including for work. Even if you do not have the opportunity to regularly visit a sports club, do not deny yourself at least walking, cycling or rollerblading. Relax, recharge your batteries, and there the working mood will appear.

Talk to the boss
If you feel that, despite all the measures taken, you still don’t want to go to work, that you can’t do past labor exploits, it may be time for a frank conversation with your manager. Surely he has already noticed your mood and the decrease in the efficiency of your work. Explain that you are tired of the monotony (or, on the contrary, of excessive diversity) in your work, you want to change something in your life, you stayed in one place ...

An adequate boss will appreciate your frankness, especially since the motivation of the staff is most likely part of his duties. The boss may well help you: for example, provide more opportunities for creativity, send you on an interesting business trip, entrust a new project - in a word, make sure that you can show your talents to the maximum and feel a sense of belonging to the success of the company.

change job
Finally, the last, most radical remedy for professional burnout is a job change. Sometimes it is better to sacrifice a place in the company than to bring yourself to a state of absolute rejection of the profession. So if, despite the efforts made, you do not see prospects for yourself, are tired of the routine, do not feel opportunities for self-realization, it may be time to post your resume on employment sites. And find a job that will give you pleasure.

If you suddenly felt tired, feeling helpless and disappointed, and it seems that you are completely out of order, it is quite possible that this is emotional burnout. This condition leads to a feeling of powerlessness, so it is very difficult to solve the problem. The detachment and indifference that comes with burnout can be a source of problems with work, jeopardize normal communication and even physical health. Therefore, you should never let the situation take its course, you need to fight and look for ways out.

What is burnout syndrome?

BS or burnout syndrome is a condition that is characterized by mental, emotional and physical exhaustion against the background of chronic stress, which in most cases is caused by work. Most often, representatives of professions associated with constant communication suffer: for example, teachers, doctors, social workers and employees of large companies with a large staff and high requirements for staff.

Physicians often suffer from SES

Due to a strong overstrain, a person gradually simply loses interest in everything. SEB leads to a decrease in productivity and energy, because of this there is a feeling of helplessness, resentment and hopelessness. It seems to the victim that he does not have enough strength for anything, and he is doomed to meaningless and boring work.

One of the most effective ways to prevent SEB is to leave work problems at work. Walking out the door, you can even symbolically wipe your feet so as not to drag a load of problems home with you.

Of course, such symptoms are not uncommon with banal fatigue or a bad mood. If our work is not appreciated or we have to be heavily overloaded, we can feel the same way. Therefore, SEB should not be confused with depression or fatigue.

How to recognize SEV?

In order not to confuse burnout syndrome with other similar conditions, you need to know its three main differences:

• A person feels emotional exhaustion and devastation, he is not happy with the work that he used to like, nothing brings pleasure, colleagues and all the people around him are annoying. This translates into poorly completed tasks, constant quarrels, unwillingness to go anywhere and communicate with someone.
• There is a feeling of meaninglessness of work, the desire to work well disappears, since “no one appreciates this anyway”. Gradually, this feeling can spread to other areas - for example, a person will stop taking care of himself, because he won’t get better anyway.
• Unlike fatigue, SEB does not disappear after rest. After the weekend, the “burnt out” person will remain just as unhappy and lethargic, while the tired person returns full of energy.
• Unlike depression, which is always based on fear and guilt, burnout is based on anger and irritability. A person does not think that he works badly or is rude to others, it seems to him that the whole world is against him.

Educators often burn out

While burnout may seem harmless in its initial stages, over time it often leads to psychosomatic illness, memory impairment, and concentration problems. A “burnt out” person can not only lose his job, as his value as an employee will drop sharply, but also his family, which will have to live under the yoke of his negativity.

Development of burnout

To simplify the diagnosis of burnout, New York psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger created a special scale. The first steps look quite harmless, but it is better to start treatment already at this stage - the further, the more difficult it will be to return the normal emotional background.

At first there is an obsessive desire for self-affirmation, perhaps an effort to prove something to others, rivalry. Then comes a careless attitude to one's own needs, refusal of communication, sports, entertainment. Then - the refusal to resolve conflicts, which leads to their prolongation. Over time, a person simply stops responding to problems in communicating with family and / or friends. And then comes the loss of a sense of himself as a person and personality, a person continues to act mechanically, without making efforts and without thinking about the future.

