Burnout and other mental health issues

Mental illness has been on the rise for many years. According to German health reports, mental and behavioural disorders accounted for 16.1% of all days of incapacity for work in 2023, up from 6.6% in 1999. This group of diagnoses is now the third most common cause of absence from work due to illness. Employees have higher rates of absence than manual workers. Only the insured group of unemployed people have higher rates. In general, women are affected by mental illness almost twice as much as men.

However, this diagnostic group is only part of the story. While burnout itself is not an illness, it often manifests as other mental and physical health issues. Indeed, many illnesses are psychosomatic. For example, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has shown that back and muscle pain occur around seven times more frequently in individuals experiencing stress than in those who are not. Musculoskeletal disorders, cancer and digestive and metabolic diseases are particularly common and can often be traced back to psychological stress.

Based on my experience as a trainer and coach, however, employers cannot be held solely responsible. These illnesses are often caused by our own behaviour and influences from childhood.

Influences and psychological disposition

These dispositions are acquired by around the age of fifteen and remain relatively stable throughout our lives. They cause us to subconsciously evaluate our perceptions. If the evaluation is negative, this leads to unconscious stress reactions, which are usually anxiety-related. The way we react to these evaluations varies greatly from person to person. For instance, a letter from a supervisor might evoke despair in one person, withdrawal in another, and aggression in a third. One person may experience it as a stressful situation, while another may be completely indifferent. Repeated negative evaluations over time can lead to mental health issues such as burnout or depression. These issues are often suppressed to varying degrees with alcohol, nicotine and/or other drugs, or they can lead to other mental health problems.

Change

To successfully change one's approach to evaluation, it is necessary to modify one's conditioning. Good results can be achieved when the coachee starts to modify their behaviour, even if it is in a completely different area. Even the smallest changes can initiate a learning process. Over a lifetime, synaptic connections become veritable 'data highways', but these can be broken down to allow new 'beaten tracks' to emerge and become new expressways through frequent use. For instance, the first thing I teach my coachees is to wear their watch on the other wrist, alter their daily routine or take a different route to and from work. The possibilities are endless! This is great fun! Enjoyment triggers the release of positive hormones in the brain, enabling cell growth and forming the basis for new neural connections.

Numerous studies and my own experience have shown that stress, which can lead to mental health issues such as burnout and depression, arises from a lack of meaning in work, as well as a lack of recognition and appreciation for one's performance. Employees often have little opportunity to influence or help shape what is happening. Brain research has shown that these factors can significantly impact brain performance and therefore have a positive effect on mental and social stress. Ultimately, this includes having confidence in one's abilities and believing that things will turn out well.

Recognition and appreciation are key

A lack of recognition and appreciation is not an organisational deficit, but a societal one. The ability to take an interest in others, perceive them, turn towards them and truly love them is a behavioural skill that our society has largely lost. Our behaviour is primarily egocentric, focused on our own interests at the expense of others. I find that this behaviour is often even directed against oneself.

The latest Gallup Inc. survey in Germany revealed that just under one in five employees receive recognition for good performance. Changing this would require a new company culture - indeed, a new attitude towards others and ourselves. This goes far beyond traditional leadership training. However, in my experience, the significant financial and time investment required has a positive economic impact and pays for itself very quickly.

Such a culture creates an atmosphere in which employees feel they are making an important contribution to the company's goals.

The meaningfulness of work

For work to be meaningful, several aspects must be considered. Firstly, the allocation of tasks and the employee's contribution to the whole must make sense to them. In the long term, meaningless work can be stressful and depressing. Managers must exert appropriate influence here.

However, we must also consider the employees' perspective. In my experience, employees always have the option of changing employers. In my coaching work, I often find that many coachees initially rule out this option completely. However, as the coaching process progresses, they suddenly recognise new opportunities and seize them, particularly when they relax. The aforementioned study also shows that employees' willingness to change jobs has increased significantly over time. This is another reason why companies should take swift action against the backdrop of the widely discussed shortage of skilled workers.

To find meaning in their work, employees need to understand their company's objectives. Qualitative observations show that, at best, employees are only aware of economic targets. Nevertheless, quantitative targets alone do not create meaning in work, despite being necessary for the company's economic management. Meaning arises when employees can articulate the organisation's qualitative goals. This is also why mental illness is more prevalent in public administration, for example.

