When stress beats a person down long enough one common result is that the fight goes out of them. This experience is not something reserved for older people. It can happen at any age, given the right circumstances. The right circumstances include the conviction that a job must be endured to the bitter end. The end is retirement. And so when the worker burns out the strategy becomes one of hiding from the limelight (dead wood) or going into a helpless/hopeless mode that forces management to perform a rescue or make a decision for the worker.
The dead wood burned out person becomes highly skilled at achieving invisibility: never volunteer, keep quiet at meetings, do not argue, do nothing to ever get noticed, and in the case of votes always vote the right way. The "right way" is discovered by making sure which way the wind is blowing. The goal of achieving and contributing in the workplace changes to a new goal: hang in there until retirement, keep the paycheck coming, do not make mistakes and above all do not get fired. Take no chances.
The helpless and hopeless burned out person needs help all the time and is afraid to take any chances. This person needs constant supervision. The work output is minimal, the work quality is minimal and the person becomes incapable of initiative. The motto is "don't blame me, I'm doing the best I can." This person uses sick leave frequently and often has a hard time making ends meet. Life at work has become overwhelming. Sometimes all of this person's life, whether at work or at home, has become overwhelming and victimhood is the dominant experience.
Both of these forms of burnout are preventable. Once they set in, however, the challenge of turning the situation is significant. There needs to be a personal plan mutually agreed upon by the worker and the supervisor, tailored to the needs of both the worker and the company or organization. There needs to be support and encouragement. The boundary that separates employer responsibility from employee responsibility comes into play: how much help is appropriate? Is termination the only truly viable course of action?
Dead wood and helpless/hopeless employees are an inditement of the company's top management. This form of burnout is something that should never happen with proper supervision and management. Workplace stress should be noted and addressed long before it comes to the point of burnout.
That's one more reason why executives from time to time do well to consider coaching, consultation or training for their executive and management personnel. The outsider looking in can sometimes notice things at a glance that are not obvious to those on the inside.
The moral of this story? An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.
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