Randy Crabtree, CPA, is all too familiar with the effects of high stress and not setting clear boundaries. He felt overwhelmed with burnout — deeply rooted emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion.
“The first time I experienced burnout, I didn’t know it was burnout. I didn’t have a definition for it,” said Crabtree, cofounder of Tri-Merit Specialty Tax in Schaumburg, Ill. But he noticed his intense tax-season work ethic and long work hours were affecting his children. “I didn’t even look at it as affecting me.”
The second time burnout manifested, it aligned with a stroke. “Can I say it was pressure-related or stress-related? There’s a chance it was, but you never know for certain,” admitted Crabtree. “But [having a stroke] opened my eyes to what people are doing to themselves, putting excess stress and pressure on themselves.”
Crabtree is now a staunch supporter of healthfully managing stress levels and educating fellow accountants on the symptoms of burnout. He’ll share his knowledge as a panelist during a kick-off event for a new resource for tax professionals, with an initial webcast on Oct. 30. In the inaugural webcast, “EPICenter: Resilience & Renewal: Work-Life Insights for Emerging Leaders,” Crabtree and other leaders will share their stories and best strategies for cultivating fulfilling, sustainable careers.
High stress levels are exhausting and often suck the joy out of a job, but healthy coping mechanisms and firm boundaries can heal your relationship with work.
“We look at burnout as a badge of honor. We measure our success on the hours we can bill,” said Crabtree. “We’ve been conditioned that this is the way the profession is, and it doesn’t have to be.”
Recognizing the warning signs of burnout
Burnout is a signal that your body’s resources are depleted; it can manifest as exhaustion, cynicism, or unhappiness. Chronic workplace stress is often its biggest catalyst.
Crabtree’s best advice: Don’t ignore the symptoms. If addressing and removing the source of stress alleviated your symptoms, burnout was likely the culprit.
Crabtree firmly believes education, like the efforts of EPICenter, can help change the script on the relationship with high stress. EPICenter, a platform for resources by the Emerging Professionals Network, is committed to equipping emerging accounting leaders with the interpersonal skills, strategies, and supportive community they need for successful, balanced careers. Discussion topics include setting boundaries, building influence, entrepreneurial thinking, managerial strategies, team management, and more.
While burnout and depression have overlapping symptoms, they are not the same. Depression is a diagnosable mental health condition that can present itself as getting little pleasure out of life, feelings of hopelessness, sleeping too much or too little, feeling restless or feeling lethargic, strong feelings of guilt, or trouble concentrating. If you’re worried you may have depression, talk to your primary care physician.
Start with the root: Address the causes of high stress
The best remedy is to address underlying causes of stress and imbalance by prioritizing self-care, setting clear boundaries, and effectively managing your workload.
“Change is so scary to us that we avoid it rather than seeing the benefits that it’s going to create,” said Crabtree.
Self-care takes many forms, but ultimately, it’s meant to help you relax, recharge, and foster a positive sense of well-being. Engage in activities that bring you joy — exercise, cooking, hobbies, outdoor activities, mindfulness practices, or daily walk breaks. Shut down at the end of a workday and clear your mind. Of course, don’t forget to schedule time off and take vacations. (And be sure to fully disconnect during these times.)
Setting boundaries can help you avoid overworking, but sticking to them can be hard. Determine your priorities regarding your workload, work schedule, and relationships with colleagues and clients — and communicate them. Successful boundary-setting requires consistency and confidence. Some boundaries can be nonnegotiable (no weekend emails or no 80-hour workweeks) while others have room for compromise (meetings are sometimes allowed on Fridays).
But self-care strategies and boundary-setting are only truly helpful if you also address your workload. Prioritization and delegation will be key. Crabtree suggests designating specific hours of the day to work without interruption or to address specific tasks, like completing time sheets and responding to emails.
Burnout doesn’t have to be the norm
“We’re seeing bad behavior displayed by our bosses, supervisors, and managers,” explained Crabtree. “They’re sending out messages at 10 p.m. and emails on the weekend. They just want to get [a task] off their plate … but they don’t realize what they’ve now done is set this unrealistic expectation for the people they’ve sent it to.”
Burnout is a systemic issue across many professions, but it no longer has to be an expectation. Everybody should feel empowered to take control of their situation, institute healthy boundaries, and reduce their risk of burnout — a gesture that can pave the way for cultural shifts.
What has helped Crabtree retain his sturdy work-life boundaries is living at the intersection of his passions and his skills.
“I found out what I love doing and I found out what I’m good at. And it wasn’t [being] managing partner of our company,” he said. “I stepped down from that role and now have aligned myself where these two passions and skills intersect … Lean into what you’re good at and what you love doing.”
Mark your calendar and register today for the inaugural episode of the EPICenter webcast on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT.