Walsh X Talk - DBA Candidate Kayla Kozuch

Summary

The speaker shares a personal story of receiving unexpected appreciation from a colleague, which highlights the importance of recognizing employees' hard work. The narrative transitions into a discussion on burnout, its causes, and its impact on personal and professional life. The speaker emphasizes the role of leaders in fostering a culture of open communication, work-life balance, and employee engagement to combat burnout, while also advocating for self-care and the value of relationships in building resilience and a fulfilling life.

Takeaways

• 🎁 A small, thoughtful gesture from a colleague can greatly boost an employee's morale and make them feel appreciated, even when they are going through a tough time.
• 😔 The speaker was experiencing burnout, feeling stressed and overwhelmed due to increased workload and responsibilities, which affected their emotional well-being.
• 🔥 Burnout is a psychological syndrome that develops over time due to high-stress environments and can be caused by various factors such as unrealistic expectations, lack of appreciation, and unclear goals.
• 💡 Leaders play a crucial role in recognizing and addressing burnout among their teams to prevent a decline in performance and a negative impact on workplace culture.
• 🤝 Building strong relationships and fostering a sense of belonging can lead to longer, healthier lives, as highlighted by the experiences of people in their 70s, 80s, and 90s.
• 🛑 It is essential for leaders to be champions for employee engagement, as disengaged employees can lead to poor performance, increased turnover, and a toxic workplace culture.
• 👀 Leaders must be vigilant for signs of burnout in their teams, such as exhaustion, cynicism, and decreased productivity, and take proactive steps to support their employees.
• 🗣️ Open communication is vital in the workplace; leaders should listen to, acknowledge, and validate their employees' feelings to create a psychologically safe environment.
• 🌟 Recognition and appreciation from leaders can go a long way in motivating employees and fostering a positive work environment.
• 💪 Leaders should lead by example, setting boundaries for their work-life balance and encouraging their teams to do the same, to prevent burnout and promote overall well-being.
• 🧘‍♂️ Self-care is crucial for avoiding burnout; individuals should prioritize physical, emotional, and mental health, and practice active rest to recharge and maintain resilience.

Q & A

What was the unexpected gesture from a colleague that the speaker mentioned?

The colleague called the speaker to commend their hard work and positive attitude, and informed them that a gift card for a dinner was waiting for them at a restaurant in their town.

How did the speaker initially interpret the colleague's call about dinner plans?

The speaker was initially confused and thought the colleague might want to have dinner with them, despite living four states away, or that they might be in town and wanted to meet up.

What was the emotional state of the speaker at work despite their positive outward appearance?

The speaker was experiencing high levels of stress and was crying at their desk, feeling overwhelmed by an increased workload and responsibilities due to a restructuring at their organization.

What is burnout and what are some of its potential causes?

Burnout is a psychological syndrome that develops over time due to high-stress environments. It can be caused by increased workloads, unrealistic expectations, lack of appreciation, job insecurity, misaligned workplace culture, or individual characteristics like perfectionism.

How can leaders help prevent burnout among their teams?

Leaders can help by recognizing the signs of burnout, monitoring and balancing workloads, creating a culture of open communication, setting clear expectations and boundaries, promoting work-life balance, offering flexibility, and investing in employee development and recognition.

What is the impact of burnout on an individual's personal life and work performance?

Burnout can lead to impaired performance, difficulty concentrating, decision-making, meeting deadlines, and making sales. It can also decrease motivation, creativity, and innovation, contributing to a negative workplace culture and potentially increasing turnover.

What role do relationships play in combating burnout according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that fostering relationships and feeling loved and giving love can help combat burnout. They reference a study where older individuals in their 70s, 80s, and 90s all wished they had spent more time fostering relationships rather than working more.

What is the significance of the oxytocin hormone in relation to stress and building resilience?

Oxytocin, often referred to as the 'love hormone' or 'cuddle hormone', is a neurohormone that helps build empathy and strengthens relationships. Exposure to oxytocin through helping others can make individuals more resilient against stress.

How can setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care help in managing burnout?

Setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care can help individuals manage their workload and responsibilities more effectively, ensuring they have time for rest and recovery. This can prevent burnout by maintaining physical, emotional, and mental health.

What is the importance of active rest in preventing burnout?

Active rest, such as going for a walk, doing yoga, or engaging in social activities, is important in preventing burnout because it allows the mind and body to recharge. It is different from passive rest, like watching TV or scrolling through phones, and can help maintain productivity and well-being.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the management of time and the importance of relationships?

The speaker advises being mindful of the time spent at work and not to let it encroach on personal time with loved ones. They emphasize the importance of fostering relationships and prioritizing love and connection over work, as these are the things that contribute to long and healthy lives.

Outlines

00:00

😊 A Thoughtful Gesture

The narrator recounts a surprising and thoughtful gesture from a coworker who appreciated their hard work by arranging a gift card for a dinner at a local restaurant. This act of kindness came at a time when the narrator was silently struggling with increased stress and workload due to organizational changes. The gesture made the narrator feel valued and motivated, despite secretly dealing with daily emotional breakdowns.

05:03

💼 Understanding Burnout

The narrator delves into the topic of burnout, explaining it as a psychological syndrome resulting from prolonged high-stress environments. Causes include increased workloads, unclear expectations, lack of recognition, and misalignment with workplace culture. The narrator shares insights from a book highlighting that fostering relationships and feeling loved are key to long, healthy lives. Burnout affects not only productivity but also overall well-being, emphasizing the need for leaders to recognize and address it.

10:03

🏢 Addressing Burnout in the Workplace

The narrator discusses the critical role of leaders in recognizing and mitigating burnout among employees. Leaders should monitor workloads, encourage open communication, and provide support through flexibility and employee assistance programs. Emphasizing the importance of appreciation and recognition, the narrator suggests celebrating milestones and achievements to foster a positive workplace culture. Setting good examples and promoting work-life balance are also crucial for preventing burnout.

15:08

🌟 Prioritizing Self-Care and Relationships

The final segment underscores the importance of self-care and fostering relationships for long-term well-being. The narrator advises against overworking and highlights the significance of active rest and setting boundaries. Emphasizing that achievements alone do not define a person, the narrator calls for prioritizing relationships and personal well-being. The conclusion cautions against letting small increments of work time encroach on time with loved ones, stressing that moments spent with people we care about are invaluable.

Keywords

💡Appreciation

Appreciation in the context of the video refers to the recognition and acknowledgment of someone's efforts and contributions. It is a key element in fostering a positive work environment and is demonstrated when the speaker's colleague surprises them with a gift card as a token of gratitude for their hard work. This act of appreciation is shown to have a profound impact on the speaker's morale and motivation.

💡Burnout

Burnout is a psychological state characterized by emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It is a central theme in the video, where the speaker discusses their personal experience with burnout due to increased workload and stress. The video emphasizes the importance of recognizing burnout signs and taking steps to prevent it, such as creating a supportive work culture and promoting work-life balance.

💡Workload

Workload in this video represents the amount of work assigned or required to be done, which can be a significant contributor to stress and burnout. The speaker mentions an increase in workload due to organizational restructuring, leading to feelings of being overwhelmed and contributing to their experience with burnout.

💡Recognition

Recognition is the act of acknowledging someone's achievements or efforts. It is closely related to appreciation and plays a vital role in employee motivation and engagement. The video illustrates this through the story of the gift card, which serves as a form of recognition that significantly boosted the speaker's spirits.

💡Stress

Stress is a natural response to a perceived threat or challenge and is depicted in the video as a key factor leading to burnout. The speaker describes how high stress environments, such as increased workloads and unrealistic expectations, can impact mental health and overall well-being.

💡Leadership

Leadership in the video is portrayed as the ability to guide, influence, and inspire a team towards achieving goals. The speaker discusses the role of leaders in recognizing and addressing burnout, creating a supportive work culture, and being champions for employee engagement.

