Burnout is about resentment

“Burnout is about resentment”

Marissa Mayer

I could never wrap my head around the above quote.

How could burnout and resentment be linked?

But now I get it.

The resentment stems from the perceived lack of choice.

When the boss rings you out of hours you feel that there is no other option but to answer.

When someone lumps a big fat ugly task on your desk and says have it done by the end of the day, you don’t feel like saying no is allowed.

Therefore you eventually run yourself into the ground resenting those who put you there.

But resentment evaporates with the reinstatement of the choice.

You can’t resent your boss when you take responsibility for answering the call. You could’ve ignored the call but you chose to pick up the phone.

Or the big fat ugly task loses its resentment potential when you don’t feel obliged to submit to someone else’s deadline. The resentment is nipped in the bud when you have the confidence to say ‘Actually I have 100 other things to do and I finish in half an hour so I will get that task done in my own time thank you very much!’