Influenceability

Influenceability encompasses a certain degree of self-efficacy and the freedom to shape one's own work. Employees can discover new creative avenues for themselves by embracing change. Therefore, it is all the more important for managers to help their employees find these creative opportunities within their companies.

I know of companies that give their employees a relatively large amount of creative freedom. In these companies, employees are significantly more committed and significantly less likely to be absent. Employee surveys also show that satisfaction with wages and salaries is higher than in other companies, even with comparable pay.

Optimism is important

Furthermore, optimism and the confidence that things will turn out well are important in preventing mental and psychosomatic illnesses. In my many years of experience as both an employee and a manager, as well as in my consulting practice, I have realised that negative news is increasingly being used to control employees. This also seems to me to be a wider societal issue. The idea is that intimidated employees are more willing to work hard and less likely to change jobs. However, fear rightly narrows people's perspectives, and if intense and prolonged, it can lead to either fight-or-flight behaviour or resignation, which is often misdiagnosed as depression or burnout.

An increasing number of companies and organisations are recognising the value that meaning, enjoyment at work, creative freedom for employees, and recognition and appreciation can create. These factors generate economic value and competitive advantages by motivating employees, fostering innovation and ensuring the reliable availability of resources, particularly human resources.

© 'Burnout and other mental health issues': An article by Marcus Hein, 2011 (translated and updated by Izabel Comati). The author is an expert in mental health and organisational consulting. His training, experience and further education enable him to facilitate efficient and effective change in his roles as a consultant, trainer and coach. Change that is permanently successful in practice. Image credit: Human head in half profile, CC0 (Public Domain Licence).

Fear can actually be a friend. But when does it become a disorder?

People who are not afraid lack a warning system. This is how our species' memory works. However, those plagued by increasingly frequent or intense fears may suffer from an anxiety disorder. This refers to feelings that seem unreal, as opposed to 'normal' fear, which protects us from danger by making us cautious.

For example, the fear of heights is widely understood. After all, it is dangerous to be many metres above the ground. Most people have experienced this to some extent, especially when faced with a new situation. However, if the thought of climbing a small stepladder makes you extremely anxious, or if looking out of the window causes you to break out in a sweat, you may have an anxiety disorder.

There are known and unknown fears

The fear of spiders is widespread, including the phobic variety. While most people feel slightly uncomfortable when they see spiders crawling around, some people hardly dare enter basements or storage rooms because of them. This fear is difficult to understand given that spiders are not dangerous animals, particularly in our region. Nevertheless, arachnophobia is more widely accepted than rarer forms of phobia. Claustrophobia and a fear of the dark are also among the better-known anxiety disorders. But how many people have heard of allectrophobia (the fear of chickens) or lachanophobia (the fear of vegetables)?

When does fear become a disorder?

Of course, the mind and body react fundamentally to situations that trigger fear, such as exams or direct threats. A fear of water or fire is normal and important as a self-preservation reflex when exposed to these elements. However, if you are afraid of things that are not actually dangerous, such as a calm stream or a burning candle, this could be described as a phobia or an anxiety disorder. The same applies to people who break out in a sweat at the mere mention of spiders. Such fears can significantly restrict freedom and quality of life.

When fears become a prison

For example, someone who is terrified of insects may limit or even avoid spending time outdoors altogether. Basements and attics may be off-limits, and their own home can become a cage of fear. Maintaining social contacts and interacting with others becomes increasingly difficult, and loneliness can exacerbate an already distressing situation. Many people affected by phobias do not talk about them, and some are tolerated by those around them. But who wants to admit that they are terrified of the number 13 (triskaidekaphobia)?

Information is the first step towards getting help

No one has to face their fears alone, as others are affected too. Even if the anxiety disorder is different, the consequences are often similar. When those affected can share information and experiences, the initial shackles of fear - the feeling of loneliness - are broken. 'No one else feels the way I do' is often the initial thought that stops people from seeking help. Knowing that many others feel the same way can provide huge comfort to anyone suffering from anxiety disorders. It means that you are not alone. In fact, anxiety should be seen as a friend.

© 'Fear can actually be a friend. But when does it become a disorder?': An article by Pressenet (translated by Izabel Comati), 07/2025. Image credit: Anxious people, CC0 (Public Domain Licence).