The origin of the term ‘burnout’  

The World Health Organization (WHO), recognized burnout as a disease or occupational phenomenon, in the 11th edition of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) published in May 2019.

The new diagnosis is defined as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy. Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

How is burnout different from stress?

Burnout is the loss of meaning in one’s work, coupled with mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion as the result of long-term, unresolved stress.

When your boundaries of personal time and work time get blurred, it is the first sign of burnout. In the current work scenarios, with many employees having been laid off there is immense pressure on those still at work to put in extra time and effort to complete the job which was earlier shared over more desks. Burnout can happen when the immediate manager pushes the limits of the employee to do more than his or her fair share of work. It can also be the result of bullying or discrimination.

At this juncture, let us understand and differentiate stress from BURNOUT

• Stress leads to urgency and hyperactivity while burnout causes a feeling of helplessness
• Stress leads to loss of energy while burnout leads to loss of motivation
• Stress symptoms are easier to recognize but it is always more difficult to notice burnout
• Stress leads to working overtime to complete overload of work while burnout has no control over job-related situations
• Stress affects the body and burnout affects the mind

Burnout is an outcome or result of excessive stress! Burnout is also referred to as compassion fatigue.

What are the reasons causing the burnout?

Work environments have changed. Today 48% of Generation Xers in their mid-career trajectories are faced with burnout. WFH has only accelerated the process. The causes of burnout are: –

• Taking on more work or carrying more work pressure

As per a Harvard Business Review, 51% of women are prone to burnout as they take up non-promotable work in a collaborative environment mainly to help colleagues. Even not being able to delegate work to others is a sure sign.

• Lack of support, recognition, and respect in the workplace

These markers only make people feel like a cog in the wheel than real contributors in a fast-paced highly-competitive workspace.

• Lack of sleep, stress-eating, weight gain, and no time for social life

While lack of sleep, stress-eating, weight gain make a person grumpy and always exhausted, no vacations and lesser time with family and friends also lead to strained relationships sometimes leading to substance abuse. Work-home balance is a must.

• Job content

Constant high job expectations and doing work that is monotonous and less financially gratifying is also another contributor.

The 5 stages of burnout

Burnout is often faced by persons in the age group 25 to 44. The 5 phases of burnout are,

1. Honeymoon Stage

This very first phase of burnout happens mostly in a new job when one rapidly accepts responsibility to proven one’s mettle. Often the person does not realize his/her unbridled optimism and over-commitment to the job at hand is starting to cause the first signs of burnout. If the right coping strategies are not in place, it escalates moving to the next phase.

2. Onset Stress Stage

In the second stage of burnout job dissatisfaction, irritability, and job anxiety begin to creep in lowering the initial level of productivity. You know it’s getting tougher and you feel the physical, mental, or emotional stress. This may also lead to medical problems like high blood pressure, increasing headaches, and heart palpitations.   

3. Chronic Stress Stage

In this stage stress levels increase and symptoms seen in stage two become more intense. One starts to stop socializing, misses work or deadlines, procrastinates, and gets into a denial mode. There is persistent tiredness and exhaustion from early morning, an onset of physical illness, aggressive behavior, and an increase in caffeine, alcohol, drug consumption.

4. Burnout Stage

Stage four of burnout is actual burnout where one may require clinical and emotional intervention. In this stage, the individual feels empty, becomes a pessimist, isolates himself/herself from family, friends and community, and exhibits behavioral changes. Also, it is marked with chronic headaches and chronic stomach or bowel problems.

5. Habitual Burnout Stage

The fifth and final stage of burnout is habitual burnout that leads to sadness and depression.

How to prevent burnout

While burnout is primarily caused by work-related issues, it transcends into home life. It is important to recognize the signs and to proactively take up self-care and build mental resilience.

Here are a few recommendations on how to prevent burnout:

• Take a relook and redefine your work, profile, and goals
• Communicate and talk about any work related problems with co-workers, friends family, or a counselor if need be.
• Don’t let negative or overly competitive work-mates pull you down. You are your boss and let your work define it.
• While you are working from home, update your skills with numerous online courses available.
• Be clear about maintaining a work-family balance. Work from home does not mean constantly staying connected with colleagues on WA, emails. Try to get some family time outdoors and away from social media. Also, try to involve yourself in social and community activities.
• Introduce yourself to holistic health. Structure your day in such a way that you have time for yourself and activities like yoga, meditation, and mindfulness to keep burnout at bay. Even some exercise like a jog around the perimeter will boost overall energy.
• Stay mindful. 

Burnout if ignored or unaddressed can have significant consequences on health leading to high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and even heart attacks.

Find your work-life balance.

