Executive Burnout
An Ancient Issue in Modern Times
Written by JayDee
Well this certainly is a hot topic, eh? Anyone? No? Alright, I’ll just get to the article then.
Burnout: that’s a word that is thrown around pretty often within the fray of Europeian politics. Typically you will hear it brought up during elections or confirmation hearing. The fear of potential burnout from overextending themselves is a reality throughout Europeia. Whether from holding too many positions at one time or just working themselves to death, burnout is a hot topic at every turning point.
Cabinet nominees might find themselves getting grilled by Senators on their level of energy over the fear of potential burnout. First minister and chief of state hopefuls might find themselves subject to scrutiny by members of the region who believe they do not have the energy it takes to properly execute their position. Minor though it may seem, burnout is a very real and very present issue within our region, and we are reaping the consequences of it.
I can speak from personal experience first that burnout is a reality no matter what region you’re in. There are some positions you can hold for multiple terms, like justice, with little to no burnout whatsoever. On the other hand, there are other positions, like minister of communications, where it feels like something is on fire every day. It is hard to truly measure burnout because it differs from person to person and between positions. Writinglegend, for example, a name which does the man little justice, seemed to have nigh limitless energy serving in the Executive in some capacity, including seven terms as president, for two years straight. On the other hand, people like me do not have limitless energy and tend to get burnt out after a term or two.
So what exactly causes burnout and why did I say we’re reaping the consequences of it? Burnout, as the name might suggest, is when somebody simply becomes burnt out from their workload, both real life and in Nationstates, and finally lose the energy to properly execute their office. Burnout tends to happen when a person holds a position for too long and gradually loses the energy to hold office like the aforementioned Writinglegend, but there are also cases where a person simply takes up too many offices at once and crashes under the workload like many feared could happen to Maowi.
Unfortunately, when there is such a small crop of qualified candidates to choose from, it becomes inevitable that a select few people will find themselves serving the region time and time again. This is what leads to many people simply losing interest in holding office anymore and taking off from the busy streets of Arnhelm to enjoy a nice relaxing vacation on the beach of one of our various islands. When it’s only one or two people, the issue is minor at most and a person usually manages to fill the position as necessary, but when it’s a mass exodus like the one we suffered a couple years back, that’s when the problem becomes real.
As a result of too few people with too little energy for too many positions, our region suffered from a crisis of low activity over a long period of time that could no longer be linked to a summer slump when it persisted into the school year. Many of the region’s oldest players who had once served as the backbone of the region had now moved on to greener pastures, leaving the reigns of the region in the control of a newer generation of citizens who did not find themselves prepared for the sudden burden that would be placed on them.
It was the combination of the burnout and mass exodus which led many to question how effective our current government was and begin to call for a Constitutional Convention, the results of which we are now seeing. People began to fear that higher offices, especially the president, were too demanding for one person and needed to be broken up to lighten the load. This campaign for an executive split was carried out under the hope that it would lead to fewer burnouts at the top as well as open up the field for a greater number of potential candidates instead of only the top citizens being able to obtain the higher offices.
However, even with the new system, potential burnout remains a very real possibility as people continue to take more and more positions on top of their real life commitments. We saw a perfect example of this in Maowi’s confirmation thread for Councillor of World Assembly Affairs where she confirmed herself that she would not have the time for any major commitment in the World Assembly. Her nomination was ultimately pulled from consideration, but it certainly brings back the focus of potential burnout in a region where burnout has been an issue since its creation.
The only way to truly prevent burnout is to continue to train future members of the region for higher office so that those running for first minister or chief of state have plenty of candidates to choose from when the time comes to form their Cabinet. It is imperative that the ministers and councillors help prepare for the future by giving our younger generations the chance they deserve to build up their resume and prove they are ready for higher offices.
Until we realize that and execute it, burnout in the Executive will continue to remain a hot topic in the region for the foreseeable future and beyond. It is a very real issue that must be addressed, not for the sake of our region, but for the sake of the individual person who finds themselves negatively impacted due to burnout.
