1,092 New Zealand-born Pacific people (aged 18 - 65 years) participated in Pilisi's research by answering an online survey about burnout. The study, recently published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, explores how the pressures of work, family, church and community life intersect, and why serving well should never come at the expense of living well.
As the year begins, Pilisi reflects on what his research reveals about burnout, sharing with us about the importance of rest and balancing service with living well.
Q: In a nutshell, what does your research tell us about Pacific people and burnout?
That while resilience is expected and celebrated in our Pacific communities – burnout is real and experienced (many times in silence) by our people. Our communities understand that service and generosity is important in our cultures – however when we don’t find rest or ways to re-fill our cups, we can compromise our health and wellbeing. Life and all our responsibilities still carry on whether we’re burnt out or not, however overwhelmingly, research participants have shared that they want to serve well AND live well, rather than serving over and beyond no matter the costs.
Burnout is more than just looking at individuals but also the environments in which people operate within eg. work, family commitments, and community spaces to examine whether people are adequately resourced to succeed or not.
Q: What are some tips / lessons learned through your research that you can share with people as we lean into a new year?
Pausing in amidst our busy lives is sometimes the best thing to do. Be it for 5mins or 1 hour – find some time in your day to rest, pause and be still. Perhaps this can be away from your phone, could be in prayer, could be by the water or could be sitting with a hot coffee.
Sometimes we can be so caught up in our stresses (work, study, home, church etc) – sometimes its best to come back to it tomorrow
Saying no and prioritising your wellbeing is important. Find your allies, as often we find it hard to say no – so sometimes others (eg spouse or manager) are better at advocating for our self-care needs
Where possible its ok to delegate and let others take over tasks around home, in the workplace or at church.
There will be times where you have no choice but to go into overdrive – eg juggling funerals with work and busy life. I’ve found in these times its even more important to protect my wellbeing by shifting various responsibilities during these intense periods. Prioritise what is urgent and get back into good habits and routine once the intense period has ended or has subsided
Managing our finances is boring and money is often best utilised showing love and generosity to others. However, money can bring happiness or stress so its about picking our battles
Q: What are you going to do personally to ensure you don't burnout this year?
Do my best to not overload my responsibilities – often that means saying no things, missing out on things, or reducing some things
Healthy communication with loved ones about juggling important responsibilities
Navigating guilt and recognising that self-care is not selfish, but necessary to continue supporting others. It is putting on your own mask first in the aeroplane emergency scenario.
Re-build healthier and maintainable habits with good nourishing food, adequate sleep, and regular movement. These are protective factors to navigating and juggling the busy demands of life. My tip is to try not lack in all 3 if you can. It’s better to have 1 or 2 than none.