Advancing Healthy Workplaces: Understanding and Preventing Burnout

The Office of the President Ombuds and the Faculty Staff Assistance Program present Advancing Healthy Workplaces: Understanding and Preventing Burnout. Dr. Krishnan Radhakrishnan MD, PhD, MPH, a Physician and Senior Advisor, National Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Laboratory, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will discuss ways to address burnout through organizational strategies.

Dr. Radhakrishnan's presentation will highlight, in part, the following:

Burnout is a complex issue resulting from chronic workplace stress.

It encompasses:

• Exhaustion—feeling depleted, overextended, and fatigued

• Depersonalization—being detached from oneself and emotionally distant from one’s clients and work

• Feelings of inefficacy—having a reduced sense of professional accomplishment

Burnout has physical and emotional consequences for individuals and impacts their work with clients and within an organization. To fully address burnout, organizations need to adopt strategies that improve their organizational culture and climate to modify the six drivers of burnout: workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values.