Burnout

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anonymous

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I read many articles on burnout, especially in physicians and how healthcare leadership is trying to address the crisis in the medical professionals we call on.

Then I see the signs in myself.

So, Purdue leadership, could you think of ways to address this problem among your ranks? Stress is the number one cause of burnout. How can you get your minions to stop all unnecessary forms of email, training modules, conf calls, trackers, micromanaging, KPIs, this shit all contributes to burnout. Have everyone ask him or herself before they send an email or request something, is this really important enough to but one more weight on my people (our people). Could this request be the straw that breaks the spirit , the final straw that leads to that apathy or loss of enthusiasm you need to keep this company moving forward.

Let's see some positive action of keeping us happy and healthy. We really need something now. Can we just have a little rest before we start to push this poop dog, A couple of months were we can just sell without extra BS before we ramp up for another failed launch? Please? How many more people need to leave this organization before you people see that your model isn't working. ??
 
Great post and very very true.
I know of three people who gave their notice on Monday. I wonder how many more left yesterday, first day of Q2? HR nightmare I'm sure. Purdue is toxic- I'm sure many other good reps are getting out while they can. Just got a call from a recruiter today-wish me luck.
 
DBMs should be trained to deal with this. It is so sad to see sharp top performing reps hit "the wall" only to be put on a PIP so they can be discarded in 60 days!

From https://www.psychologytoday.com:
Burnout is one of those road hazards in life that high-achievers really should be keeping a close eye out for, but sadly—often because of their "I can do everything" personalities—they rarely see it coming. Because high-achievers are often so passionate about what they do, they tend to ignore the fact that they're working exceptionally long hours, taking on exceedingly heavy work loads, and putting enormous pressure on themselves to excel—all of which make them ripe for burnout.

What is burnout?
Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to:
  • physical and emotional exhaustion
  • cynicism and detachment
  • feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment
When in the throes of full-fledged burnout, you are no longer able to function effectively on a personal or professional level. However, burnout doesn't happen suddenly. You don't wake up one morning and all of a sudden "have burnout." Its nature is much more insidious, creeping up on us over time like a slow leak, which makes it much harder to recognize. Still, our bodies and minds do give us warnings, and if you know what to look for, you can recognize it before it's too late.
 
I had to check off ALL SIX but now I understand! Time to make some adjustments. I hope this helps anybody experiencing burnout.

Research by Drs. Michael P. Leiter and Christina Maslach points to six specific sources of burnout at work:

Lack of Control. Your sense of control over what you do is undermined or limited and you don’t have a lot of say in what’s going on. One study measuring job demands and lack of control found that the one combination that was most detrimental to health and morale was high job demands in combination with low control. Individuals in this category experienced much higher rates of coronary disease and depression than those in other categories (Karasek, R., et. al, 1981).

Values Conflict. There is a disconnect between your own core values and the core values of the organization. Many companies flash their mission statements and values on websites and marketing materials, but few actually walk the talk. If you want to learn more about values and categorize your own, please visit my website to find a free values worksheet.

Insufficient Reward. You feel taken for granted, not recognized, and/or undercompensated. Many companies survived the Great Recession by demanding employees do more with less, and that often meant having one person do the work of two (or more). While this may have been a strategy necessitated by the severity of the economic crisis, it’s unreasonable to expect this to work as a long-term strategy. At my husband’s company, the CEO and other managers often send company- wide emails recognizing the efforts of employees. It takes a few minutes to type an email, but the goodwill created will last far longer.

Work Overload. Your workload is too much, too complex, or too urgent. When I was practicing law, I had a client who categorized the priority of his work for me as “nuclear,” “super-nuclear” and “catastrophic.” I still don’t know what the difference is in the three designations, and I suspect he was so busy that even he didn’t really know – he just wanted me to take care of matters urgently. The stress created by work overload is not something to be ignored. According to the most recent Gallup survey on employee engagement, 50% of workers report being “not engaged” while another 20% report being “actively disengaged” (Sorenson & Garman, 2013).

Unfairness. You or others are treated unfairly, there is a culture of favoritism, and assignments and promotions are made in an arbitrary fashion and discussed behind closed doors. One of the things that makes a company great, according to a recentHarvard Business Review article, is that employees are told what’s really going on. Nothing shuts down morale more than whispering behind closed doors.

Breakdown of Community. You have to work with patronizing colleagues, there is no mechanism for conflict resolution, and feedback is non-existent. One study found that the number of people saying they have no one with whom to discuss important issues has nearly tripled between 1985 and 2004 (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Brashears, 2006). We spend so much time at work – building better relationships should be a main goal for all employees and managers.

Our culture of burnout isn’t going to improve until these six sources of burnout at work are addressed. What’s troubling is that you don’t need to have a serious mismatch in all six of these areas to be at risk – a mismatch in even one area puts you on the path toward burning out. The time to start is now.
Our culture of burnout isn’t going to improve until these six sources of burnout at work are addressed. What’s troubling is that you don’t need to have a serious mismatch in all six of these areas to be at risk – a mismatch in even one area puts you on the path toward burning out. The time to start is now.
 
Thank you for posting these important clinical descriptions of burnout. I have all of them and bet most of the employees here do too. This constant pushing us for unattainable standards is unhealthy at best and at worst increasing our risk for death. I have just answered my own question about why to stay.

They will just throw you away if you stumble, after they bring you to your knees with impossible demands. Heartless corporate greed. Psychopaths running the show.
 
