Rust-Out: the Distant Cousin of Burn-Out

Is work tedious? Do you begin checking the time at 9:35 a.m.? Are you slogging along, just doing your work, and trying to stay afloat at your workplace, that is when it strikes you—the agonizing sense of... What is it exactly? Dread? Stress and anxiety? Exhaustion? the entire list? If you can confirm a ‘yes’ to these questions, then my overwhelmed friend, you might have “rust out.” Burnout is a much-talked-about topic these days, especially in light of the fact that one in three Indian professionals experienced burnout in the post-2020 world due to dealing with a life-threatening health issue that some have dubbed an "apocalypse."

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Rusting Out: The Uncalled Relative of Burnout

Rusting out, a close relative of burning out, doesn't appear in complaints about one's job nearly as frequently. But as we start to analyze work cultures in a post-pandemic world, considering the advantages of hybrid models, working entirely from home, and expressing discontent through "quiet quitting," the concept of rusting out is now entering our lexicon.

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The Concept of Rusting Out Becomes Prominent in the Working Field

If rusting out needs to be explained in a nutshell, it feels like being stuck in a rut, with no room for growth or development. Rusting out is the "condition of being chronically under-stimulated, uninspired, and unsatisfied at work." It is a state of disillusionment, and lack of motivation that can result from a feeling of being underutilized or unchallenged at work (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Job burnout

Go to source) .

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What sets Rusting Out apart from Burning Out?

To put it into perspective, while burning out results from being overworked and overstimulated at one’s job, rusting out is a result of being under stimulated — often, as a result of doing the same thing over and over again to the point where one struggles to find meaning or purpose in their work.

But while burning out has been recognized as an "occupational phenomenon" by the WHO, awareness of its so-called cousin continues to be lacking. By extension, the impact of rusting out on people’s mental health, too, isn’t well understood (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases

Go to source).

Rusting Out: A Phenomenon that Only Sounds New

This feeling of stagnation, however, is not a brand-new phenomenon. Although not in those precise words, idioms like "It's best to keep yourself busy" and "The devil makes work for idle hands" have long been used to acknowledge rusting out.

What causes rust to form is the crucial question in this situation (no pun intended). Journalist Rhymer Rigby stated in an article in The Guardian that "the causes of rusting out read like a checklist of modern workplace woes: the deskilling of once complex jobs, lack of empowerment, paperwork overload, endless meetings, repetitive tasks, and so on."

Are you at the Risk of Rusting Out?

"It can affect anyone but hits two groups particularly hard. The first is middle managers whose careers have ground to a halt; the second is the younger workers who, in more hierarchical days, would have been promoted, but in today’s flatter structures, are stuck."

Financial restrictions are a common reason why people continue working at their occupations despite being burned out and rusting out.

There are many problems in the workforce, from corrupt practices to commercial ambitions. And as we all too well know, stress at work can negatively affect our mental health (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The Double-Edged Sword of Safety Training for Safety Behavior: The Critical Role of Psychological Factors during COVID-19

Go to source) .

Rust-out has a Stronger Edge of Foundation than Burnouts

"Rust-out is much more fundamental and deeper than burnout. It's a psychological effect that might be very dark. The effects can spread to other areas of one's life, resulting in withdrawal and disinterest in our everyday lives outside of work," says Teena Clouston, a professor of occupational therapy at Cardiff University. "You can feel depressed — like you're stuck in the mud, unable to move," she adds.

The Gradual Feeling of ‘Blah’

Once rust starts to permeate your personal life, you can isolate yourself and discover that you don't want to be as social. Sleep will become an escape, or you'll want to stay home and binge-watch rather than see friends, said Christopher Combs, an associate professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral science at Temple University, in an interview with WebMD. "You just gradually feel 'blah,' not really sad,"

Identify Your Signs of Rusting Out

• Actively disengaging from work on a regular basis, even during working hours, is a symptom that something is wrong
• You might discover that you spend more time online than working
• You might be inclined to inquire if one's employment seems tedious and repetitive

When compared to burnout, rusting out may appear like a first-world issue, especially when we imagine someone who is so overburdened that they are unable to breathe, as opposed to someone who spends their entire workday seated in a luxurious, cozy cabin, gazing wistfully at the time. It is still possible for either to have a terrible influence on a person's life; therefore, this is an instance of "different causes, similar effects."

To conclude,
Organizations may hold the key to finding a solution to this problem or, at the very least, to easing workers' problems.

Prioritizing mental health in the workplace and fostering a safe space where people can express their problems is a smart place to start. Doing so won't invalidate people's problems; rather, it will help people in a way that benefits the organization as well as the individual. A win-win scenario.

References:

1. Job burnout - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11148311/)
2. Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases - (https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases)
3. The Double-Edged Sword of Safety Training for Safety Behavior: The Critical Role of Psychological Factors during COVID-19 - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36078668/)

Source-Medindia