Control: If you only do one thing to avoid burning out, do this.

Nov 13, 2024

Contrary to what it might sound like, control is not about authority or the ability to control others. 

Control is about our ability to make choices about how we apply skills, expertise, and judgment to accomplish what is required of us in our work. 

It is perhaps one of the important areas of work life because the degree to which we feel control is related to other areas of work. For example, when we have a sense of control, we can better seek out supportive community and make decisions to manage our workload.

Our sense of control comes from autonomy and flexibility.

Autonomy in workplaces means feeling capable of doing a good job, being able to take corrective action when necessary, and the agency to adjust to changing circumstances.

Our autonomy is threatened when we feel our decisions are second-guessed, we feel micromanaged, or we don't have choice about things we feel are within our skill set, authority, or expertise.

Flexibility comes from how we can adjust to withstand stressors, choose to do things differently, and change or compromise.

Something to Try

The key to diagnosing a lack of control is to determine where it is coming from.

Is this about me, my supervisor, or something beyond both of us?

In some cases we have access to control that we don’t exercise. For example, if someone asks something of us that is not required but that we feel compelled to do it because we don’t want to disappoint anyone, we are not exercising the control that we could be.

Sometimes our lack of control is coming from our relationship with our supervisors. This is where the impact of managerial behaviors like micromanagement and second guessing come into play. 

• What can I do by myself to change my sense of control?
• What can I do with others (i.e., my supervisor or those who create procedures and policies) to change my sense of control?
• What can I influence others to do?
• When my sense of control is insufficient, what does that mean for whether this is a good fit role/organization for me?

_{Reference: "The Burnout Challenge" by Christinia Maslach and Michael P. Leiter_}