Our work lives can be interesting and rewarding. We often get a sense of worth and accomplishment from a job well done.
Unfortunately, our work lives also tend to be stressful. There are deadlines, difficult interpersonal dynamics, endless to-do lists and constant crises. We feel the pressure of getting enough done while avoiding mistakes and failure.
Many people think they need to be hard on themselves to achieve their career goals, driving themselves relentlessly with harsh criticism or working crazy hours to get ahead. This just amps up our stress and anxiety.
When our stress levels exceed our ability to cope with them, our bodies protect themselves by shutting down. In other words, we burn out. We get exhausted, feel detached from our work and our co-workers, and often blame ourselves for our sorry state.
How do we strive for excellence at work without becoming overwhelmed with anxiety? How do we navigate the excessive demands that our jobs place on our time while keeping our sanity? Self-compassion is an empirically supported method that makes a huge difference.
Research shows that self-compassionate people experience better mental health and less stress and anxiety at work. They have greater job satisfaction and report better work-life balance. Because their sense of self-worth isn’t so dependent on successful performance, they value learning from mistakes over avoiding failure. The result is that their work performance and effectiveness improve!
Research also shows that self-compassionate people are less likely to quit their jobs due to stress or become burned out. Among professional caregivers such as therapists, doctors, nurses, educators, and first responders, self-compassion is associated with less caregiver fatigue and feelings of exhaustion.
Interestingly, a recent study developed a scale specifically designed to assess how self-compassionate people were at work, and found that Work Self-Compassion predicted lower levels of burnout and better job performance over and above self-compassion levels in general.
The tender and fierce aspects of self-compassion each play a key role in reducing work stress and burnout. Tender acceptance of our feelings of exhaustion and stress, combined with a warm and supportive rather than cold and critical attitude, allows us to remain resilient and not shut down. But taking fierce action to draw boundaries and say no to unreasonable work expectations also allows us to better meet our own needs and take care of ourselves.
I’m including a new six-minute guided practice that I recorded to help you approach your feelings of work stress and burnout with compassion. If you’re feeling worn out by your work life, I’d invite you to try it. Self-compassion isn’t magic dust that will make your stress and burnout disappear, but it will lighten your load and help strengthen your capacity to cope.
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