October 2024
By The Revd Dr Gillian Straine
Christina Maslach, who pioneered research into work-related stress, describes burnout as “an erosion of the soul”. It is sadly on the rise, and particularly for Christians, those called to deep and important “soul work” of responding to a call from God, coming alongside those in need and doing so within institutional systems that might be creaking and cracking.
In this article, I want touch on the causes of burnout and present a new way of thinking about work, where we root how we work deeply in why we work, reconnecting it within God’s desire that we live life in all abundance.
St Paul writes in Philippians that we are “to shine like stars in the world”. The physics of stars gives us a beautiful metaphor here: each star shines with its own fingerprint of light that is entirely dependent on what happens deep in its core. Just like stars, how we shine in the world for God is also dependent on what happens deep inside us.
So, let’s explore how to burn on well, and not burn out.
So what’s the problem?
It is not us.
The World Health Organisation defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. The symptoms are exhaustion, cynicism and reduced professional efficacy.
The research on burnout has identified there are 6 key causes of burnout: workload, lack of control, reward, community, fairness and values mismatch. Key in all the burnout literature is that burnout is never the fault of the individual, it is a result of working in systems that are not attuned to us. We can do things to mitigate, but ultimately the fault lies in the systems. What we can do it to recognise this and act based on what we have control over.
A new approach to work
You could join a gym, eat more fruit, or get a new job. These might all help in some ways, but they do not address the individual opportunity we have to look at the ways that we connect our faith in God with how we respond to God’s call for what we do with our life (our vocation). If God truly wants us to have life in all abundance, then in what ways do we connect our flourishing with our vocation?
A theologian who can help us here is Karl Barth who writes that human flourishing happens when we live an embodied life, where mind, body and spirit are in balance. Exploring what this means for each of us is: “a gift with a divine call and the pursuit of this call is about finding God’s good purpose for us. And we have freedom to do this”.
In other words, when we seek an embodied approach, looking to find balance in mind, body and spirit, then we are drawn into our vocation.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it similarly when he writes: “Christian flourishing is less about the pursuit of health at all costs, and more about fulfilling the purpose of our life”.
Both theologians are sensing a profound link between our health and expressing our vocation. This puts our flourishing not on a to-do list of wellbeing tasks, but central in expressing our call to serve.
This is very different from measuring our success with how tired we are or how much we are sacrificing. In this model, prioritising our own wellbeing is a God-given orientation to living out our vocation. It is about flourishing and serving, not burning out and sacrificing our mind, body or even our soul in the work to which we are called.
The Burn Like Stars Course
This way of connecting vocation to health is very different to other approaches. It will take courage because it might involve saying “no” to things; it might mean stepping back to reassess your priorities; it might involve you letting people down. But it will lead to more health, to a deeper connection with your true purpose and to more moments of joy and peace. And this is something that we all need right now.
To support us all in this, at the Guild of Health, we have launched “Burn Like Stars”, a 12-session online self-led course that can inspire and empower you to explore how to live and work in healthy and holistic ways, grounded in the wisdom of the Christian faith and the best science of burnout recovery. The course will allow you to identify the signs of burnout in yourself and others, embed practice to help you heal, and reflection on a Christian approach to work-life balance. Find out more
Why this matters
How we work matters because you matter. And no one is served by you risking your health through approaches to work that do not lead you deeper into God’s love for you.
This approach matters to creaking institutions as it provocatively links the health of leaders with their vocation to serve. It is not a sticking plaster for when things go wrong – it is a faith-filled approach to being human.
And this also really matters because burning on well, deeply connecting health and work, demonstrates the power of the Christian faith to a rather burnt out and fragile world. It shows that together with God we can flourish, and that individuals and even institutions can access the abundance that we are promised through faith in Jesus Christ.
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The Revd Dr Gillian Straine, CEO of GoHealth, is a writer, theologian, coach, communicator, charity leader and priest.
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