ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with ex

When stress runs out of control it leads to burnout. No news that this is a workplace problem. Every increase in productivity comes about not by magic but by effort and intensity. The workforce pulls together, works hard, puts in long hours and concentrates. The standards are set high. Of course there is stress.

What is news, however, is that stress can lead to the loss of the highest motivated workers, managers and executives. The assumption would be otherwise. One would think the highest motivated people, especially among the ranks of managers and executives, would be the ones with the most staying power. But stress allowed to run out of control always goes in the same direction: burnout.

There are five types of burnout:

Leaving the profession forever

Above it all

Trapped in a gilded cage

Dead wood

Helpless and hopeless.

The highest motivated persons are usually in the operation because that is what they love. These persons are easy to spot when they interview. They are the ones who always wanted to be a teacher, a minister, a doctor, a nurse, a computer whiz, a programmer, a scientist, an engineer. They read books and watched movies that portrayed what they dreamed of becoming. They worked hard at school. They went to college or technical school to achieve a foundation for what they planned on doing all their life.

These persons hit the ground running when they are hired. They come early, stay late, work during breaks, ask questions and emote enthusiasm. Sometimes they give union stewards a headache because they set the bar too high. They are not necessarily popular with coworkers or co-managers for the same reason. They may be respected but also resented. If you put them in charge of company events they will push, pull and prod everyone else into doing their part and more.

These are the mechanics who take the manuals home to study in their spare time. These are the teachers who come back on weekends to make their classrooms and labs more learning efficient. These are the persons who are happy to be doing what they are doing because it is their dream come true. They give it their all.

Therein lies the problem: they know no restraint and cannot pace themselves. They are like a plane going full throttle all the time, one speed only. In the beginning they usually get encouraged by whoever is in charge. Eventually they get feedback about pacing themselves and giving it a rest and thinking about the long haul. Good advice: those who hear it do well over the long haul. Those who ignore it mistake the advice as temptation to become mediocre. They misread and misintrepret the hints to slow down as signs of apathy.

They have embarked on the burnout path leading to Leave The Profession Forever.

The journey is swift and often ends abruptly. Like a flaming meteor, they crash, exhausted and disillusioned. The very ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with ex

out:

Leaving the profession forever

Above it all

Trapped in a gilded cage

Dead wood

Helpless and hopeless.

The highest motivated persons are usually in the operation because that is what they love. These persons are easy to spot when they interview. They are the ones who always wanted to be a teacher, a minister, a doctor, a nurse, a computer whiz, a programmer, a scientist, an engineer. They read books and watched movies that portrayed what they dreamed of becoming. They worked hard at school. They went to college or technical school to achieve a foundation for what they planned on doing all their life.

These persons hit the ground running when they are hired. They come early, stay late, work during breaks, ask questions and emote enthusiasm. Sometimes they give union stewards a headache because they set the bar too high. They are not necessarily popular with coworkers or co-managers for the same reason. They may be respected but also resented. If you put them in charge of company events they will push, pull and prod everyone else into doing their part and more.

These are the mechanics who take the manuals home to study in their spare time. These are the teachers who come back on weekends to make their classrooms and labs more learning efficient. These are the persons who are happy to be doing what they are doing because it is their dream come true. They give it their all.

Therein lies the problem: they know no restraint and cannot pace themselves. They are like a plane going full throttle all the time, one speed only. In the beginning they usually get encouraged by whoever is in charge. Eventually they get feedback about pacing themselves and giving it a rest and thinking about the long haul. Good advice: those who hear it do well over the long haul. Those who ignore it mistake the advice as temptation to become mediocre. They misread and misintrepret the hints to slow down as signs of apathy.

They have embarked on the burnout path leading to Leave The Profession Forever.

The journey is swift and often ends abruptly. Like a flaming meteor, they crash, exhausted and disillusioned. The very ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with ex

e early, stay late, work during breaks, ask questions and emote enthusiasm. Sometimes they give union stewards a headache because they set the bar too high. They are not necessarily popular with coworkers or co-managers for the same reason. They may be respected but also resented. If you put them in charge of company events they will push, pull and prod everyone else into doing their part and more.

These are the mechanics who take the manuals home to study in their spare time. These are the teachers who come back on weekends to make their classrooms and labs more learning efficient. These are the persons who are happy to be doing what they are doing because it is their dream come true. They give it their all.

Therein lies the problem: they know no restraint and cannot pace themselves. They are like a plane going full throttle all the time, one speed only. In the beginning they usually get encouraged by whoever is in charge. Eventually they get feedback about pacing themselves and giving it a rest and thinking about the long haul. Good advice: those who hear it do well over the long haul. Those who ignore it mistake the advice as temptation to become mediocre. They misread and misintrepret the hints to slow down as signs of apathy.

They have embarked on the burnout path leading to Leave The Profession Forever.

The journey is swift and often ends abruptly. Like a flaming meteor, they crash, exhausted and disillusioned. The very ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with ex

ies the problem: they know no restraint and cannot pace themselves. They are like a plane going full throttle all the time, one speed only. In the beginning they usually get encouraged by whoever is in charge. Eventually they get feedback about pacing themselves and giving it a rest and thinking about the long haul. Good advice: those who hear it do well over the long haul. Those who ignore it mistake the advice as temptation to become mediocre. They misread and misintrepret the hints to slow down as signs of apathy.

They have embarked on the burnout path leading to Leave The Profession Forever.

The journey is swift and often ends abruptly. Like a flaming meteor, they crash, exhausted and disillusioned. The very ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with ex

ideals which brought them to their dreamed-of work become the reason they leave forever. The explosion might be a tirade against the company, the industry or the coworkers. The bitterness may be over feeling used. The perception might be that the whole outfit lacks vision and integrity. They leave forever, often turning on the very people at the top who are first were thrilled to have them on board. The company or oganization loses one of its most valuable people.

Such tragedies are easily avoided with a few sound practices revolving around supervision and mentoring. These are the racehorses who should be encouraged and taught how to pace themselves. Their zeal should be tempered, not rewarded. They should be paired with experienced people and mentored to fit into the pace instead of trying to outrun everybody around them. They should not be allowed to skip vacation. They need to leave work at work and quit at quitting time. When they are sick they need to take sick leave. When they volunteer for extra duty they should be thanked but requently refused.

If you as a manager or executive happen to be on the path leading to this type of burnout do two thing immediately. First, take some vacation time. Then find a mentor or get some executive coaching. Your challenge is to achieve perspective, something which calls for talking with someone else who has perspective.

Productivity is important but it should never be achieved at the expense of the people who make it possible.