Are We Doomed To Group Burnout In Business?

Did you know that Dis-Stress is Contagious?

If you are within 15 feet of someone who is currently in Dis-Stress, it is possible that they could "spread" it to you.

It is a function of our Neurocardiology, specifically what is known as "Negative Entrainment" where one person's HRV Patterns can Synchronize to another's Negative HRV Patterns via Electromagnetic Waves.

Now, if that sounds complicated... it's because it is.

What that all means, simply, is that Dis-Stress has a physical mechanism in our bodies to spread to others.

Now why does this matter in Business?

Well, today we are faced with Astronomical Levels of Burnout.

What is Burnout?

It is the Psychophysiological State where our Bodies are in SO much Dis-Stress that they cannot produce enough Energy (Mg-ATP) to meet the Demands of our Lives, which leads to our Body, literally, breaking down.

In today's world of Business, 80% of Employees are in some state of Burnout, with more on their way.

Further, due to how Dis-Stress is Contagious, it means that groups of people in proximity to each other can make Dis-Stress worse.

Since Burnout is the final stage of Dis-Stress, this means that you could end up having Group Burnout within your Organization.

Group Burnout is exactly what it sounds like - a group of people who are all in Burnout who are keeping each other in Burnout and likely pulling each other deeper into worse forms of Burnout.

If you have ever heard of the Allegory of the Crabs in a Bucket with each other, where Crabs prevent each other from escaping, it is exactly that.

Now, I had a VERY Insightful reader ask the following question in response to understanding Group Burnout:

"... at what point does Burnout reach critical mass? Given that it's basically contagious, and at least 80% of the workplace (is) suffering from it.... it's 100%, right?"

THAT is the question Leaders SHOULD be asking!

Are we too late?

Has Burnout become too large of a Problem?

Are We ALL Doomed to Group Burnout?

Well... maybe not!

See, just because something is "Contagious" doesn't necessarily mean that EVERYONE is "Doomed" to get it.

For instance, I still haven't gotten the infamous virus that struck the world so painfully starting in 2020.

It is considered VERY CONTAGIOUS, yet I still have not gotten it in nearly 4 years.

I'm also not alone, my spouse has not either, along with over 20% of people in the States.

How is this possible?

I can't say for "everyone", but for myself, I can say that I have been very diligent in improving my Immune System, and being Smart when I've been in public.

When it comes to Burnout, we can do something very similar.

If we are "Smart" about how we approach the Problem, and we Develop our Psychophysiology, we can avoid Burnout.

For instance, if you "know" that a large percentage of your workforce is already in Burnout, forcing them all into the same office AGAINST their will (as is the case with the mostly failed Return-to-Work "Mandates") would be... Not Smart.

That would simply be creating a PERFECTLY TOXIC breeding ground for Group Burnout.

With this, if we understand that Adding MORE Dis-Stress onto Burnout is just going to make things worse, what if we approach it the other way?

What if we REMOVE Stressors so that people have the gap to get OUT of Burnout?

Sometimes, to speed up you must first slow down.

Maintaining or making Dis-Stress worse on people will ONLY lead to Deeper Burnout which will just make their Productivity worse and worse until it becomes nothing (ie, sick days, quitting, or hospitalization).

Just "Adding" People into this Situation also will not Improve it either.

It will just bring MORE people into Group Burnout, making Negative Entrainment Stronger and harder to escape.

However, if we fix Burnout, THEN we could help Employees get to Flow States where they are 5X more Productive than Regular Employees (discovered before Burnout was a major Problem, so it would likely be higher in today's workforce).

Next, we must Realize is that Dis-Stress causes Stress Damage (aka Oxidative Stress).

This means that once we get Employees out of Burnout, we also need to help them fix that Stress Damage.

If the Stress Damage is not fixed, then our Employee's ability to handle Future Stressors will remain compromised.

From this point, we can go a step further, and teach people how to Resist the Dis-Stress Contagion (aka Negative Entrainment).

If we can become Resistant to the Dis-Stress of Others, it is JUST like having a Stronger Immune System.

When we combine these steps with Proper Recovery, you could have Employees who become Highly Resistant to Burnout.

One key thing to understand though, is that being Burnout-Resistant does not mean that we won't feel Dis-Stress.

If we are still in a workplace where Burnout is Rampant among Employees, you will still have the negative effects of Dis-Stress.

You just won't get "dragged" all the way to Burnout.

However, if you do become Burnout-Resistant, there is something cool that you can begin to accomplish.

If you are Burnout-Resistant, with further development, you can begin a process of "Positive Entrainment", aka Reversing Dis-Stress via Neurocardiology.

With enough People accomplishing this, you could have a Burnout-Resistant Team that is Actively Preventing Burnout.

This could then be FURTHER developed into Flow States, which would lead to Group Flow.

THAT should be the Ultimate Goal of Leaders - To have Teams who all are achieving Group Flow States, consistently.

However, this is an Impossible Goal to Achieve when there is Group Burnout.

To answer the question proposed - just because Dis-Stress is contagious, and we are already at Burnout Levels of 80% among Employees, doesn't "necessarily" mean we are Doomed to 100% Burnout.

However, if Leaders do not make this a Top Priority, we will likely see Burnout reach the high 90%s in short time.

If you don't want to be Doomed to Group Burnout, you MUST take action quickly, before things get worse.