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BWSmallBiz -- Managing August 7, 2009, 5:00PM EST

Beat Burnout

Recognizing the signs and taking action can save your sanity and your business

By Ann Field

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Jeff Clanagan: This entertaiment CEO found that taking on new challenges was the answer Michael Kelley

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Sue Reninger: The ad agency CEO recharges by running with her workers several times a week Michael Nemeth/Wonderful Machine

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Pete Gilberd: The telecom-gear company owner took a few days off after he became burned out Olivier Laude

Peter Gilberd found it a new and unsettling experience. Gilberd had worked nonstop for seven years on the company he co-founded, San Francisco-based Townsend Networks, which buys and sells used telecommunications gear. He was accustomed to throwing himself into his work, firing up his sales staff, and hitting his targets with gusto. In his off hours, he tackled his mountain bike training with the same enthusiasm.

That all changed at the end of 2007, when the economy first started to slide. Demand for Townsend's products, which cost 60% to 80% less than new gear, soared. Gilberd began putting in longer hours than at any time since he'd started the 12-person company. He'd also recently become a father, and the stepped-up demands of his business meant he was spending less time with his one-year-old daughter, Grace.

The crush started to get to him. Gilberd found himself forgetting to hold his regular Monday morning sales meetings, losing his temper after lost sales, and giving short shrift to tasks he once prided himself on. He even stopped his bike training, knowing full well he was likely to let his cycling team down if he didn't get in shape.

Entrepreneurs are used to long hours and relentless stress—they come with the territory. But for many, there's a time when it all gets to be too much. Like Gilberd, they start to lose their edge. Suddenly they feel tired all the time and just can't snap out of it. Worse, they lose the ability to motivate the troops. It means one thing: They're burned out, and if they don't address the problem head-on, they may seriously—perhaps irrevocably—damage their company. "I've always relied on my optimism and energy," says Gilberd. "I started thinking: 'If I lose that, what will happen to my business?' "

A little bit of stress can be a productivity booster, an extra push to help rev up your performance. Then there's the acute short-term strain that can be caused by anything from a family emergency to unexpectedly having to make a major presentation. Burnout is different. It's a reaction to constant, relentless, day-in, day-out stress, the kind that starts as soon you get up in the morning and doesn't stop until you put your head on the pillow—and probably not even then. "It's a psychological syndrome that occurs in response to chronic stress in the work environment," says Christina Maslach, a pioneering researcher in burnout and a professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. Business owners, who typically work nonstop, juggling many balls at once, may be more susceptible than many others, says Michael Leiter, a professor of psychology at Acadia University in Nova Scotia and an expert on burnout. "Most entrepreneurs experience a bout of burnout at some point in their careers," says Leiter. And a bad economy can make the day-in, day-out pressures of running a business even worse.

That's why it's imperative for small business owners to understand what burnout is and how to deal with it. The signs are not that hard to recognize, but it's important not to confuse them with symptoms of other conditions, such as depression. If you're burned out, you first need to find a way to reenergize yourself. It can be a bit trickier to diagnose the underlying cause of your burnout and devise an effective response. Here's how to get started.

YOU START TO DOUBT YOURSELF

The most obvious symptom of burnout is exhaustion—a fatigue you just can't kick, even by taking a few days off. But there's more to it than being tired. You may experience a loss of enthusiasm that often results in your doing the bare minimum, as well as a loss of faith in your abilities. "People start thinking they're just not cut out for this work after all," says Maslach. You may be short-tempered and overreact to minor things. Work seems to spin out of control: No matter what you do, you can't get all of it done well. You may actually start making more mistakes than usual or allow things to fall through the cracks.

If burnout remains unaddressed, the symptoms can get worse. Some people may become physically sick.

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