Constant fatigue is one of the main signs of burnout.

After a while, a person notices that he has lost himself, feels an inner emptiness, and most often after that depression sets in. Gradually developing, emotional burnout leads to the fact that he breaks down, gets sick physically and mentally, often tends to suicidal thoughts.

Don't be afraid to change jobs. Some psychologists believe that this should be done every 4-5 years. This brings freshness and novelty to life and does not allow you to “burn out”.

The peculiarity of the SEV is such that it is easy to hide. A person can go to work, look like always, and even communicate more or less normally, attributing failures to fatigue or illness. Often, relatives learn about the problem already in the last stages, when a person is almost ready to say goodbye to life.

Reasons for the development of CMEA (Video)

Many modern psychologists believe that emotional burnout is a protective mechanism in the face of strong psychotraumatic influences. In such a situation, the body simply “turns off”, saving itself. SEV allows you to minimize energy costs and save some body systems from unnecessary work: for example, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular. But over time, such a “saving mode” becomes too economical and does not allow a person to work normally and communicate with others.

To understand the reasons for the development of burnout, we must remember that our nervous system has a limit on the performance of certain processes: for example, communication, problem solving, etc. It is not easy to determine this limit, since it is not only individual for each person, but also depends on many indicators, for example, on the quality of nutrition and sleep, health status and season, and the situation in the patient's family. But if a person exceeds it, exhaustion sets in, which eventually leads to burnout.

Often the symptoms of CMEA are complicated by pessimistic people and lazy people around. You need to let them know that you should not listen to them and help them.

The second reason is the lack of a tangible result.. Most often this happens with teachers. They can go all out, but they won't change anything, the kids will still come or not come to school, get bad or good grades, skip classes and hack. A similar situation can occur with people in other professions if their success is not appreciated and encouraged. This leads to the depreciation of labor, and later to the loss of interest in it.

SEV greatly reduces the quality of work

Separately, it is worth remembering that personal qualities of a person play an important role in the development of burnout syndrome. There are people who do not get tired when they have to do monotonous routine work for a long time, but cannot be activated to complete an urgent project. And it happens the other way around - a person can work successfully and fruitfully only for a short time, but at the same time he gives all his best, and later he simply “runs out of steam”. There are workers who are not capable of creative tasks, but they are efficient. And there are creators who need a sense of freedom. If the job does not match the personality of the person, very soon it will lead to emotional burnout.

In most cases, SEB is the result of improper organization of labor, managerial errors and unpreparedness of personnel for their duties.

How to prevent burnout?

SEB is a problem that is easier to prevent than to solve. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor your condition and, at the first signs of emotional burnout, take measures to prevent it.

What to do?

• Try to start the day with relaxing rituals, such as meditating or exercising.
• Switch to proper nutrition, exercise. This will give strength and energy to solve problems.
• Set boundaries. If something is annoying or stressful, you should try not to do it, refuse unwanted requests and do what is really important.
• Take a daily break from modern technology. Turn off your phone and computer for a while and just sit in silence.
• Engage in creativity, find a hobby, or attend events more often that have nothing to do with work.
• Learning to manage stress can help you fight burnout.

If the situation has not yet started, then it is quite possible to cope without the help of specialists, but you need to realize that there is a problem and you will have to seriously work on its solution.

How to recover on your own

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to prevent burnout. Most often, a person understands what happened when the CMEA is already destroying his life. If this has already happened, then you need to concentrate on returning a normal emotional background.

Sometimes you have to go out of your way to recover

There are three steps to treating the effects of burnout:

• Step one: slow down. It is necessary to reduce professional activities to a minimum - for example, take a vacation. In your free time, you need to relax, relax, forget about work and problems.
• Step two: get support. Burning out, a person usually withdraws into himself and reduces communication to a minimum. This is a normal reaction - he tries to save the rest of the energy. But you need to overpower yourself and tell your loved ones what is happening. Even the fact of talking can bring relief, and the support of loved ones will certainly help to cope with stress.
• Step Three: Review goals and priorities. If emotional burnout has occurred, this is a serious sign that something is wrong in life. We need to analyze everything and understand why this happened. Perhaps you should change your job or your attitude towards it, or even completely redraw everything.

