Dealing with Burnout in a Project

So many signs and so many questions. What is burnout? What are the signs? How does burnout affect a project? 

I have found that most IT professionals give more than 110%.  It’s part of our work ethic, our DNA, and part of the job demand. If you have ever worked on a system’s migration you have put in many long high-stressed hours on the weekends. Working weekends does not always equate to compensated time off in the following week. The reasons are varied; you may have to support the new application, or the migration was unsuccessful and had to be rolled back. 

Understanding and Recognizing burnout – a few links I have found helpful 

• Microsoft Bing video – Microsoft Viva – Fireside Chats: Employee Burnout
• YouTube video – Understanding Job Burnout – Dr. Christina Maslach
• LinkedIn Posts on the subject of “Burnout” 

“Protecting your greatest Asset” (from our last article) 

Project managers must grow their ability to recognize (and I have been on both sides of this equation) burnout. As we go down this road we are going to make mistakes, but we must continue to learn. 

People say, “We don’t’ like change”. I believe this is untrue if the right change is made. For example, when a baseball player is traded, they tend to perform better- Why? Sometimes it is just the change of scenery, or they want to impress their new teammates. When IT professionals start a new project, the same thing can happen. This is where you must protect your greatest asset, Your People. Being a Resource manager is sometimes just another one of the many hats a project manager wears. The bottom line is that change can be good. Be sure that the change is in the best interest of the individual’s career path. 

Understanding and Recognizing burnout – a few links I have found helpful 

• Microsoft Bing video – Microsoft Viva – Fireside Chats: Employee Burnout
• YouTube video – Understanding Job Burnout – Dr. Christina Maslach
• LinkedIn Posts on the subject of “Burnout” 

“Protecting your greatest Asset” (from our last article) 

Project managers must grow their ability to recognize (and I have been on both sides of this equation) burnout. As we go down this road we are going to make mistakes, but we must continue to learn. 

People say, “We don’t’ like change”. I believe this is untrue if the right change is made. For example, when a baseball player is traded, they tend to perform better- Why? Sometimes it is just the change of scenery, or they want to impress their new teammates. When IT professionals start a new project, the same thing can happen. This is where you must protect your greatest asset, Your People. Being a Resource manager is sometimes just another one of the many hats a project manager wears. The bottom line is that change can be good. Be sure that the change is in the best interest of the individual’s career path. 

A couple of tips for project managing burnout 

• Play in your Lane – Developers need extended periods of uninterrupted time, Managers manage.
• Encourage downtime – as a team and at a personal level.
• Minimize meeting overload.
• Allow time for team members to take a deep breath between major efforts.
• As a project manager we tend to drive hard and fast, but we must also be compassionate.
• Stay away from having to many people wearing too many different hats, it diminishes focus. 

Understanding and Recognizing burnout – a few links I have found helpful 

• Microsoft Bing video – Microsoft Viva – Fireside Chats: Employee Burnout
• YouTube video – Understanding Job Burnout – Dr. Christina Maslach
• LinkedIn Posts on the subject of “Burnout” 

“Protecting your greatest Asset” (from our last article) 

Project managers must grow their ability to recognize (and I have been on both sides of this equation) burnout. As we go down this road we are going to make mistakes, but we must continue to learn. 

People say, “We don’t’ like change”. I believe this is untrue if the right change is made. For example, when a baseball player is traded, they tend to perform better- Why? Sometimes it is just the change of scenery, or they want to impress their new teammates. When IT professionals start a new project, the same thing can happen. This is where you must protect your greatest asset, Your People. Being a Resource manager is sometimes just another one of the many hats a project manager wears. The bottom line is that change can be good. Be sure that the change is in the best interest of the individual’s career path. 

A couple of tips for project managing burnout 

• Play in your Lane – Developers need extended periods of uninterrupted time, Managers manage.
• Encourage downtime – as a team and at a personal level.
• Minimize meeting overload.
• Allow time for team members to take a deep breath between major efforts.
• As a project manager we tend to drive hard and fast, but we must also be compassionate.
• Stay away from having to many people wearing too many different hats, it diminishes focus. 

Understanding and Recognizing burnout – a few links I have found helpful 

• Microsoft Bing video – Microsoft Viva – Fireside Chats: Employee Burnout
• YouTube video – Understanding Job Burnout – Dr. Christina Maslach
• LinkedIn Posts on the subject of “Burnout” 

“Protecting your greatest Asset” (from our last article) 

Project managers must grow their ability to recognize (and I have been on both sides of this equation) burnout. As we go down this road we are going to make mistakes, but we must continue to learn. 

People say, “We don’t’ like change”. I believe this is untrue if the right change is made. For example, when a baseball player is traded, they tend to perform better- Why? Sometimes it is just the change of scenery, or they want to impress their new teammates. When IT professionals start a new project, the same thing can happen. This is where you must protect your greatest asset, Your People. Being a Resource manager is sometimes just another one of the many hats a project manager wears. The bottom line is that change can be good. Be sure that the change is in the best interest of the individual’s career path. 

A couple of tips for project managing burnout 

• Play in your Lane – Developers need extended periods of uninterrupted time, Managers manage.
• Encourage downtime – as a team and at a personal level.
• Minimize meeting overload.
• Allow time for team members to take a deep breath between major efforts.
• As a project manager we tend to drive hard and fast, but we must also be compassionate.
• Stay away from having to many people wearing too many different hats, it diminishes focus. 

Understanding and Recognizing burnout – a few links I have found helpful 

• Microsoft Bing video – Microsoft Viva – Fireside Chats: Employee Burnout
• YouTube video – Understanding Job Burnout – Dr. Christina Maslach
• LinkedIn Posts on the subject of “Burnout” 

“Protecting your greatest Asset” (from our last article) 

Project managers must grow their ability to recognize (and I have been on both sides of this equation) burnout. As we go down this road we are going to make mistakes, but we must continue to learn. 

People say, “We don’t’ like change”. I believe this is untrue if the right change is made. For example, when a baseball player is traded, they tend to perform better- Why? Sometimes it is just the change of scenery, or they want to impress their new teammates. When IT professionals start a new project, the same thing can happen. This is where you must protect your greatest asset, Your People. Being a Resource manager is sometimes just another one of the many hats a project manager wears. The bottom line is that change can be good. Be sure that the change is in the best interest of the individual’s career path.