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One 2016 study, for example, showed that US medical students with feelings of imposterism also tended to demonstrate “ increased levels of exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and depersonalization”, symptoms very similar to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of burnout.Īnd a recent international survey of 10,000 knowledge workers by US-based work-management platform Asana showed 42% believed they had experienced both IS and burnout at the same time.
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While some research suggests IS might sometimes help motivate people to achieve, there is also ample evidence that the stress it generates can be so draining that it places intense pressure on mental health. Studies suggest up to 70% of people have experienced imposterism at work at some point. They attribute success to luck or hard work, rather than ability, and fear it will only lead to being given other chances to trip up. Though they might be high achievers, they might avoid taking on challenges so they can’t publicly fail. People with IS often feel they need to over-work and over-deliver on projects to avoid being found out. Imposter syndrome (IS) – also called imposter phenomenon - manifests differently in different people, but commonly leaves someone with the unshakeable belief they are an intellectual fraud, despite all evidence to the contrary. But researchers are increasingly interested in the link Fiona has experienced between imposter syndrome and that other modern career malaise: burnout.Īs the workplace undergoes a period of rapid change, understanding how these two conditions feed into each other – and what can be done to prevent them destabilising careers – will be critical for both employee wellbeing and retention. Imposter syndrome is a known issue among professionals. She feels emotionally depleted, and has started to “question the whole point of work” and the value she brings “when other people do the job so much better”.
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Now, with sky-high demand in her industry, she feels she’s showing all the symptoms of burnout. The stress of constantly questioning herself has been compounded by the anxieties of the pandemic and the pressure of remote working, leaving Fiona feeling “exhausted on a daily basis”. Other people seem to, but I just don’t feel it’s warranted,” she says. “Despite the fact I’ve got to the position I’m in, I still don’t believe in myself.
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“You’re always thinking you could be doing better, and that people must be doubting you.”įiona, who has been granted anonymity to protect her professional reputation, has spent her career battling imposter syndrome: the fear she doesn’t truly deserve her success. “People seem to think I'm doing OK, but I really don’t think I am,” says Fiona, a senior manager in her 40s, working in the construction industry in the UK.