3 ms·
The link between imposter syndrome and burnout
- derbOac 4y agoIf nothing else, this rang true to me. I'm not sure I'd use the terms "imposter syndrome" and "burnout" to describe the experiences I have in mind but I do think what they describe were a big part of my experience. What maybe gets lost a bit is the social context of imposter syndrome. It tends to be discussed as something solely internal to the individual. In some sense this is necessarily true, but I think it can also maybe sometimes be seen as a sign that the work environment isn't addressing something. This isn't to say imposter syndrome is a sign of a bad workplace, but I do think in some cases (many cases?) the development of imposter syndrome can be a sign that some element of employee well-being is being neglected. Many of those same things, those sources of neglect, can then lead to burnout at the organization. I think this article could have maybe explored some of these causal threads more -- it was a bit vague -- but I appreciated it raising the possibility that imposter syndrome might be a sign of bigger or more long-term problems, maybe something something contextual or systemic. Imposter syndrome is about there being a gap between internal experience and externally perceived activity, and burnout is sort of the same.