In season 1, episode 5 of Ctrl Alt Lead, Tom Allen talks to Apollo Therapeutics' head of IT, Jeremy Cooper, about identifying and stopping burnout.
IT attracts perfectionists, problem solvers and people pleasers - putting them, in this fast-moving and crucial sector, under massive pressure. That can build until workers implode, damaging their mental health, relationships and career.
The implosion is commonly known as burnout, and is linked to stress, anxiety and exhaustion. It's not strictly defined, but most often occurs when someone is under long-term strain. The high demands and inadequate resources that characterise IT are a perfect breeding ground.
Jeremy Cooper is head of IT at Apollo Therapeutics, and has first-hand experience with burnout.
"I've always had this drive to succeed, and I never wanted to slow down or admit I had a problem. In one of my roles I was travelling around the world extensively, I was in business class, I had a big team under me; and what people didn't know was I was struggling with burnout, and my burnout had brought on a lot of anxiety."
Jeremy says he became "a shell of a person," just "going through the motions." He felt he had to work constantly just to keep his head above water. Ironically, he found that once he reached out and got help, he became more productive.
For Jeremy, the travel and time away from home was a major factor contributing to his burnout. For others, it could be something different: a constant drive for perfection, the pressure to perform, or even the IT industry's rapid pace of change.
Recognising burnout in yourself is surprisingly difficult; doing that in other people is even more so. In the podcast Jeremy talks about how to identify the signs of burnout, and what you as a leader can do to help your team.
Missing audio
An internet issue caused some issues with audio from 17:30-18:05. See below for a transcript:
Tom: Yeah, your LinkedIn famously says 'Average crossfitter'
Jeremy: Yeah.
Tom: Okay, so that's great advice. The other question I have is, "How do you combat burnout in the short term?" What you've said is great, but it could take some time to show results. If people need something they can do on the day, what can they start doing?
To access the full recording of my chat with Jeremy watch the video or use the web player above, or find Ctrl Alt Lead now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
