Not Just How Much but What and Why

To be productive can be extraordinarily rewarding. But it also sometimes comes with side effects, one of which is “burnout.”

Usually we think of burnout as resulting from overwork, as overtaxing oneself by spending too much time or effort. But this is not always the case. Sometimes burnout can arise not from how much you do but what you do and why. Such burnout, for example, is apparently spreading today among American physicians.

In a recent scholarly article, also referenced in a popular publication, Law and Bioethics professor Sharona Hoffman describes the causes of this growing problem. In essence, it comes down to two factors: (1) the increased time physicians must spend filling out paperwork and reports, and (2) the therefore decreased time they have for diagnosing and treating. As Hoffman puts it: “One of the consequences of the very heavy administrative burdens with which physicians are saddled is that they spend relatively little time interacting face-to-face with patients. Thus, many lament that they cannot do what they love to do most as members of the healing profession.”

Their burnout, in other words, results less from overwork than from the nature of the work. In fact, physicians typically once worked longer hours, when more had their own practices and were consequently available to patients 24/7. Rather, their increased burnout now arises from the increased meaninglessness, in their eyes, of how they spend their time.

It’s an important principle to keep in mind in evaluating the nature of our own work and, for those who lead and manage others, in evaluating the work we ask of them.