Hi, I’m Dr. Geri Puleo –
President/CEO, Change Management Solutions, Inc.!
- Based on extensive scientific research and interviews, I created the Burnout During Organizational Change Model (B-DOC) to describes what causes and maintains employee burnout.
- As President/CEO of Change Management Solutions, Inc., I provide eLearning and coaching focused on eradicating the 10 workplace stressors that lead to employee burnout (from most to least important):
- Poor leadership
- Lack of organizational caring
- Negative co-workers
- Politics or sabotage
- Lack of resources
- Over-emphasis on ROI
- Work overload
- Poor communication
- Unethical or illegal requests
- No organizational vision or direction
- eLearning is available to individuals and organizations via 3 channels:
- On-demand, self-paced eCourses – see the list of available eCourses at https://dr-geri-puleo.teachable.com/
- Virtual eCourses blended with live online workshops
- Intensive, customized solutions of on-demand eCourses, live webinars, and individual or group coaching
- If you’re an organizational leader, check out my business blog at www.ChangeWithoutBurnout.com for tips on avoiding and overcoming workplace burnout based on the B-DOC Model.
- Check out additional videos on my YouTube Channel – Dr. Geri Puleo.
- For more information or to email me directly, please visit www.gapuleo.com
Background:
- Over 25 years entrepreneurial experience
- Experienced speaker at national and regional conferences; her TEDx Talk on Burnout vs. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: More similar than you think… has been viewed more than 600,000 times – watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFkI69zJzLI
- Senior-Level HR Certifications: SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) and SHRM-SCP (SHRM Senior Certified Professional)
- PhD in Management specializing in organizational change and burnout
- MA in Human Resources; MBA in Leadership
A New Way to Work 
Hi Dr Puleo, after a year feeling caught in a hamster’s wheel I started having panic attacks and claustrophobic episodes. Few months after my young brother passed away from an aggressive cancer. Just few months after I’m starting to have pre-menopause signs that challenge my body and my emotions again. I feel like caught in the middle of a whirlwind. The moment I try to raise my head something else hits me badly. I feel so vulnerable. I don’t see the way out. Thanks for your advise.
Thank you for reaching out to me — it sounds like you experienced significant burnout coupled with hormonal changes. Please know that there is always a way out of this despair.
By understanding what burnout is as well as some recovery techniques that helped the participants in my study, I am currently offering 2 free mini-courses:
1) What Is Burnout at https://dr-geri-puleo.teachable.com/p/what-is-burnout.
2) An Intro to Burnout Recovery at https://dr-geri-puleo.teachable.com/p/burnout-recovery.
Please continue to check out the posts on this blog as well as on my YouTube channel (Dr. Geri Puleo).
You can recover — be patient with yourself.
Dr. Geri Puleo
I believe I may have this thing called burnout. To me I would call it Disgruntled Employee Syndrome. I have experienced so many examples of poor leadership. One experienced I have. A supervisor ended up ordering me to commit a felony. At the time I wasn’t sure 100% that what I was doing was going to cause me to be serving some serious time in prison if I was ever charged and convicted. Yet after the incident. That supervisor who gave that order still kept his job as like nothing ever happened. Another experience I had was complaining about a person who has a serious personality disorder that is causing harm to me and others. Nothing was ever done about her behavior. One day she filed a false sexual harassment claim against me that costed me my job and reputation. There are other experiences I have but these two are the ones that caused me the most harm as an employee.
Chris –
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience! You have identified 2 of the 10 organizational stressors that I discovered lead to employee burnout — you might want to check out these 2 YouTube videos that I created to address them. The video on poor (autocratic) leadership can be viewed at https://youtu.be/BdfD-p8KR28; the video on the role of unethical or illegal requests can be viewed at https://youtu.be/SrCUVIw6fvI.
I wish you continued good wishes on your recovery from burnout.
All the best,
Geri
I love my job and my coworkers, but we are watching each other figuratively drown with the increasing demands and hours of our work place. I have chosen to remove myself and will be starting a new job within the same field in 2 months. This business is needed in the community and I fear if it continues on the present path it will not be a functional entity within a year. Though I am leaving, I would like to help my colleagues and the business find productivity, peace, and a hopeful outlook. The business is a 24 hour veterinary emergency clinic (Wichita, KS), the only one within about 2.5 hours in any direction. Our patient load has steadily been increasing while our number of employees has been steadily decreasing. The owner is very busy, myopic nearly, on the “new, expanded hospital” plans for the other side of the city. Though not a large corporation, do you think you may be able to help our company? My HR asked who I would recommend to have speak to our employees regarding compassion fatigue; however, I believe that is only related to the secondary type ptsd and not the primary ptsd we are experiencing with 12 to 16 hr shifts days to weeks in a row, with requests to come in and work on the few days we have off a month. My HR would be amenable to most suggestions I make. If you feel that you may help my colleagues, myself, and the hospital that I love, please let me know.
