Trauma Tuesday - Burnout

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​Happy Tuesday Everyone! Today I’m talking about trauma – specifically burnout.
 
I started my new job today. An entry level position in retail. It was great. Just easy customer service and receiving merchandise in the back room.
 
You may be asking yourself… But Erica… weren’t you a general manager a month ago? Haven’t you been in management positions pretty much since you were 19? Yeah… that’s true, all of it.
 
Here’s the thing… I’m burnt out.

Did you know in a recent study as of this year it was reported that 77% of workers have expressed feelings of burnout? It’s true.
 
This stems from excessive hours, lack of support, poor treatment, lack of benefits/programs.
(That totally just describes my last job by the way)
 
40% of workers leave their jobs because of burnout and poor work conditions.

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So what the heck is wrong with companies that they don’t figure this out? This study by zippa. It states that this costs the US economy $300 billion every year.

44% of workers experience physical fatigue due to stress… That’s almost half…. I myself worked myself to the point of exhaustion, bronchitis and pneumonia…  (with no healthcare to cover my medical expenses and no sick time. More and more companies are lumping sick and vacation time under “PTO”. Or having all their workers be part-time to avoid needing benefits. Which, both in my opinion is criminal. It discriminates against those with chronic illness, injury and mental health problems.
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Considering more than half of the population has some sort of chronic illness, this is a pretty big issue. 

Chronic illness... and let's just include ADHD and C-PTSD in this for the sake of the conversation (those conditions are chronic after all... they don't go away), effects people so that they struggle to participate often in daily activities and require regular care. 

Those with Chronic conditions are more likely to feel isolated. Many have conditions that from the outside eye you can't see... so it's really easy for others to judge. 

To look at me would you know that I have ADHD, CPTSD, chronic back pain, anxiety, PCOS and a slough of other issues? Probably not.  You may just be like one of the kids that walked up to me while I was doing background in L.A. and yelled "You're fat!" and ran away. (that's a different story for a different day). 

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The CDC says that the average person gets 2-3 colds per year… this and other illnesses cause the average employee to miss 10 days per year due to illness. If you only have 14 days of PTO that means you’ve lost all of them to being sick and only have 4 vacation days a year. THAT’S NONSENSE! People with chronic illness, injury, anxiety, depression, Cptsd/ptsd end up taking more. 

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We as a country are in a state of collective work trauma. We are burnt out and exhausted. That’s why more and more people are opting to work remotely, and freelance. More and more people are opting for the van or RV life.

I found this interesting map on Visual Capitalist of which countries have the most vacation days.
USA is tied for 2nd for the fewest…. Pardon me while I move to San Marino (since I don’t want to live in Iran). 46 days of vacation each year sounds rather lovely.  I’d be happy with Monaco too I suppose at 42 days a year.

Here’s what makes our current system worse. For those of us pith PTSD or C-PTSD or other chronic condition (physical or mental) … stress and burnout are WORSE. We are already susceptible to depression and anxiety after trauma. We tend to be on edge and have elevated stress hormones. This effects our brains and our ability to process problems and memories. It effects our health (both mental and physical), work and relationships. We have a hard time controlling and expressing emotions, trusting others. We tend to miss more work due to our symptoms and struggle to pay attention or stay organized. We struggle to hold down jobs or maintain relationships.
 
Especially in the medical, first responder, teaching, and hospitality fields the relationship between PTSD and burnout is devastatingly high since COVID-19.  More and more people in these fields are choosing to leave and go do something else. Which is problematic because these are the fields where we really need good people.
 
I hope things change. I hope that we make healthcare and mental care more accessible. I hope companies improve work-life balance for their workers and increase pay and benefits. I hope a lot of things.
 
The world is a little scary and dark right now in so many ways.
 
In the meantime I’m going to be sorting out home goods and snacks and hopefully getting back to doing things that make me happy and whole. I’m making painfully less money, so I’m rather hopeful that my writing can start generating some money.
 
Like what I’m saying and want to support me?  I’m on the following apps:
Venmo: @Erica-Neils
Paypal: @ericaneils
Patreon: patreon.com/EricaNeils

Sources referenced in this article:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/causes/#:~:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20people,the%20senses%20and%20dull%20pain.
 
https://www.verywellmind.com/coping-with-ptsd-2797536#:~:text=The%20symptoms%20of%20PTSD%20can,controlling%20or%20expressing%20your%20emotions.
 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1546144020305469
 
 
https://chronic-joy.org/chronic-illness/
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