The Link Between Burnout and DEI

The intersectional identity that each of us walks around with every day influences the degree of congruence with which we enter a space. Said differently, those who have more points of marginalization are "surface acting," or expending more energy and moving through more resistance to do the same activities than those with more points of privilege. This is also true for people who have hidden points of marginalization because there is an energy cost to staying hidden or in considering revealing oneself.

When we talk about burnout, it is vital to acknowledge that the field is not level in terms of the activities or acknowledgements that need to happen to restore the body's natural energy flow. For some, because of the toll applied to them by society, they will be more prone to burnout and even require changing environments in order to heal. To people who have significant privilege, this reality can be invisible and they can see more marginalized people's burnout as weakness or tiredness. This is a holistic misunderstanding that will not help the individual, the pair, or the team set up structures that prevent burnout from happening over and over again.

So, all of us - marginalized, privileged, or some combination of both - must learn about our intersectional identities and about the intersectional identities of those around us if we are to eliminate burnout from ourselves and from our teams.