Executives are particularly susceptible to professional burnout because of their high expectations and variable schedules – using the Whoop 4.0 can help them better manage the underlying causes of burnout. Learning to utilize some important tools on the Whoop can allow businesspeople to identify negative habits and develop healthier alternatives through slight nudges.
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What is burnout (in a professional setting)?
Burnout at work is physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress, particularly related to one’s job or career. It’s generally characterized by a sense of being overwhelmed, drained, and unable to meet the demands of the job. Burnout can have serious negative impacts on an individual’s overall well-being, productivity, and job satisfaction. The World Health Organization now classifies burnout as a medical condition, defining it as “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” As an executive or management consultant, the high expectations and workload can easily translate into burnout if stress is not actively managed.
Key indicators and symptoms of executive burnout
- Physical Exhaustion: Individuals experiencing burnout often feel physically drained, fatigued, and lacking in energy. They may have trouble sleeping or experience frequent headaches / muscle tension.
- Emotional Detachment: Burnout can lead to a sense of emotional detachment and cynicism towards one’s work. People might become more apathetic, disengaged, and less interested in their tasks.
- Reduced Performance: Burnout can lead to a decline in job performance. Concentration and focus may suffer, leading to mistakes and errors that are uncharacteristic of the individual.
- Lack of Motivation: Those experiencing burnout may struggle to find motivation and enthusiasm for their work. Tasks that were once enjoyable may become burdensome.
- Increased Irritability: Burnout can make executives more irritable and prone to mood swings. They might react more negatively to situations that normally wouldn’t bother them. This likely exacerbates issues with your team.
- Withdrawal: Individuals may start withdrawing from social interactions at work and isolating themselves from colleagues.
- Physical Health Issues: Prolonged burnout can have physical consequences such as weakened immune system, increased susceptibility to illnesses, and higher rates of heart problems.
- Cognitive Difficulties: Burnout can affect cognitive functions like memory, decision-making, and problem-solving. Individuals might struggle to think clearly and make effective decisions.
Impacts of executive burnout on organizations
- Reduced Productivity and Performance: Burned-out executives are likely to experience decreased productivity and lower job performance. They might struggle to focus, make more mistakes, and take longer to complete tasks, ultimately affecting the quality and quantity of their work.
- Increased Absenteeism: Burnout can lead to higher rates of absenteeism as employees may take more sick days or mental health days to cope with their exhaustion and stress.
- Higher Turnover Rates: Employees who are consistently burnt out are more likely to leave their jobs in search of better work environments. High turnover rates can result in increased recruitment and training costs, as well as a loss of institutional knowledge.
- Decreased Engagement and Morale: Burnout can lead to disengagement from work, reduced commitment to the organization, and lower morale among employees. This can create a negative atmosphere in the workplace and impact teamwork and collaboration.
- Negative Impact on Company Culture: A culture where burnout is prevalent can be toxic and demoralizing. Employees may perceive the company as uncaring about their well-being, which can erode trust and loyalty.
- Innovation and Creativity Suffer: Burnout can stifle employees’ creative thinking and innovative ideas, as they lack the mental and emotional energy to contribute to problem-solving and brainstorming.
- Customer & Employee Engagement: Executives experiencing burnout might not provide the best customer service, resulting in decreased customer satisfaction and potential damage to the company’s reputation.
- Strain on Remaining Employees: When some employees are burnt out, their colleagues often have to pick up the slack, leading to increased workloads and stress for those who are still functioning at a relatively high levels
- Lack of Innovation: Burnout can hinder an executive’s ability to think creatively and innovate.
Data is the key to reducing executive burnout – enter the Whoop 4.0
One of the problems with burnout is that we don’t generally measure the underlying risk factors. We just take a qualitative measurement each day of “how we’re feeling”. That all changes when you introduce the Whoop 4.0 into your life. The Whoop 4.0 allows you to take detailed measurements of your body’s activity as well as recovery and log many different activities (how much sleep did you get) or states of being (how engaged did you feel today).
Four key features of the Whoop 4.0 for reducing burnout
Use Whoop 4.0 to measure stress
Understanding where your actual stress level is each day is the first step to understanding when you are stressed and beginning to unpack what causes that stress. The Whoop 4.0 automatically monitors your stress level by tracking real time HRV (heart rate variability) and resting heart rate. The Whoop provides a daily summary of the time spent in different levels of stress. As an executive, you need good data before you can begin to make any changes. Just like any business problem, trended metrics is incredibly helpful in determining interventions and determining their efficacy in impacting the problem.
Use recovery score to understand lifestyle habits
Measuring recovery is one of the most important features of the Whoop 4.0. The Whoop health monitor constantly measures 5 different body metrics (heart rate, skin temperature, blood oxygenation, respiration rate, and heart rate variability) to develop a deep understanding of your body. When paired with the daily habit log, the Whoop can provide valuable insights on what positivity and (more importantly) negatively impacts your recovery
Use Whoop strain score to encourage regular exercise
There is clear research that regular physical exercise is beneficial to mental health. But what consultant or executive has time for that? Between SteerCos, board meetings, business travel and the other demands of work, few executives get enough exercise. The Whoop Strain score (min 0 – max of 21) helps measure daily physical activity. With beautiful trending charts that would make any CFO proud, the Whoop dashboards allow users to see their workout history.
Use the Whoop app to log mental health
The Whoop 4.0 app includes the ability to log your mental well-being across three essential psychological needs: purpose, control and efficacy. Front my standpoint this serves two important functions:
- Reflection – by having a daily reminder to log your feelings, you’re given a nudge to actually consider how you’ve been feeling. This is an important step to being present and recognizing our state of wellness
- Data – by logging your mental health each day, the whoop can provide insights by associating it with the other data / journal entries (as above). This is where the whoop app really differentiates from other mental health apps that simply collect your reflections.
Whoop 4.0 Fitness Tracker
Fitness tracker that provides real time feedback on strain, recovery and sleep to maximize your day
- 5 sensors to measure multiple bodily functions
- Waterproof design
- Bluetooth connectivity to your smartphone
- Slip over battery charger design
- Powerful analytics to uncover impact of habits
Additional tips to prevent / reduce burnout
The American Medical Association lists six key tips to help physicians reduce their own burnout, but these are also applicable to executives and consultants. These include:
- Take control of your schedule
- Find meaning in your practice (work) and develop a mission statement
- Seek meaning in activities outside of work
- Build personal professional relationships outside of work and find people that you can open up to about the stresses of work. Seek professional help, if needed
- Think about the bigger picture of your life and how to spend time outside of the office
- Schedule time for healthy activities outside of work (like exercise)
Get your own Whoop 4.0 with a free first month of subscription through our special partnership with Whoop.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) on burnout and the Whoop 4.0
Burnout is the mental, physical , and emotional state of just exhausted. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls it a “occupational phenomenon.” (Source)
All workers are susceptible to burnout. According to the Mayo Clinic, risk factors can include professional heavy workloads, feelings of lack of control, demanding profession, and roles where work life balance are difficult.
Yes! Since the Whoop 4.0 is a wellness tracker, it qualifies as a legitimate HSA purchase. This can be done through Amazon’s HSA section or through the Whoop website + submitting for reimbursement. More on how to use HSA dollars for Whoop in our guide.