But you should not expect that immediately after realizing the problem, its solution will come. This may take time, because burnout did not happen in a day. But if you try to follow these simple tips, sooner or later health will return.

In professional language, burnout syndrome is called "demotivation" - an employee develops a cynical attitude towards work, emotional exhaustion sets in. The return from such an employee, as a rule, is small. In addition, he can infect the entire team with a decadent mood. You can beat the burnout syndrome. But it is necessary to fight not with the consequences of demotivation, but with its causes.

Why do employees lose motivation?

Usually, at the initial stage of the relationship with the employee, the organization takes an extremely advantageous position for itself. When an employee is just starting a new job, most often their intrinsic motivation is strong and can be a major determinant of behavior in the workplace. For many specialists, this is a challenge: new tasks, obstacles, an opportunity to learn something. Even an employee with solid experience will have to delve into unfamiliar problems, build relationships with colleagues and customers, and learn to take advantage. In this situation, the main task of the leader is not to lose an advantageous position.

Burnout syndrome is not a personal problem of an employee. The company that has not minimized the risk of “burnout” also bears responsibility. First of all, the syndrome appears in employees in communicative positions - managers of negotiation processes, employees of personnel services, specialists in external communication relations of the company. Employees who experience constant stress in the workplace are also susceptible to burnout syndrome. In any case, the probability of "burnout" does not depend on the personal characteristics of a particular employee, but on the moral and psychological climate in the company, employment conditions and the management system as a whole. That is why it is necessary to fight not with the consequences - exhaustion, demoralization, fatigue and other signs, but with the causes. If the first signs of "burnout" of the employee still appeared, he needs moral support in the form of positive optimistic attitudes from the management. This will allow the subordinate not to be left alone with his oppressed state. The active involvement of the employee in the work will also help, not only in his area, but also in adjacent ones. For some people, the opportunity to learn new things is more beneficial than, for example, financial incentives.

How to deal with burnout

It is quite possible to prevent the development of staff burnout syndrome. To do this, you need to know the reasons for demotivation.

• Breaking the gentlemen's agreements

Motivation may decrease some time after the employee arrives at work. Hopes often do not come true, because in the process of negotiations with the employer, many important issues remain behind the scenes.

At the interview, the nature and mode of work, rest time and remuneration are usually discussed, but issues of the corporate climate are practically not discussed. Often, the employer talks only about the advantages of future work.

The candidate's expectations diverge from the actual state of affairs in the company, and soon after starting work, the employee discovers that he has drawn the wrong card: training is formal, there are no prospects for growth, the team is a closed group of employees. As a result, there is no trace of the energy and enthusiasm of the candidate.

Recommendations. During the selection process, HR specialists should provide the candidate with as much information about the company as possible. Candidates who are not afraid of possible complications will have realistic expectations.

• Unclaimed Talents

Over-qualification is often worse than under-qualification. Experienced managers know that hiring a specialist who is too qualified for the position offered to him is dangerous. It is highly likely that in a few months he will get bored and will try to realize his unclaimed talents. Until the employee finds a worthy use for himself, colleagues will have to observe his attempts to “sit out” not so qualified bosses or poke his nose everywhere with his advice. There are no perfect matches. A candidate may not have absolutely all the skills you need, but this can be easily fixed with the help of internal training and internships. It is more difficult with those skills that he has and which will not be useful to him in a new place. Imprudent rejection of such skills over time is fraught with serious demotivation.

Recommendations. It is necessary to try to apply unclaimed skills and knowledge of employees to solve new problems. Even short-term projects will let the subordinate understand that the company appreciates all his knowledge and skills. For example, an employee who speaks a foreign language can be instructed to find the information you need on foreign sites or to review foreign special press. The employee will be grateful to you for the opportunity not to forget the best of what he knows.

• Ignoring ideas and initiative

Starting a new job, employees usually "gush" with new ideas - from improving working methods to rearranging furniture in the office. Most often, management simply dismisses these ideas - because of distrust of newcomers, from unwillingness to part with the usual working environment, etc.

