How to support very burnt out colleagues

[Northerner1]

Hi

I am posting here for traffic/ unsure of what category this fits into to.

I am an nhs worker, me and most of my colleagues have some degree of burn out. One of my friends and colleagues in particular is extremely burnt out, to the point I am concerned for their mental health.

They are a real grafter, give their all to the job and patients but increasingly affected by the politics of the job, working relations with seniors, colleagues and the long lasting effects of covid.

I have been a listening ear, which I hope has been helpful but I am concerned they are on the brink of a spiral. I broached time off with them, being written off with a sick line for stress etc but I am also a hypocrite, as I really don’t like being off either and have a lot of anxiety around calling in.

In my workplace (and all nhs workplaces I’ve been in) there’s a good culture of taking annual leave, but even that’s not enough downtime. They were off with covid which I think was also a good break for them.

I am concerned my colleague is increasingly paranoid, and feels certain seniors have a vendetta against them / making work a hostile environment. I am not invalidating this, NHS band 6s and 7s in my profession can be toxic and we do have some who have poor working practices, terrible communication skills and micromanage but there is a point that I am concerned by how affected my colleague is.

My colleague is very concerned about work when not at work, likes to keep up to date (I do too) but I don’t think they are ever switching off. We work in an area that can be very sad and high pressured but also expected to move to other areas and be at the beck and call of site managers etc.

In my first job, which was horrible and in covid times I developed extreme stress and burnout and am living with c-ptsd. changing to this job has helped immensely. However, I don’t feel I have known how to deal with my own burn out, so ill equipped to advise.

Since I started, along with my colleagues we have set up lots of social events outside of work and are known for being a very friendly unit. This I do think has helped many of us.

All advice is appreciated x

I think there comes a point when the only option is leaving.

You should have an Employee Assistance Programme. Get the number from HR and hand it to your colleague.

There are genuine experts on there who understand workplace dynamics, stress management and so on. They match you up with the appropriate therapist and fund a period of counselling.

I have used them three times for completely different needs and my experiences have all been positive.

Does the NHS have an EAP (employee assistance program)?
The company I work for offers loads of support ranging from self help, counselling, legal advice etc.

@Juicesausagecake @LeuvenMan

Thanks, I’d never even heard of this so going to look into it x

If you want to help, you can only lead by example. Show good boundaries, and self care. This is coming from a fellow NHS worker.

Treat your job as what it is - employment. Leave work at work. Switch off on days off instead of checking work. However much you check, there will be more to catch up on days when you're in. Call in when unwell rather than pushing though from feeling guilty, model good self care. Occ Health should have staff support service that can be self-referred to. Eventually - there may be other jobs.

Agree, EAP.