We have all had our bad days and even weeks at work but what happens when the feelings associated with these days just don’t seem to pass? Well, you may be experiencing something that two experts have dubbed “rustout”.
Writing for The Conversation, Sabrina Fitzsimons Co-Director of DCU CREATE (Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education), Lecturer in Education, Dublin City University and David Smith, Lecturer, School of Applied Social Studies, Robert Gordon University explain the phenomenon.
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Explaining that rustout is on the other end of the spectrum from burnout, they explain: “This is when employees become bored, apathetic and unmotivated, often doing the minimum necessary work. This can result in them procrastinating, browsing social media or looking for something more stimulating elsewhere.”
Sound familiar?
So, what causes rustout?
The experts explain: “Rustout is mental and emotional decline caused by repetitive, mundane tasks and ongoing professional stagnation. Unlike burnout, which results from work overload, rustout arises from underutilisation and a lack of stimulating work.
“It can be amplified when a workplace values efficiency and meeting specific outcomes over professional engagement, leaving people feeling invisible or replaceable. In other words, it occurs when people are not challenged enough.”
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Do rather than the over-demand which can cause burnout, rustout comes from not being needed enough. Grim.
Isn’t this just quiet quitting though?
While the behavioural responses to rustout may seem to mirror quiet quitting, the researchers explained that those who experienced rustout most frequently, teacher educators, are not deliberately stepping back from responsibilities.
They say: “While most described enjoying their work and its variety, we found an undercurrent of symptoms and experiences indicative of rustout. We believe our findings may have resonance with other occupational settings.
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“Rustout may sound a bit like the social media trend of quiet quitting. However, the teacher educators we spoke to were not deliberately stepping back from their duties or plotting their exit. In fact, they remained highly committed to their students – making their situation even more frustrating.”
That does sound incredibly frustrating.
In fact, once the researchers digged deeper in their interviews with teachers, they found that teachers “spoke of the joy it was possible to find in their work and the many brilliant, inspiring young people they had helped to nurture.”
However, the researchers admitted, some had lost this enthusiasm.
Talking is essential
The experts warn that not talking about how you’re feeling can only make the situation continue, urging: “Nothing is being rocked when staff are working and doing their jobs.
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“This silence benefits institutions in the short term, since it maintains stability and delays difficult conversations. However, in the long term, it can contribute to retention issues, a negative workplace culture and possibly reduced innovation.”
The solution, they add, is integrating rustout into the mental health agenda in workplaces, just as burnout is.
“Employers must acknowledge that the wellbeing of their employees is integral to overall success.”
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
