Mental health and your team – it’s a continuum, not a situation (and what about burnout)?

We all have to be on our guard about mental health on a daily basis.

It was National Mental Health Month in October and latest figures claim almost seven out of every ten workers (68.5%) currently feel like they are BURNING OUT at work.

Most workplaces (79.1%) are now regularly providing mental health programs.

The Australian 2022 Workplace Wellbeing report found workers were more likely to feel comfortable accessing well-being programs (73.5%) than mental health programs at work, which is something you should consider.

Leadership can be a lonely, isolating and stressful place, particularly for village professionals who are constantly people facing, on call – some 24/7, sometimes caught in the middle, the responder to emergency, the problem solver and often dealing with a large workload for long periods.

So, there is no surprise that BURNOUT is common amongst village professionals.

Here are six great tips for reducing the existence of BURNOUT:

1. Good foundations – Diet, Exercise and Sleep
   
2. Reframing our thinking patterns to focus on the FACT & not the STORY we might be telling ourselves
   
3. Scheduling of regular downtime – leave, breaks, think time and social time
   
4. Reduce habits that may inhibit progress – excessive email and phone checking
   
5. Identify what indicators present themselves when beginning to feel yourself spiralling
   
6. Building a tool kit of responses in the event you feel a change in your mental health – ask for help, tactical breathing, identify priority, etc

Address burnout before it burns you out!