💡Employee Engagement

Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment and involvement of employees with their work. The video highlights the importance of leaders fostering engagement to prevent burnout, improve performance, and reduce turnover.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is the equilibrium between an individual's work and personal life. The speaker advocates for the promotion of work-life balance as a means to prevent burnout, emphasizing the need for leaders to offer flexibility and support to help employees maintain this balance.

💡Cynicism

Cynicism, in the context of the video, is an attitude of negative or pessimistic thought about something, often a sign of burnout. The speaker mentions it as a potential indicator that an employee is experiencing burnout, along with exhaustion and decreased productivity.

💡Resilience

Resilience is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or to withstand stress without suffering a decline in performance. The video discusses the importance of building resilience through exposure to stress in a healthy way, such as by fostering relationships and practicing active rest.

💡Oxytocin

Oxytocin, referred to as the 'love hormone' or 'cuddle hormone' in the video, is a neurohormone that facilitates social bonding and empathy. The speaker explains that oxytocin can help build resilience against stress and is associated with the positive effects of helping others and fostering relationships.

Highlights

A colleague's thoughtful gesture of appreciation, giving a gift card to a restaurant in the speaker's new town, made the speaker feel valued and motivated.

The speaker was experiencing burnout, crying daily at work due to increased workload and responsibilities without showing any signs of distress to colleagues.

Burnout is described as a psychological syndrome resulting from high-stress environments and can be caused by various factors such as unrealistic expectations and lack of appreciation.

The importance of fostering relationships and love for a longer, healthier life is emphasized, contrasting with the common regret of working too much.

Leaders are urged to recognize and prevent burnout by promoting employee engagement and addressing its causes, such as workload and workplace culture.

The negative impact of burnout on performance, motivation, creativity, and innovation in the workplace is discussed.

Leaders are advised to create open communication cultures, set clear expectations, and promote work-life balance to prevent burnout.

The benefits of Employee Assistance Programs and providing resources for mental health and financial wellness are highlighted.

The speaker encourages investing in employees' development, recognizing their achievements, and celebrating milestones, including failures as learning opportunities.

Setting a good example as a leader by managing one's own work schedule and boundaries is crucial to prevent burnout in the team.

The importance of self-management, prioritizing, and delegating work effectively is underscored for personal and professional success.

The speaker suggests practicing active rest and checking in on one's mental and physical well-being regularly to prevent burnout.

Seeking support and talking to peers, leaders, friends, and family when feeling overwhelmed is recommended as a proactive step against burnout.

The positive effects of oxytocin, the 'love hormone', in building empathy and resilience against stress are explained.

Leaders are reminded to build relationships and trust during good times, which will be tested during times of turmoil.

The ability to reframe thinking, prioritize, delegate, and set boundaries is essential for effective leadership and personal well-being.

The necessity of rest and recovery for top performance and the importance of creating the right realities for oneself are discussed.

A cautionary note on the accumulation of 'just five more minutes' of work and the potential loss of personal time and relationships is shared.

