Of all the things that have changed dramatically in the past few years, our shared understanding of “employee wellness” and what it really means is up there as one of the most important.
Once used to refer to the occasional approved sick day, employee wellness now represents a serious investment for many corporations – and for good reason.
Across the globe, burnout has become a full-blown epidemic, changing the world and our collective thinking so rapidly that many are still playing catch up.
Of course, although the physical signs may be similar and far-reaching – from exhaustion and overwhelm to panic attacks and all-consuming depression – burnout is anything but universal.
In fact, it’s different for each of us, impacted by a culmination of unique experiences and traits – and if you’re a leader with a team of employees behind you, your handling of the situation will hinge on this understanding.
With that knowledge comes the weight of pressure and expectation, and if anyone knows a few things about managing all of it, it’s Pam Ford.
As a team leader and manager in the financial industry, Pam has spent more than 20 years juggling multiple priorities, from her own mental health to the highs and lows of motherhood,
For Pam, the pandemic represented a significant burnout learning curve – one which took her from a total lack of burnout knowledge pre-COVID to an in-depth understanding of how it affects staff, leaders and individuals at every stage of their lives and careers.
In this episode of the SheBurns podcast, Pam shares her no-holds-barred take on the pandemic, from her first experience of physical burnout symptoms to the support network and strategies that brought her out the other side – as a woman, a mother and a leader.
So what’s this episode really about?
- Why navigating burnout should be a team sport
- The true link between leadership and burnout – particularly for women
- How burnout can lead to imposter syndrome, and what you can do about it
- Why you should start talking to your kids about burnout early on
- The extra pressure on mothers to “prove themselves” after having a child
Why you should listen
For many of us, the concept of burnout is still fairly new, and it can be far more difficult to recognise in yourself than in other people. No matter where your journey has taken you so far, Pam’s journey will give you hope in your ability to connect with and advocate for your own needs.
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You can quote me on that…
“You often look at these setbacks as just unnecessary and really painful road bumps, but I think, once you can separate yourself from the pain – and it’s so immediate in those moments – you give yourself time to reflect and you realize, one: I got through that. Two: I’m so much stronger than I thought I was, and now I have all these learnings having gone through this experience that I can bring into situations and help others [to avoid] the same thing.” – Pam Ford
“I feel like there is an individual component [to burnout] because who are you? Pam? How were you raised? There’s always different characteristics in our personalities. Are you a people pleaser? Are you poor at setting boundaries? Are you someone that’s a perfectionist? There’s all these different buckets… that different people fall into, but all of the roads can lead to burnout.” – Hannah Austin
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