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Research Outline

Prepared for Janine G. | Delivered August 11, 2019

Be Brilliant - Proving the Hypothesis: Exhausting Trying to Keep Pace

Goals

To obtain both qualitative and quantitative research to back up a chapter in a book that is being written called "BE BRILLIANT" which is for an audience that will consist of corporate business executives. To prove the following hypotheses :

One: It is exhausting trying to keep pace with technological changes.
Two: It is exhausting keeping on top of other people’s lives, our teams, our families, our children or friends.
Three: It is exhausting trying to keep up with work demands and the changing business landscape.
Four: It is exhausting having to conform to industry, societal and, let’s be honest, social media, expectations of how to look, be and behave.
Five: It is exhausting trying to prove that we are good enough.
Six: It is exhausting trying to perform and play a bigger game.
Seven: It is exhausting being human in today’s busy world.

Early Findings

  • The rapid pace of technological change can create challenges for businesses across industries as they increasingly incorporate new areas of technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things into their operations. These advances push all sorts of businesses to become more digital, tech-driven enterprises than in the past, such as how automation and mobile technologies have reshaped manufacturing and retail. But in trying to manage this rapid pace of digital transformation, companies should not overlook the human side of business.
  • According to a 2013 study by the National Sleep Association, conducted with 1,500 people across six countries, the majority of people (56% in the US, 56% in Japan, and 66% in Germany) aren’t getting enough sleep. The appeal of the gig economy is its flexibility: you can work anytime, anywhere. But for many people, this often means that they fall into the trap of working all the time, everywhere, which leads to exhaustion.
  • Research by market analysts Mintel reveal that one in three of us admit we’re permanently worn out because of the pace of modern life.
  •  Naturopath Martin Budd, author of Why Am I So Exhausted?, says: “While a little stress helps to keep us on our toes, long-term stress, for example from work or relationship problems, can exhaust the body, as well as being emotionally draining.”
  •  Dr Lipman, author of Revive: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again, believes people who over-use technology risk running out of steam. “In today’s world, many of us literally can’t switch off,” he says.
  •  Burnout is more likely when employees: One: Expect too much of themselves. Two: Never feel that the work they are doing is good enough. Three: Feel inadequate or incompetent. Four: Feel unappreciated for their work efforts. Five: Have unreasonable demands placed upon them. Six: Are in roles that are not a good job fit.
  • This article from Forbes details some qualitative data on when you just do not feel good enough and are exhausted by that. "Once we see that we don’t need to try to prove our worth through our work, our future is no longer dictated by "should's" and all the things we have laid out before us as our path to being enough. The space opens up for us to value what we actually want and have a genuine desire to do for work. What we actually enjoy doing can come to the forefront, no longer taking the place of a distant secondary concern."
  • According to psychotherapist Ali Miller, MFT, the “not good enough” feeling isn’t a feeling at all. She views it as a thought.
  • Various models help to explain and predict burnout, which is now an official medical diagnosis, according to the World Health Organization. 
  •   Burnout can be contagious, so to elevate your individual engagement, you must shift the morale of the group.
  • This research identifies six areas where someone could experience imbalances that lead to burnout.
  • The central engine of the change seems to be technology, as far as it being much more difficult and more exhausting to be a human in today’s busy world. This video, which was nominated for best film at the Forster Film Festival, details some reasons why.