There are a lot of conversations right now about employee burnout and how companies are responding. What I find so fascinating is the recommendations on how to resolve the issue. One recommendation I’ve seen a lot of articles on is changing PTO structures and giving people more vacation or encouraging them to take it more often. It seems we are trying to treat the symptom instead of the cause. It really brought it home for me when I ran across this Romano Tours SNL skit from a few years ago, with Adam Sandler. Sandler is addressing the negative reviews that his tour company gets from time to time and cuts straight to the point.
“If you are sad where you are, and then you get on a plane to Italy, the you in Italy will be the same sad you from before. Just in a new place…
There is a lot a vacation can do…but it can not fix deeper issues like how you behave in group settings or your general baseline mood. That’s a job for incremental lifestyle changes sustained over time.”
If the general disposition of your workforce or team is burnt out, stressed, anxious or frustrated, all a vacation is doing is sending those same moods to new places. What I don’t see enough of, is talk about changing the way we work on a daily basis.
Simple habits like acting with purpose and making clear decisions that align with core values and long term goals, even if that causes some short term discomfort, being intentional about time and how it’s spent, taking time to connect with those around you in order to identify and work through issues before they boil over, delegating work and allowing those around us to accomplish the goals in their own way, even if it differs from ours, and most of all, getting really clear on what success is…for ourselves and others. So much of the burnout I see in my clients is the result of unclear goals for themselves and an underlying narrative that they should and could always be better.
So the lesson here is, don’t expect a vacation to be the cure, just like wine or chocolate at the end of each day doesn’t solve issues long term either. If you want long lasting change to your general disposition, the magic is in the work you do on your daily habits. Coaching provides a great avenue to help you do exactly that. Schedule your free one hour consultation here to get started.