Transcripts

a really cool thing happened to me the

other day a really cool gesture somebody

that I work with had asked earlier in

the week what town I live in and I

didn't think much about it I had just

moved whatever and he calls me and it's

Friday afternoon and he's like hey

what's up do you have dinner plans

tonight and I'm running through this in

my head like well yeah it's Friday night

I do kind of have plans why is he asking

me if I have plans is it like that he

wants to go to dinner with me he lives

like four states away is he in town if

he's in town I should definitely have

dinner with him but why wouldn't he give

me more notice if he's in town now I

have to reconfigure my weekend what's

going on here and clearly my silence was

very awkward and luckily he broke us

both of it and he said hey I just wanted

to let you know you're doing a really

great job you are working so hard and

you have such a great attitude I really

appreciate it there's a gift card

waiting for you at such and such a

restaurant and go pick it up go to the

host stand just give them your name

thanks for everything that you do have a

great weekend have a great dinner on

me and I wasn't quite sure what to say

obviously I said thank you but no one

had ever done anything quite like this

for me before to take the time out of

your busy schedule to appreciate and

recognize me not just from the monetary

standpoint but the effort of actually

where do you live let me find

restaurants where you live let me call

them and then get a gift card for you

and set this all up and call you and let

you know and it made me feel really good

and really appreciated and very valued

and it made me want to work even harder

in this partnership to meet our goals to

meet the organizational objectives that

that we're um working towards right but

what he didn't know

and what I certainly was not going to

tell him now was that every day for the

previous 30 plus days I was crying I was

crying at my desk I was crying sometimes

it was just a little bit during the day

and other times I was inconsolable it

was all day long I couldn't turn my

camera on for meetings I was crying from

the time I logged in until the time I

logged out and this was due to an

increase workload from a restructuring

at my

organization um we had shifted some

responsibilities around and I just had

more responsibilities and a higher

workload which led to me feeling very

very stressed

out and I wasn't showing it at work I

was getting my work done I was working

10 11 12h hour

days um I had a great attitude still I

was trying to be positive for my team

and not let anybody know how much I was

suffering on the inside but I was not

managing it well I wasn't managing

myself well and I wasn't managing it

well at home either and I was suffering

for it so what I want to talk about

today is

burnout those feelings of burnout where

does it come from what is it what causes

it how can we make it better as Leaders

how can we make it better for our

teams burnout is a psychological

syndrome that is developed over the

course of time due to high stress

environments and it can be caused by

increased workloads and and demands it

can be unrealistic

expectations it can be that you your

expectations and your goals are unclear

it can be that you not being appreciated

and recognized for the work that you're

doing maybe you don't feel secure in

your job maybe there is a workplace

culture that is just not aligning with

your values with the organization's

values maybe it's your individual

characteristics maybe you're just a

perfectionist and you have to get it

right and achieve this high level all

the time

time but burnout impacts Us in more ways

than we

realize I've been reading a book and it

goes over the lives of several people

and now in their 70s and their 80s and

their 90s and they all have something in

common and it is not that they wish that

they had worked more none of them said

they wish they had worked more and they

said they wish they would have spent

more time fostering the relationship

ships and not missed out on some of the

little moments in life and throughout

the course of this book the course of

this study you talk about how the people

that live the longest and the healthiest

lives are those that have fostered

relationships and feel loved and give

love burnout

is a problem and it can be very

stressful and as Leaders we have to

recognize it as Leaders we have to be

champions for employee engagement if our

employees are not engaged they're not

going to be performing well they are

going to be unhappy at work which is

probably going to lead to increased

turnover we know that retention impacts

the bottom

line but they're also going to be

impaired

performances they're going to struggle

to concentrate they're going to struggle

to to make decisions to meet deadlines

to make

sales they aren't going to be as

motivated they aren't going to be as

creative they aren't going to be as

Innovative and these all combined are

going to lead to a bad workplace culture

and a toxic culture can become a cycle

and then nobody's going to want to be

there and nobody's going to get the work

done that they need to get done so what

can we do we have to be there for our

teams we have to recognize the signs of

burnout yes we have to monitor and

balance workloads duh but we have to

know the signs of burnout are are our

employees

exhausted are they cynical is there a

decrease in

productivity we need

to help our employees

by creating in cultures of open

communication let them tell you how they

feel

listen acknowledge and validate the way

that they're feeling and then help them

by setting clear expectations and

boundaries and promoting work life

balance offer flexibility where you're

able to a lot of companies also have U

Employee Assistance programs that can

provide resources and of course we need

the resources to do our jobs in our

toolkits right but we also need

resources sometimes to help with other

things we need resources for our mental

health or our financial Wellness or

maybe it's just searching for

scholarships we also need to help our

employees to achieve their goals invest

in them what are their developmental

goals and advancements and what do they

need to do to upskill to get

there help them and recognize and

appreciate them say thank you it goes a

long way tell them that they're doing

great it goes a long

way celebrate

Milestones celebrate

achievements I know some companies even

celebrate

failures you're learning something from

failures it's okay to celebrate that

recognize the contributions that they're

making to the

workplace and say thank you

make sure you're also setting good

examples what are you doing are you

sending emails at 5 a.m. or at 9900 p.m.

