Addressing and Avoiding Burnout
About this Course:
This course will focus on one of the most pervasive challenges in news entrepreneurship: burnout. It will outline what burnout looks like, why it happens, how to address it and, even better, how to avoid it.
It aims to help news leaders:
- Understand why burnout happens at the individual and organizational levels
- Identify what burnout looks like and the effects it has on leaders and team members
- Articulate best practices for addressing and avoiding it
About the Instructor:
Sushil Cheema is an Executive Coach specializing in burnout and self-care, professional development, interpersonal relationships and communication. Sushil worked previously as a freelancer for The New York Times, a staff multimedia journalist for The Wall Street Journal and as an editor at the personal finance website The Penny Hoarder. She has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and a law degree from Stetson University College of Law. More about Sushil.
Lessons
Introduction to Addressing and Avoiding Burnout
An overview of the Addressing and Avoiding Burnout course.
Strategies to Avoid Burnout
In this lesson, we’ll discuss what burnout is and strategies for avoiding it in your organization.
Addressing Burnout Once It Has Set In
In this lesson, we’ll explore ways to address burnout if you or a team member is experiencing burnout.
Developing a Healthier Newsroom Culture
In this lesson, we’ll discuss strategies to prevent burnout through workplace culture, practices and policies.
Additional Resources
Articles
- Beyond Burnout by Jennifer Moss (HBR)
- How to Regain the Lost Art of Reflection by Martin Reeves, Roselinde Torres, and Fabien Hassan (HBR)
- To Retain Employees, Give Them a Sense of Purpose and Community by Ron Carucci (HBR)
- Helping Your Team Feel the Purpose in Their Work by Dan Cable (HBR)
- How to Deal With Work Stress: This 42% Rule Could Help You Recover From Burnout (Stylist)
- Want Newsroom Innovation? Start With a STOP List by Frank Mungeam (ASU Cronkite School of Journalism)
- How Newsrooms Can Do Less Work – but Have More Impact by Stephanie Castellano (American Press Institute)
- How to Stop Doing Work That Underperforms: Advice From 4 Newsrooms by Shirley Qiu (American Press Institute)
- How the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Focused on Prioritizing With a “Stop Doing” List by John Adams and Emily Ristow (Better News via The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Job Burnout: How to Spot It and Take Action (Mayo Clinic)
- Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem? by McKinsey Health Institute
Books
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Radical Candor by Kim Scott
- The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace by Gary Chapman and Paul White
- Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, et. al.
- Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Human Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brene Brown
- Dare to Lead: Daring Greatly and Rising Strong at Work by Brene Brown
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
- The New Leader’s 100 Day Action Plan by George B. Brandst, Jayme A. Check, and John A. Lawler
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen
- No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work and How They Help Us Succeed by Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy
- High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley
- Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen
Videos & Podcasts
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action by Simon Sinek (TEDx Event)
- Breaking the Burnout Cycle by Amanda Magnus and Anita Rao of North Carolina Public Radio
- Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle by Brene Brown with Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
- Burnout (Classic) by Planet Money
Apps
- The News Feed Eradicator: Replaces your social media feeds with a quote.
- Flora: Set a “focus time” where you commit to staying off your phone while you work and the app plants a digital seed that grows into a tree.
- Forest: Similar to Flora but you can grow an entire forest.
- RescueTime: Time-management software.
- Focus@Will: Research-based music and sounds to help you focus.
Return to academy homepage.
Help us make the News Entrepreneur Academy better! Send us feedback or recommend a resource here.
