Dr. Potter makes valid & noteworthy points – burnout IS about a lack of potency & the inability to feel in control. Her suggestions are invaluable & I invite my readers to visit her website.

However, in this blog, I addressed what to do if you CAN’T leave a job. Altho there are people who swear you can do it, there ARE situations that can prevent us from leaving jobs right away.

Dr. Potter’s advice on addressing situations such as those w/ a boss are excellent. However, anyone who has ever worked w/ a truly “toxic” boss knows that it’s extremely difficult (if not impossible) to reason, rationalize, negotiate or use other assertive communication styles w/ him or her.

That’s what makes the workplace toxic – the inability to effectively find ways to navigate through it.

Dr. Potter stated: “…looking for the good in the boss, or gazing out the window, or enjoying soap smells does not improve your situation. At best it may temporarily slow the burnout cycle”. And I couldn’t have said it better. That’s the point of this blog – slow the burn-out until you can GET OUT.

Burnout is a motivational problem caused by feelings of uncontrollability, which include the critical boss, damned-if-you-do damned-if-you-don’t situations, lack of recognition, other people getting credit for your work, ambiguity, tasks without end, no-win situations, conflicting roles, value conflicts, being blamed for others mistakes For considerable information on job burnout, the symptoms, burnout quizzes, and what to do to prevent it or turn it around – go to my site at docpotter.com
, inadequate information to perform, bureaucracy.

Simply trying to “think” differently about the job is not likely to work and may exacerbate the problem because when the “new think” fails to improve the situation, we tend to blame ourselves for the failure.

It is important to first “pinpoint” what specifically is getting you down. You do this by collecting data – like a scientist would. When you get “that” feeling, stop and identify what just happened that triggered the feeling. Write this down. Continue to collect such “data” for a few days. Then review your notes, looking for patterns.

For example, a boss is vague when giving you an assignment then criticizes you when you do the wrong thing. In another case, a boss may criticize small things, while ignoring the important aspects of the assignment. A third boss may press you to stay late for a rush job and then let it sit ignored, while criticizing you for something you set aside to jump on the rush-job. Each of these critical bosses can create a “toxic” work environment.

Responding to these toxic bosses requires different approaches. With boss one, you need to ask probing questions when taking the assignment. With boss two you need to redirect the boss’s attention to the important aspects of the project. With boss three you may have to say “no” to the rush job. To do so, you may have to take a training workshop in assertiveness to learn how to say no effectively.

Pinpointing the problem and developing a plan can increase feeling of control and potency. This does not mean that it is easy. But looking for the good in the boss, or gazing out the window, or enjoying soap smells does not improve your situation. At best it may temporarily slow the burnout cycle.

For considerable information on job burnout, the symptoms, burnout quizzes, and what to do to prevent it or turn it around – go to my site at docpotter.com