Desperate for advice. PTSD and dissociative disorder as well as 69 years old with communications degree.
Hi, Barbara –
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. My area of expertise is burnout in the workplace (particularly during change), so I tend to focus specifically in this area rather than in the specific diagnoses that you mentioned. I have some free eCourses on burnout as well as some paid eCourses on job/career change, job burnout, and overcoming the fear of success; all these can be accessed via the tabs on my blog.
I do hope that things turn around for you.
Wishing you all the best,
Dr. Geri Puleo
Hi Dr. Puleo,
Is it possible to experience double or simultaneous burnout? For example, a person in the midst of a burnout at work and a burnout at home or in a relationship? If so, does it have twice the impact as well as twice the recovery time?
Thank you,
NBN
Hi, Nicole –
Hmm, I’ve never heard it described as a “double” or “simultaneous” burnout BUT, yes, I have found that burnout in one area of life seems to creep over and deteriorate other areas of life. This seems to be increasingly common — probably due to the 24/7 e-leash that many of us have with our jobs. When there is no “time off,” it becomes even harder to de-stress. Also, the boundaries between the different areas in life are becoming less defined. I’m not sure if a burnout that affects every area of someone’s life would increase the recovery time (I haven’t done any specific research on that), but I do think that the feelings can be more intense because there is no “safe place” to escape from the burnout producing situation; this would make it harder to recover.
Thanks so much for your excellent questions — you’ve given me some ideas for new research!
Wishing you all the best,
Dr. Geri Puleo
Do you have a book or recommend any books on the subject. Have had burnout for years – can a particular diet help – or program/routine.
Hi, P –
I’m in the process of finalizing on-demand training programs and white papers to help people avoid & overcome burnout. A healthy diet with limited (if any) processed foods seem to help. Exercise (whatever type you like & will actually do) not only reduces stress but also can help with burnout-related sleep disturbances. I’ve also posted several webinars on different aspects of burnout, which should also give you some insights. The longer programs and books will be announced on this website — so I hope that you’ll continue to visit this blog.
Take care & best of luck — you CAN overcome burnout!!!
Dr. Geri Puleo
I just tripped upon your ted talk… and you are a visionary! This is exactly my experience as a woman in the film industry for my entire life. The world needs to listen to what you have to say! Most of us “burned out” employees know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to employee policies/healthier work environments equaling greater productivity. This is why we get out, because at some point it becomes entirely senseless and unproductive. I want to help you move your mission forward, please let me know how I can help.
Hi, MK –
Thank you SO much for your very kind words! My goal is to try to bring humanism back into the workplace — when this happens, there is greater respect, higher morale, less burnout, and better performance/productivity. Feel free to contact me at gapuleo@Comcast.net.
Once again, thanks so much — I’m glad so that my work is resonating with people!
Dr. Geri Puleo
I’ve been experiencing burnout since starting a new job in IT healthcare technology (March 2014).
After my military service ended in 2000, I studied psychology in undergrad and graduate school because I felt that knowing about human behavior would serve me better than a degree in business practices/theory that eventually becomes obsolete over time, especially in today’s hurried and technology saturated workplace.
Since I began working in corporate America in 2003, I’ve experienced much of what your research details, and I’ve poured over countless articles about workplace stress/burnout/leadership paradigms, etc.
Your website/blog is the most comprehensive with true “depth” on the WHY of how burnout happens and HOW to change burnout. Because of your personal experience and background, you bring to the forefront subjects and details that others miss or do not address in their research much of the time—the HUMAN factor.
I know that corporate America is not for me and I plan on taking a long term sabbatical when I turn 50 to “decompress”, relocate, downsize, and transition to a more peaceful lifestyle/career in holistic health/organics and I will work part-time only so that I focus on endeavors/volunteerism that will feed me positively, rather than negatively.
But in the interim, I know I need to find ways to be able to handle the corporate workplace until I reach my financial and planning goals for my “Alie’s Walden: Walk Away from Corporate America for Good” plan. I have three years to go until I finally walk away….that will be a glorious day.
In the few hours I’ve read your blog today, I feel at peace (and that I am not crazy for wanting to stay above the dysfunctional paradigms that define so many workplaces including the one I am currently in).
I will continue to pour over your postings for a daily respite of encouragement.
Alie
Hi, Alie –
I’m so glad that this blog has been helpful to you and that this will help you for “Alie’s Walden” in the near future! It takes a great deal of courage to go off the grid and move away from corporate America — but I firmly believe that this is an important trend that will eventually lead to a new way to work. Please keep us posted on your progress and best of luck!
Dr. Geri Puleo
Do you offer private sessions .
Hi, Deidre –
Yes I do offer private consultations to help people develop proactive strategies to overcome burnout. Feel free to email me at gpuleo@ChangeWithoutBurnout.com.
Dr. Geri Puleo, SPHR