Empowering Character and Maturity To Resolve Societal Burnout
by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD
Alarmed by the numbers of mentors, friends, and colleagues leaving social work “burned the hell out, actually fried,” more than ten years ago I began research into this complex, often misunderstood phenomenon. Most focus concentrates on professional burnout. However, in digging into hundreds of studies, I found additional arenas where burnout originates and festers, intensifying others: personal, relational, and physical, with the body as readout for stress and trauma.
But there was a further arena not yet identified - societal burnout. We are overburdened by a perfect storm of unresolved, threatening societal challenges and a fiercely divided electorate. We are overwhelmed by the moral distress of war as we watch those in positions of power and influence skillfully pit citizens against each other, intensifying fear and anxieties to gain and maintain power and control.
Although in their groundbreaking 1970 book, Future Shock, Alvin and Heidi Toffler did not use the term “societal burnout,” they warned of the impact of the breathtaking pace of our technological revolution, in which the illiterate of the future would no longer be those who can’t read or write, but those unable to keep up with the demands of rapid change, and subsequently yearn for the impossible, to turn back the clock (the italics mine, not the Tofflers’). Today’s unsettling dangers and discord were precisely foreshadowed, as was the importance of preparing for increased crime and intense divisions awaiting us.
The Tofflers’ prescient warnings screamed the necessity of societal care, requiring the savvy, common sense and compassion of principled leadership determined to prepare for what is inevitable. Such leadership recognizes that our children are our future and that violence, poverty, and familial chaos impede the development of citizens who will protect our institutions and rule of law, safeguarding our future.
Social workers have always known that children must feel loved and safe, which millions worldwide are denied, and Yes! we are alarmingly aware of the present extremely dangerous tech influences that must be identified and reined in. However, we also know that something has gone dangerously wrong in the lives of seemingly fortunate children, those who do not live in war-torn countries and whose households are economically sound. Within these homes, far too many children do not feel safe from parental rage and rejection. Far too many, fed a diet of hatred and prejudice, are taught that they deserve more than others. Far too many are overindulged, and far too many parents fear imposing necessary boundaries and limits.
As a result, many children are denied the opportunity to develop dignity, a prerequisite for individual health and the health of a society. Dignity is a state of being that begins with love. It relies on internalizing Pride—“I am a valuable human being”—as well as Humility—“All others are as important and valuable as I am.” Those denied this integration, even if they counter with charm, do not possess the leadership skills necessary to bring a divided country together. They are strengthened when the perks of privilege are given to their followers. They are also strengthened by those who long for the parenting denied them as children, mistaking autocratic leanings as strength, as well as those who believe their country has abandoned them.
The essential link between personal development and trustworthy leadership must be pointed out and illuminated. In families, work settings, in communities, on boards, and in elected office, character and maturity must be selected to address societal burnout. This knowledge must guide us, as if the quality of our lives and that of our children depend on it. For it does.
SaraKay Smullens, LCSW, BCD, CGP, CFLE, coined the terms “natural social worker,” and “an emotional sense of direction.” She views “natural social workers” as our necessary, trusted allies in all expressions of social work and advocacy, and “an emotional sense of direction” as vital in navigating life’s unpredictable, dangerous slopes. A winner of numerous awards, including NASW’s designated best magazine article published in The New Social Worker, SaraKay serves as our film critic, addressing Vital Topics in Social Work. Published widely and the author of four books, her latest is Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work: A Guidebook for Students and Those in Mental Health and Related Professions (NASW Press, 2021).