or on Sunday

afternoon well it may not seem like it

this impacts your employees what your

work schedule looks like what you are

doing because if you're sending emails

at those times employes intrinsically

feel like they should be doing that as

well

as people we have to be able

to manage ourselves we have to be able

to prioritize and delegate our work and

this means our work at work but also the

things we need to take care of on our

responsibilities at

home set goals small and manageable

steps write them down share them with

people this helps us to accomplish those

goals and set boundaries take a minute

and think about what are the important

things in my life who are the important

people in my life and set boundaries

that equate to that that line up with

that we have to take care of

ourselves are we nourishing our bodies

physically emotionally mentally

are we finding activities that really

energize

us are

we thinking about the realities we're

creating for ourselves are we

visualizing ourselves having a good

day look inside

yourself and also practice active rest

rest isn't necessarily sitting on the

couch in front of the TV scrolling

through your

phones but go for a walk do yoga make it

social invite your partners or your kids

dance in the kitchen play fetch with

your

dogs check in with

yourself check in on your sleep patterns

check in on your

productivity are you more irritable than

you should

be are you feeling really overwhelmed by

small Tas ask S are you

procrastinating are you feeling

scatterbrained all of these things are

signs that we have to check in on

ourselves and change something do

something doing our best at work should

not lead to a mental

breakdown seek support if you need it

talk to your peer and talk to your

leaders and talk to your friends and

your

family we live in a world of NeverEnding

pressures and stress

is a funny thing and we always associate

it

negatively but next time you're feeling

stressed out instead of maybe throwing

your computer at the wall like you want

to call somebody call one of of your

co-workers one of your peers maybe it's

somebody else in your life maybe it's um

a

friend check in on them ask how they're

doing ask if there's anything that you

can help them

with and this seems maybe a little

counterintuitive I've got a ton of stuff

on my plate already why am I going to

add more why am I going to volunteer to

take something off of somebody else's

plate and add more to my my own

plate we actually get more out of

helping people than they get from

us when we think about the hormones

associated with stress we typically

think about and hear about cortisol and

we hear about how bad it is for us but

there's another hormone that we hear

about a lot too the love hormone the

cuddle hormone it's

oxytocin oxytocin is also a stress

hormone

horm oxytocin is a neuro hormone that

primes our brain to do things that

strengthen our

relationships it helps us to build

empathy and the more exposure we get to

this

stress the more resilient we come to

be the more resilient we are against

stress and the more resilient we are the

better we're going to perform both at

work and at

home burnout

impacts every area of Our Lives whe

whether we realize it or

not as Leaders we build relationships

and we build trust during the good

times and that trust is tested during

times of turmoil

we have

to remember that we don't have to show

up to solve the problem we just have to

show up we have to show up and we have

to help those around us

rise know the signs of burnout check in

and engage with your teams create

psychologically safe

cultures help your employees get to

where they want to be help them upskill

recognize and appre apprciate

them and lead by

example take care of

yourself as humans we have the ability

to reframe our

thinking we have to be able to

prioritize and delegate and set

boundaries we have to nourish ourselves

physically our minds and our bodies

we need

to spend time helping people and spend

time with the people that we love

fostter

relationships we are so much more than

our

accomplishments but rest and Recovery

are essential to be able to do those

accomplishments to be top performers we

must rest and we must recover we must

take care of

ourselves what realities are we creating

for ourselves practice active

rest it's really easy to say I'm just

going to spend five more minutes at work

I just need five more minutes to get

this one task

done but that five minutes easily can

translate into 10 minutes and then that

10 minutes one day becomes everyday that

week and then every day that month and

then every day that

year we know that the happiest and

healthiest people that live the longest

are those that prioritize and Foster

relationships that love people and let

them other people love

themselves I'd like to caution you be

really careful with those five minutes

because minutes add up to

hours hours add up to days and days add

up to

years so be careful with the five more

minutes at

work and not missing out on five more

minutes with the people that you love