While i feel terrible that there are obviously some of us being pushed to the brink here...I wonder what the true numbers are especially for field personnel. I have been harassed by my DM now for months with no end in sight. My numbers are better than average and even quite good by national standards but still the daily harassment continues. Ride Alongs are absolute torture. Although I'm beginning to make a game out of it. I take my boss to places where we will rot before getting in as well as places that won't allow managers or actually say they have issues with him to his face. I guess finally kinda realizing that there isnt much more i can do to get these people off my back is kinda liberating. Are there really that many of us about to lose it here?
 
Burnout and the Brain

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/burnout-and-the-brain

It’s a mistake to assume that burnout is merely an emotional response to long hours or a challenging job. Rather, mounting scientific evidence shows that burnout takes a profound physical toll that cascades well beyond our professional lives. Using cutting-edge techniques, integrative research teams are demonstrating that burnout is not just a state of mind, but a condition that leaves its mark on the brain as well as the body.

Just as the impact of burnout stifles healthy professional growth, emerging research shows that the chronic psychosocial stress that characterizes burnout not only impairs people’s personal and social functioning, it also can overwhelm their cognitive skills and neuroendocrine systems — eventually leading to distinctive changes in the anatomy and functioning of the brain.

Research from an integrative team of psychological scientists at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden provides striking evidence that workplace burnout can alter neural circuits, ultimately causing a vicious cycle of neurological dysfunction.

Beyond changes to the brain’s anatomy, scientists are beginning to understand how burnout can affect people’s cognitive functioning — disrupting creativity, problem solving, and working memory.

In addition to dysregulation in brain function, emerging evidence suggests that — much like other chronic stress conditions — burnout also leads to turmoil within the regulation of the body’s neuroendocrine system. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is an important component in the regulation of the stress response, controlling the release of the “stress hormone” cortisol.
 
I've tried several medications to keep me functioning here. Anti depressants, benozo, sleep meds, opioids, stimulants, and others. My body and mind are falling apart bit by bit. I find I'm crying a lot and feel like a zombie if I DON'T take meds. I chewed a Valium upon arriving at home today. Others I know here drink a lot, many are also on many meds to dull the pain. I feel I've lost hope with double the workload and few options for success in my current role. they've stacked the cards into an impossible deck and I don't think I can play this game any longer. There's no way to win, the bar is set too high to attain and nobody will admit that we are striving for the impossible. What's the body count now?
 
anonymous said:
Thank you for posting these important clinical descriptions of burnout. I have all of them and bet most of the employees here do too. This constant pushing us for unattainable standards is unhealthy at best and at worst increasing our risk for death. I have just answered my own question about why to stay.

They will just throw you away if you stumble, after they bring you to your knees with impossible demands. Heartless corporate greed. Psychopaths running the show.
Click to expand...
They threw me away after my best year in 2015. Looking back, best thing ever for my health. Purdue is not worth a bucket of spit let alone your sanity, your family, your health and well being. Fuck that!
 
Working here has become an embarrassment. I've never seen a company so foul in the way it treats its employees. Too bad the rumors of mass layoffs turned out to be false. Looks like we will have to launch this dog in July and wait for the inevitable a little longer.
 
I have been in the industry for 20 years. My manager is very good and that's why came over. Upper management could not be worse and add less value. Ne Rbd said in a concall that we need to add value across team and regional lines to get promoted. He actually hurts sales by busy work and lack of motivation. Only hope new Coo comes in and cleans house. 1) make goals realistic 2) no busy work that does not increase sales 3) at least act like you care about the sales team. Current team complicates things and makes life more difficult than needed. A motivated sales force makes everyones life much better.
 
anonymous said:
Working here has become an embarrassment. I've never seen a company so foul in the way it treats its employees. Too bad the rumors of mass layoffs turned out to be false. Looks like we will have to launch this dog in July and wait for the inevitable a little longer.
Click to expand...
Mass layoffs are false because they force people out by putting them on a PIP and treating others like crap. The good ones are leaving on their own accord as recruiters are searching them out. If you look at the sales rankings for 2016 - one third of the territory's listed didnt qualify for PC due to either being a new hire to the territory or its vacant. It's been an interesting ride here at Purdue.
 
anonymous said:
Great post and very very true.
I know of three people who gave their notice on Monday. I wonder how many more left yesterday, first day of Q2? HR nightmare I'm sure. Purdue is toxic- I'm sure many other good reps are getting out while they can. Just got a call from a recruiter today-wish me luck.
Click to expand...

I heard that 5 TBMs gave their notice early last week (week of April 3rd) - 2 in the North East, 2 in the Mid Atlantic and 1 in the South East.

Not a good sign with 5 + reps leaving in 1 week and Sayeed M leaving the week before...

Who will jump ship next???
 
How about some vacation time? You get 3 years when you start and no increase in vacation until 10 years?! That's crap!
When the policy changed last year increasing new hires from 2 to 3 weeks, we should have ALL had an adjustment! This would help burnout some to revise this policy!!!
 
Great thread! Thank you for the links to the pro sites. I was on the fence just "hanging on" until it gets better, but then I came to realize my management team was just a form of abusive dysfunctional individuals who don't change even if sales improve!
My conclusion: I value myself and my family too much to permit sick individuals to spew their toxic nature all over my life and steal the joy that is my nature! I will be leaving within one month either with or without a new job. NO MORE ABUSE FOR ME!
 


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