Mark Butler was blindsided by burnout in the middle of a successful career in sales, marketing, and management.
He lost the ability to focus. He had trouble remembering the names of his team members. He missed deadlines and starting producing subpar work.
It got to the point where he was asked to step away from the work.
It hit so hard, he needed to know what happened. So he embarked on a second career in mental health, learning everything he could about what makes humans tick, and what can derail us.
His key insight: burnout is essentially what happens when we suppress an emotional response for long enough. It's one way that, in the words of Gabor Maté, the "body says no."
After years in clinical settings, working with clients one-on-one and in small groups, Mark realized that he wanted to work "upstream" -- i.e. in prevention.
And prevention, for Mark, meant working within the settings and systems that produce burnout and other mental health problems.
His work now spans helping individuals practice radical self-care, physically and psychologically; and working with organizations to create anti-burnout cultures and policies.
In our conversation, we look at the nature of burnout, why it's so prevalent, and what we can do -- individually and collectively -- to create workplaces that prioritize human wellbeing over profit-at-any-cost.
Sound Bites
- "Burnout in its essence is actually suppressing an emotional response or emotional needs."
- "The brain doesn't know shit. The brain is locked in a dark box."
- "It's more important that we get to say the words we need to say than it is for the other person to hear it."
- "Working out should be about mental health, feeling better about ourselves, and feeling good."
- "Our bodies are like cars that need to last the journey, and how we treat them determines how they carry us."
- "The future is human, and organizations need to recognize the importance of looking after their people."
Links
MarkButler.com.au
Emotional Intelligence 2.0, by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
When the Body Says No, by Gabor Maté, MD
The Body Keeps the Score, by Bessel van der Kolk, MD