I once had a minister tell me that he worked 168 hours a week. That is, he was always available. Most people would place him high on scale of risk toward burnout. In church and not-for-profit sectors, burnout is both a ubiquitous concern and a widely misunderstood risk.
It’s not uncommon for my coaching and supervision clients to report feeling "burnt out". When I probe further, they’re actually feeling deeply tired—often attributed to working too many hours. But fatigue due to overwork is only a part of the burnout picture.
Many leaders work tired for years on end without burning out or becoming symptomatic. Conversely, I’ve coached leaders whose role, on paper, should be comfortably fulfilled in the work hours for which they’re paid, yet they sincerely report that their energy is spent, their emotional reserves depleted, and the prospect of quitting seems inviting.
There’s more to burnout than tiredness.
Clearly, there’s more to burnout than tiredness. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the standard measure for burnout, measuring three key indicators:
- Emotional Exhaustion—feelings of being emotionally drained and overwhelmed by the demands of your work. This is broader than simply physical tiredness.
- Depersonalization—a sense of detachment or cynicism towards your job or colleagues. Sometimes this includes a loss of compassion for others. You may find yourself thinking, “No one else cares, so why should I?”
- Reduced Personal Accomplishment—that sense (and/or reality) of diminished efficacy and achievement in your work. A conviction that your effort is not making a difference.
A complicating factor is the human capacity for misattribution. We’ll sometimes attribute our fatigue, disillusionment, and hopelessness to our employment when we’re also dealing with other challenges to our adaptive capacity.
In addition, it’s tempting to blame factors outside ourselves—particularly our employer or constituents—rather than considering that our own responses and coping mechanisms may be contributing to our malaise.
To simply blame contextual factors is to disempower ourselves.
Thinking over our response to the challenges we face is crucial, since our own attitudes and behaviors are the variables over which we have most control. To simply blame contextual factors is to disempower ourselves.
If we’re simply tired, rest is what we need and soon we’ll feel better. However, if our work habits involve having unreasonable expectations of ourselves and of others, or taking more responsibility than is ours to take, we’ll quickly find ourselves fatigued and cynical quite quickly once again. This is why taking vacation or other leave is rarely a durable solution to actual burnout.
Working with a coach, psychologist, or supervisor can help you re-appraise your work, obtain clarity regarding your responsibilities, and become more realistic in your expectations. All of which will greatly reduce your vulnerability to burnout, enabling you to fruitfully minister for years to come.
Originally published by Pathways 4 Mission. Republished with permission.
Ken Morgan has worked as a consultant, trainer and coach to church planters, church ministers and denominational leaders in a wide variety of traditions across Australia and beyond since 1998. He’s currently the Head of Parish Mission Resourcing for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. A graduate of Tabor College and Victoria University, He makes his home in Melbourne. Ken is author of "Pathways: Local Mission for All Kinds of Churches" and "Like A Boss: the Process and Privilege of Supervising People".