Recommendations. All employees of the company should be able to express ideas and suggestions. Even if they are not genius enough to bring to life, they are worthy of being considered. This activity can be organized by the development department or the personnel service. It is useful to have a section “Questions and suggestions to management” on the internal Internet portal. Employees must receive feedback, explanations why this or that idea is premature or not suitable for implementation in the company.

• Low ownership

This demotivator is most relevant for employees working outside the company's office or for support staff. An employee who does not feel like a part of the company will perform his duties carelessly. This problem can concern not only employees working on the road, but also staff members, and sometimes entire departments.

Recommendations. A sense of belonging to a common cause and team spirit are a strong motivating factor. Employees with such a motive are ready to sacrifice their personal interests and time, working to achieve the goals of the company. That is why we need corporate events, regular informing about what is happening.

• Lack of visible achievements

Quite often, due to the specifics of the work, employees cannot immediately see the result of their activities. Work "without result" turns into a routine and after a certain time neutralizes intrinsic motivation. The lack of interesting work is especially painful for people in creative professions.

Recommendations. For employees of the "routine" sphere, from time to time create projects - short-term tasks, including in areas adjacent to their specialization. This will dilute the routine and allow them to learn something. Divide long-term projects into manageable stages, actively discuss intermediate results and, of course, encourage participants.

• Lack of recognition

Not so long ago, Honor Boards were a strong motivator in work. Ambitious workers (and most of them) went out of their way to be able to show their portrait to others. Recognition was more important than bonuses: bonuses are spent alone, and many people recognize the best employee by sight. And today, the results of opinion polls show that employees suffer if colleagues do not notice their achievements.

• No change in status

If all the chiefs start carrying logs, then there will not be enough logs for everyone. If all the log bearers become chiefs, the result will be the same. In other words, structural constraints are the most common reason for slowing down (stopping) career growth. For years, employees cannot achieve a change in their status, that is, to receive broader powers, the opportunity to solve new problems and grow. The situation is typical for large companies with a rigid hierarchy. To cope with it, instead of raising the status of the organization's management offers a decent compensation package and many other opportunities. But, as a rule, such companies cannot boast of a high level of employee motivation and loyalty.

Not the least important demotivator is the subjectivity of the authorities when making decisions about the relocation of employees. Imagine how an employee, who has sat in his position and clearly outgrown it, feels at the moment when another person is appointed to the vacant seat.

Stages of Decreasing Motivation

In management psychology, the following stages of decreasing motivation are traditionally distinguished:

Stage 1. Confusion. The first symptoms of a stressful condition begin to appear. They are the result of the confusion of an employee who ceases to understand what he needs to do and why his work is not going well. This does not yet particularly affect labor productivity, but the load on the nervous system increases.

Stage 2. Irritation. If the worker feels that the situation is not improving, he begins to experience irritation associated with a sense of powerlessness. His behavior is somewhat demonstrative. He tends to deliberately withdraw into himself or take an emphatically defensive position. At the same time, his productivity increases. The employee makes more and more efforts, hoping that he will be able to cope with the stressful situation.

Stage 3. Dual role. Noticing that the immediate supervisor does not make any attempts to correct the situation, the employee ceases to doubt who is to blame for the difficulties and changes tactics. He can disrupt the work process in the hope of drawing the attention of others to the problem, he begins to avoid the boss. This stage can be seen in the lack of contact between the leader and the subordinate.

Stage 4. Disappointment. Starting from this stage, it is much more difficult to restore the undermined interest in work. Labor productivity is reduced to the minimum acceptable level. The duration of this phase may vary depending on the employee's self-confidence, energy and moral value system. To return interest in work can be a personal contact between the boss and the subordinate with an open discussion of the problem.

Stage 5. Loss of willingness to cooperate. The most obvious symptom of this stage is the worker's attempt to emphasize with words or deeds that "this and that is none of my business." The employee crosses out the boundaries of his duties, trying to narrow them as much as possible. Some begin to behave defiantly, neglecting work. At this stage, relationships with colleagues also worsen.