The lead up to the Christmas break is a particularly challenging time for many employees, as they feel their bosses are pushing them to their limit in order to meet business targets and end-of-year financial goals. In what should be a happy and fun season, many people are getting Christmas burnout that is going into Christmas feeling more stressed, anxious, and burnt out than ever.
Michael Bunting, a globally renowned leadership expert, believes that greater authenticity and self-awareness can resolves this issue.
Michael says, “A huge part of this problem is ‘image management.’ Image management refers to the time we waste or things like denial, saving face or masking our weaknesses. All too often, image management stops people from speaking up when they feel overwhelmed at work, out of fear that they will be perceived as being unable to do their jobs. By developing our self-awareness, we’re able to let go of the self-defeating patterns that are holding us back, allowing us to become our most authentic self at work and learn to speak up when it’s necessary.”
Heading into this Christmas season, Michael encourages people to do these 5 things to ensure they’re not feeling burnt out:
5 ways to beat the Christmas burnout
- Develop real self-awareness by letting go of any self-defeating patterns
- Practice radical candour with your bosses and co-workers
- Set healthy boundaries
- Prioritise rest
- Make your values a daily habit
Michael is also the author of Vertical Growth: How Self-Awareness Transforms Leaders and Organisations, published by Wiley.