Burnout happens in every helping profession, even to professionals who absolutely love their jobs. Any occupation that requires the giving of yourself to others will eventually cause some level of burnout. Aviation is no exception. Whether in public safety, corporate, commercial or private aviation, burnout is something to be aware of and to learn to manage.
In my teaching, I refer to the three phases of public safety and aviation careers — they are the innocence, the end of the innocence, and wisdom. The innocence is when everything is shiny and new, and you just want to fly. You are on a mission to do as much flying and as much aviation-related work as you can. You readily accept
assignments and work hard. Generally, right around the seven-year mark in a career, most people have reached the end of the innocence. This is burnout.
Professionals at this phase tend to be very sarcastic and angry. The feelings of excitement and joy are gone, and professionals often start to question how they will survive their careers. At this point in people’s lives, I ask them to consider their options: they can stay the way they are, they can get worse, or they can reach wisdom. I often say that wisdom is hard-earned and causes grey hair. Wisdom is the aviation professional who has restored their resilience, regained their work balance and thus has become unflappable. I always ask professionals to make sure they reach wisdom before they retire, so they don’t carry the negative energy of burnout into their golden years.
Burnout is the result of combining extremely high, sometimes unrealistic expectations with good intentions, and not having enough balance in one’s life. The onset of burnout happens slowly. The process is hard to identify because it can be quite subtle. It happens like this: You enter a career to help others. You work hard and love your job. You put in a lot of hours, work overtime or second jobs, and surround yourself and your life with things and people that are associated with aviation. You work holidays and weekends because aviation services require this. For a while, this feels great. This phase is the innocence.
Over time, however, you realize that the aviation profession can take a toll. From trauma, shiftwork and critical incidents to angry and unappreciative customers, aviation professionals deal with many negative events throughout their careers.
To further the process along, you begin to experience the effects that the aviation lifestyle can have on your personal life. If you are single, it is hard to meet people. If you are married, you notice the strains that your job places on your loved ones. You no longer have friends outside of work, and in your mind, you can never really get away from work. At the same time, you may be going through a major life challenge like a divorce, financial problems or the death of a loved one. These types of events are highly demanding of emotional and physical energy at a time when you have very little energy to give. Your personal energy gauge is chronically empty. This is the end of the innocence.
To exacerbate burnout, aviation professionals are often exposed to significant traumas, such as crashes. While aviation professionals may not be directly involved in a crash, the vicarious trauma of losing colleagues, friends, or beloved members of the aviation community can hit very close to home. During the immediate aftermath of such an event, burnout sits on the back burner because the mission of rallying together and supporting survivors takes precedence. This work is meaningful, and it gives those involved a renewed sense of purpose. At this point, I warn professionals not to get sucked into the notion that your burnout is no longer relevant because you are feeling great about the current mission. Instead, be prepared for your burnout to be exacerbated upon your return home. Be prepared so you can tackle it.
Getting through burnout involves restoring your resilience. When addressing resilience, we find that small changes pay off big. The process requires looking at your life and figuring out how to regain the balance between your work and your personal time, and between negative stress and positive stress.
Begin by focusing on the basics — health, hydration, nutrition, rest, and exercise. When I have patients who are struggling with resilience, I like to start with small, tangible goals in these areas. I will ask my patients to add eight ounces of water to their daily hydration regimen, to add 50 steps to their normal movement activities, and to get 30 more minutes of sleep each night. Then we move things up — 16 oz of water per day, 100 steps of more movement, and an hour more of sleep at night. Over time, I find that my patients get more motivated because they are hydrated and rested. From there, they are ready to pursue these resilience goals on their own.
Then we tackle the more advanced concepts — your family, friends, hobbies, and faith. I ask my patients to focus on the things that make them who they are outside of the job. These are the things you will have in your life when you retire. Foster these aspects of your life. You may even have to teach yourself how to have fun again.
Recovering from burnout sometimes means modifying the amount of time you work, changing your role or duties (if possible), picking up healthy habits like exercise, letting go of unhealthy habits like excessive alcohol consumption, finding new hobbies, making new friends, and reconnecting with your loved ones. Once you have conquered burnout, your life, energy, sense of humor, and outlook will be monumentally better than they once were. This is wisdom.
In my practice, I have found that employees who have recovered from burnout often become some of the best assets to their departments. They carry an infinite amount of wisdom and personal experience with them, and they tend to look out for others who seem to be headed down the same path. The best person to recognize a fellow employee is burned out is another aviator who has already been there.
It is important to also note the impact that professional burnout has on loved ones and family members. When an aviator is burned out, there is generally a lot of complaining about work. The constant negativity and lack of problem-solving on the part of the aviation professional can be quite alarming for family members, who simply do not know what to do to help.
Family members may try to make suggestions, such as quitting a job, changing companies, switching to a different shift or quitting aviation altogether. These suggestions are frequently met with more anger or skepticism, despite the family members’ sincere intent to try to help. It is important to note that family members are trying to understand and are simply desperate to help their aviation professional find a solution. Educating families and loved ones on the normal phases of aviation careers will help them understand what their loved one is going through at the time. When it comes to family members, education and communication are essential so that they can truly understand their aviation loved one.
If enhancing your personal resilience does not lead to relief, it is often a good idea to sit down with a professional to address what is going on. Burnout frequently occurs in conjunction with trauma, vicarious trauma, or moral injuries.
In 1995, after I deployed to Oklahoma City for the Murrah Federal Building bombing, I struggled with burnout. The deployment was what I considered a complete kick in the teeth. At the time, I had been working in a Level II Trauma Center for three years, so I was already a bit jaded. After I returned from Oklahoma City, I struggled to find compassion, empathy, and any sense of purpose in my job. I did all the right things — I ran many miles, lifted heavy weights, avoided alcohol — to no avail.
One night, an emergency room nurse confronted me and told me I needed help. I really didn’t think I did, until I sat across from a therapist and started to work through the demons. She helped me unpack what I went through and helped me see things differently. I had no idea that my sticking point was an interaction that I had with the morgue crew. Working through this was one of the most impactful moments and it honestly saved my career. I have always applied the lessons learned from the Oklahoma City bombing to every disaster I have worked since then.
On a final note, it is important to mention that burnout often mimics depression. If you choose to talk to someone in my profession, be sure to find a clinician who understands public safety culture and who is very sensitive to the differences between burnout and clinical depression. Being labeled by someone with good intention but limited experience with aviators will simply generate more problems than solutions.