March 13, 2024
Values are tricky. They’re a bit like ocean currents: you can measure them if you make an effort, but otherwise they’re hard to spot. They make themselves felt most strongly when you find yourself working against them.
When your work is out of alignment with your values, you’re at much higher risk of burnout. It’s exhausting, like swimming against a current. Christina Maslach, the Berkeley psychologist who pioneered burnout research, argued nearly 25 years ago that values mismatch plays a key role in burnout:
“The smaller the overlap between individual and organizational values, the more often staff members find themselves making a trade-off between work they want to do, and work they have to do… The strain associated with an enduring mismatch of values depletes personal energy, reduces involvement, and undermines personal efficacy… Insufficient opportunity to pursue personal values through work requires staff members to overextend themselves in other areas of their lives in pursuit of meaningful contributions."
On the other hand, Maslach points to values alignment as a fast track to the opposite end of the burnout spectrum, which she calls “engagement”: high energy, high involvement, and high efficacy. You’re much more likely to feel all three, she argues, when you get to work on things that are important to you, with the support of the people and resources around you. It’s worth noting that burnout research exclusively focused on paid work until very recently, hence “staff members” rather than, say, “parents” or just “people”. But more recent research makes it clear that unpaid work can just as easily drive burnout vs. engagement as can the paid variety.
Where do I begin?
Reminding yourself of your personal values is step one. Jot down your top 3-5 values. Now consider how well aligned your work (paid and unpaid) is with each of your values. If you want to take a more structured approach, you can use the TANK values tool.
You may find that your work is at odds with one or more of your core values. If so, you have some options. It may be possible to adjust your role so that you get more of an opportunity to do work that's meaningful to you. That's an excellent conversation to have with a supportive manager as a part of your next development conversation, or with a family member who could help redistribute duties at home.
If adjusting your role doesn't seem feasible, you still have options. Recognise that working against your values drives additional stress, so you'll need more recovery time - more than you'd otherwise need, and perhaps more than those around you will need. That recovery time will be more effective if it gives you a chance to do things that aligned with your values. If you value creativity, for example, but your job keeps you locked in inflexible procedures, look for creative outlets in your downtime. If you're missing opportunities for achievement at work, consider reviving a sport or other activity you excelled at in school.
The more the work you have to do overlaps with the work you want to do, the less often you'll need to make trade-offs that drive stress.