The post Burnout in 2020 – A growing occupational hazard with ‘Work from Home’ appeared first on Doer Life.

Objectives of World Blood Donor Day 2020

The 5 objectives of World Blood Donor Day 2020 campaign are:

1. To celebrate and thank people who have donated blood and to inspire others to start donating,
2. To highlight the need for donating blood on a regular basis, that would help to build adequate supplies when needed for safe blood transfusion,
3. To emphasize the importance of the contribution made by donors which is a critical factor in improving the health of others,
4. To show the need for universal access to safe blood transfusion and advocate the role of blood donation in providing health care, and
5. To mobilize support at global, national, and local levels to strengthen and sustain national blood programs.

The importance of a blood bank

There are 3 kinds of blood donors – the voluntary unpaid donor who gives blood for storage at a blood bank called the ‘Allogeneic or Homologous Donor’, the family/replacement donor who donates blood for a specific person called ‘Directed Donor’ and third the ‘Paid Donor’ who mostly sells his blood in exchange for money. Out of 171 countries that collect blood, 71 countries (42%) are high-income countries that support just 16% of the world’s population. The remaining countries still don’t have easy and affordable access to blood. Why we need blood banks and blood donors to keep supplying blood is because of these underlying reasons:

• Safe blood is critical both for treatments and urgent medical interventions.
• It helps patients suffering from life-threatening conditions to receive blood transfusions.
• Complex surgical procedures require extra blood.
• Blood is vital for treating the wounded in times of wars, natural disasters, accidents, etc.
• Plays an important life-saving role in maternal and neonatal care.

Which countries have maximum blood donors?

From a survey in 2018, by Statista of more than 23,000 adults across 28 countries, Saudi Arabia emerged as the country where maximum blood donors came forward to donate blood. India ranked second. While 58 % of Saudis said they frequently donate their blood, India’s share was 52% followed by China 40%. Also as per WHO, from 2013 to 2018, blood donations from voluntary unpaid donors has increased by 7.8 million. While 79 countries collect over 90% of their blood supply from voluntary unpaid blood donors; 56 countries still collect 50% of their blood supply from family/replacement or paid donors.

Blood Donation in India

In India, the first Blood Bank was started in 1942, at All India Institute of Hygiene & Public Health, Calcutta (West Bengal) by the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS). The country now has over 2,760 licensed blood banks with the largest (308) in Maharashtra.

Besides the local hospitals who have their blood banks, some major Indian blood donations organizations are:

• Indian Red Cross Society
• Rotary Blood Bank
• Lions Blood Bank
• Sankalp India Foundation
• Khoon Organization
• Save Life India
• Think Foundation
• BloodConnect Foundation
• Athar Blood Bank
• Ekam Nyaas

Besides, organizations like Indian Blood Donors, BloodConnect and Friends2Support help to maintain a database of blood donors to facilitate a network between blood donors and organizations/hospitals.

This year on June 14 India will participate in the blood donation drive. However, on account of COVID-19, the Blood Bank mobile blood collection units will be taking extra precautions for the blood donor by using thermal scanners, disinfectant cleaning of couches, gloves, masks, and maintaining 3 metre gap between the two couches.

Though India uses 9 million of the 11 million blood units it collects every year, we still run short by over 2 million units to reach the target of 13.5 million (1% of population mandated by WHO). Interestingly 84% of these blood donations are collected through voluntary non-remunerated donors. India is currently working towards reaching this WHO target by 2020 to achieve 100% self-sufficiency and voluntary blood donation. It is also important that not just quantity by quality blood free from HIV, and Hepatitis B & C is collected. What is equally a daunting task in India is to avoid blood wastage before its expiry date by transferring it from one hospital to another. This makes blood inventory management essential to ensure availability to the right patient, at the right time.

The World Blood Donor Day 2020

International organizations like World Health Organization (WHO), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations and the International Society of Blood Transfusion, are working in close collaboration to give guidance and support on this Day.

Due to the current corona virus pandemic and with restrictions imposed by various countries, this year WHO will run a global virtual campaign on blood donation. The blood donation drive will call to action governments and health authorities worldwide to provide adequate resources to increase the collection of blood from voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors. WHO also shares directives on quality donor care, blood transfusions, and the appropriate clinical use of blood. Remember it only takes 10-15 minutes to donate blood. It is a safe procedure. After donating blood, drink water, avoid strenuous exercise and alcohol until a few hours after donation, and wait till at least 56 days to donate blood again.

On World Blood Donor Day June 14, 2020, even if you are unable to step out to donate blood, let the intent stay. When the country gets back to the new normal, go ahead and become a blood donor by just donating 350 ml of your blood.

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