Mainframers and burnout

Last time, I looked at Gartner’s top six cybersecurity trends for 2025, which included “addressing cybersecurity burnout”. I thought it would be interesting to look at burnout – what it is, how to identify it, and what to do if you’re experiencing it.

We’re all familiar with the idea of burnout, and yet it was as recently as 2019 that ‘burnout’ was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an ‘occupational phenomenon’.

According to Mental Health UK, burnout is a state of physical and emotional exhaustion. It can occur when an individual experiences long-term stress in their job, or when they have worked in a physically or emotionally draining role for a long time.

So, how do you know whether you have burnout? Burnout manifests itself in various ways, and it is crucial to identify the signs early in order to address the issue effectively. Some common symptoms include:

• Emotional exhaustion – feeling emotionally drained, overwhelmed, and lacking the energy to cope with daily tasks.
• Depersonalization – developing a cynical and detached attitude towards work or personal responsibilities, leading to a loss of motivation and decreased empathy.
• Reduced accomplishment – experiencing a sense of ineffectiveness, decreased productivity, and feeling that one’s efforts are not yielding the desired results.
• Physical symptoms – frequent headaches, fatigue, insomnia, and changes in appetite or weight are often associated with burnout.
• Cognitive difficulties – difficulty concentrating, memory problems, and reduced creativity are common cognitive manifestations.

In other words, people feel overwhelmed, helpless, trapped, and/or defeated. They feel detached/alone in the world and have a cynical/negative outlook. They are filled with self-doubt, and they procrastinate or simply take longer to get things done.

Unfortunately, burnout simply gets worse unless a person addresses the underlying issues causing it.

Herbert Freudenberger, an American psychologist who in 1974 used the word ‘burnout’ in this sense, suggested that there were 12 stages in the progression of burnout. This has now been reduced to five stages, which are:

1.  Honeymoon phase – there are no signs of burnout. People are full of enthusiasm and commitment. However, there is a risk of overworking.
2.  Onset of stress – some days are more stressful than others resulting in less time for family and friends. People begin to find difficulty focusing, and experience headaches, anxiety, and changes in appetite.
3. Chronic stress – a person’s problem-solving skills and performance decrease further, and they start feeling out of control and powerless. people may procrastinate. People start becoming ill more frequently and become more emotional. People may see even less of friends and family, and some people may take to drink and drugs.
4. Burnout – exhaustion makes it hard to cope with work demands. A sense of failure and powerlessness can lead to despair and disillusionment.
5. Habitual burnout – the symptoms of burnout become part of a person’s life. This can affect a person’s career, personal relationships, and life in general.

Burnout may be the result of stress, but they are not the same thing. Typically, stress involves too much pressure demanding too much of a person physically and mentally. Stressed people can still imagine that if they get everything under control, they’ll feel better. Whereas with burnout, people feel empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People with burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations.

Hans Selye first used the word ‘stress’, borrowed from physics, to describe the “nonspecific response of the body to any demand”. Selye is known as the ‘father of stress research’, and published his best-known book, The Stress of Life, in 1956.

Burnout is typically caused by a combination of internal and external factors. Some common causes include:

• Work-related factors – high job demands, long working hours, lack of control over work, insufficient support from colleagues or superiors, and monotonous or unfulfilling tasks.
• Lifestyle imbalance – neglecting personal needs, inadequate self-care, and an imbalance between work and personal life.
• Personality traits – perfectionism, high self-expectations, and the inability to delegate or set boundaries.
• Lack of social support – limited social connections, inadequate emotional support, and feeling isolated.

So, what can mainframers and other people do to prevent burnout, if they feel that they are beginning to struggle with it? Recognizing the signs of burnout is crucial, but it is equally important to take proactive steps to prevent and recover from it. Here are some effective strategies:

• Self-care –adopt healthy habits, including regular exercise, adequate sleep, and a balanced diet. Engage in activities that bring joy and relaxation.
• Set boundaries – learn to say no and establish boundaries to prevent overcommitting and excessive workloads. Delegate tasks where possible, and communicate your limits to colleagues or superiors.
• Get help – reach out to friends, family, or professionals for emotional support and guidance. Consider joining support groups or seeking therapy to share experiences and learn coping strategies.
• Time management – organize and prioritize tasks effectively, break larger goals into smaller, manageable tasks, and schedule regular breaks to avoid overwhelm.
• Develop coping mechanisms – engage in stress-reducing activities such as mindfulness, meditation, deep-breathing exercises, or journalling to manage stress levels and promote mental wellbeing.
• Evaluate and reflect – regularly assess your goals, values, and motivations to ensure they align with your personal and professional aspirations. Look for opportunities for growth and make the necessary adjustments to restore a sense of purpose.

What can employers do about burnout in the workplace? There are two possibilities. The first is to produce a wellbeing plan that can be used as a tool by employees to help identify what good wellbeing looks like for them, as well as what things looks like when they aren’t so good. Secondly, stress risk assessments can be used by staff to identify how stressed they feel at work. The next step is to find ways of removing or reducing the risk of burnout.

Burnout is a serious condition that can have a significant impact on individuals’ lives, but it is not an insurmountable challenge. By recognizing the signs early on, understanding the causes, and implementing effective prevention and recovery strategies, it is possible to overcome burnout and restore a person’s wellbeing.