Those unfamiliar with the tale of Maharaja Harishchandra know that he was the 36th King of the mythological ‘Surya’ dynasty. He was so generous that he donated his entire kingdom to keep his promise to Sage Vishwamitra. He sold himself, and despite being a king, he lived in a forest with his family. Only if he knew How to Avoid Generosity burnout. Generosity is a virtue, but too much of it can cause burnout.
The condition of mental, emotional, and physical tiredness brought on by continually helping others without practicing sufficient self-care is known as generosity burnout.
Generosity burnout may happen when someone gives too much of themselves—their time, money, or energy—without taking enough time for rest and self-care. This may result in a sense of depletion, animosity toward the person receiving assistance, and physical and emotional tiredness.
Tips For Avoiding Generosity Burnout
1. Always Set Boundaries
One of the answers to How to Avoid Generosity Burnout is setting some healthy and rational boundaries. Setting limits is crucial to preventing burnout from giving. When someone continuously provides without taking the time to refuel their own emotional tank, generosity burnout results.
Although being kind and willing to help others is a great quality, doing so too frequently may leave us feeling worn out, overburdened, and even angry with those we are attempting to assist.
The people who contribute to organizations in all areas (who provide the most direct assistance, take the most initiative, and provide the greatest advice) secure their own lives to work toward their very own objectives.
2. Be a Smart Giver
One of the greatest things we risk when we have generosity fatigue is maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Therefore, we must wisely use our time and energy to maintain our ability to be effective at work while also protecting our personal lives.
By going above and beyond, you may often feel appreciated and useful to your team and business. But taking on too much might sometimes make you feel weighed down.
To finish everything, you may have to stay up late or work on the weekends. Your work-life balance may be harmed when this occurs, which may have an adverse effect on your relationships and morale.
Managers must assist employees in effectively managing their time and responsibilities in order to overcome this. Documenting each person’s duties and the time they spend on them is an excellent place to start.
Utilizing a DILO (Day In the Life Of) timesheet is possible here. This knowledge may then be used to assign tasks effectively, preventing overwork for everyone.
3. Help Proactively Instead of Reactively
Helping proactively is an answer to How to Combat Generosity Burnout. You are able to more effectively manage your time, effort, and resources when you provide support proactively.
It’s not necessary to reply right away to requests or to feel compelled to accept them; rather, you may choose if, when, and how to donate depending on your availability and capacity.
With proactive support, you can match your help to your beliefs and objectives. If you take the initiative, you may concentrate on things that are related to your skills, passions, and interests.
By accepting responsibilities that complement your abilities rather than weaknesses, you avoid spreading yourself too thin and experience more happiness.
4. Be Cautious About Scope Creep
You risk being permanently overworked with constant demands on your time and energy if you let scope creep take place.
As you attempt to achieve excessive demands while putting your own health at risk, this may lead to tiredness. You may proactively control the extent of your duties by being aware of the scope and constraints of your time.
It may create limits and clearly express them to others by having clear expectations from the start. You may define the amount, frequency, and length of engagement you’re willing to provide.
You may prevent overextending yourself and ensure that you can meet your duties without compromising your personal needs by preventing scope creep.
Furthermore, being aware of scope creep helps you organize your work into priority areas. You may choose if a certain request is consistent with your objectives, values, and available resources.
This gives you the ability to prioritize where to spend your time and energy, allowing you to provide genuine assistance without overextending yourself.
5. Know The Difference Between Value and Volume
Given that we are “always on,” it might be difficult to turn off these days. We can “check in” with work even when we aren’t there, thanks to social networking, instant messaging, and smartphones.
However, this may result in us being inundated with low-priority, poor-value requests from individuals, which would take up our time and make us less focused on our primary objectives.
This often occurs if word spreads that we’re prepared to pitch in and love putting others’ needs ahead of our own – particularly to “takers.”
Don’t forget to stay focused! Set priorities for any requests you get, as well as your daily responsibilities. You should also learn how to say “no” in a way that is both productive and non-offensive.
Taking into account your personal worth is also crucial. Consider your own objectives, interests, and abilities, and “give” in ways that support them. It is the best method for How to Avoid Generosity.
6. Prioritize Your Commitments
Prioritizing your commitments can be a solution to How to Avoid Generosity Burnouts. Priority is given to family, next to students, employees, and then to everyone else. Know when to say yes and no. Please develop a list of your own priorities and refer to it when someone asks for help.
As a giver, you may or might not have a good “taker” radar, but you should learn to spot those who would take advantage of you without giving anything back.
There may be symptoms such as increased tension, rage, frustration, and others. Pay close attention to bitterness. Will you dislike the person or the project if you say “yes” to a request for help? If so, consider saying no. The anticipation of resentment is a sign that burnout is drawing near.
7. Find A Chance That Will Benefit You Individually
You won’t profit from donating if you contribute out of a feeling of duty or responsibility. Giving only makes people happy when it is a fun and fulfilling decision to make. The secret is to look for charitable opportunities that can benefit you personally.
You won’t get many benefits from volunteering if you do it because someone asks you to. People have various options for giving. You may volunteer to teach others to read if you like reading. If you like being outside, you might clean hiking routes to make them safer for everyone.
Giving will make you more motivated, as long as you find it personally satisfying. It is the best method for How to Avoid Generosity.
8. Watch The Difference You’re Creating
Finding out the differences you are making can provide an answer to How to Combat Generosity Burnout. Seeing the difference you create is one of the benefits of contributing. A strong source of motivation is a feeling of service to others.
However, it will be difficult for you to feel linked to the giving process and will make your giving seem less important if you can’t see the effect you create in the world. Seeing the effect on appreciative recipients motivates us to continue helping others in addition to acting as a stress reliever.
Choose a donation where you can see the results of your efforts. Cleaning the beach or planting trees may not fill your cup if you don’t see people or the environment benefiting from it, but spending time with joyful animals like foster dogs or cats could.
Symptoms of Generosity Burnout
Anyone experiencing any of the symptoms listed below should act right away to find out How to Avoid Generosity Burnout. The following are the primary signs of generosity burnout:
Lack of engagement: You can find that you are so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs that you no longer have time for the people who are most important to you, including your coworkers, customers, or even your family. If you ignore them, they could get agitated.
Emotional and physical burnout: When your time is often demanded, generosity fatigue may develop. You can feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions at once. This will fatigue you, make you stressed, and maybe even make you unwell. It will also affect how well you do your work every day.
Hatred and low morale: If it’s hard for you to say “no” to your colleagues’ demands and expectations, you can start to despise them. Your performance, morale, and mental health will all suffer if you are unable to control your resentment.
Poor performance: Others could take advantage of your kindness and rely too much on you, which would encourage laziness and inefficiency. Your absence or decision to leave the company may increase the likelihood that the team’s work will be completed late or of worse quality.
FAQs
Q: When the term’ Generosity Burnout’ was coined?
A: The term “Generosity Burnout” was originally used in a 2017 article by Adam Grant, a management professor at the Wharton School and researcher Reb Rebele to describe “generosity fatigue.”
Q: Does ‘people pleasing tendencies’ cause generosity burnout?
A: ‘People pleasing tendencies’ can be a major cause behind generosity burnout. People pleasers can’t reject a request. As a result, they often have to push their limits.
Q: Is generosity bad?
A: Generosity is a virtue and a noble human trait. But one needs to know their limits and capabilities.
