Karolina: This year, Culture Shock Foundation has launched REFLOW. What is this tool and how can it help NGO employees?
Agata: REFLOW is a tool for NGO employees that examines the risk of professional burnout. It helps us pause and reflect on how we function at work. It helps us identify whether we might be on the path to burnout and shows what supports us and what increases the risk that we’ll become overloaded. It’s an invitation to reflect on ourselves and check what’s happening with us at the moment.
Karolina: Why is it worth knowing it?
Agata: The first step towards change is awareness. It’s only when I notice that something’s happening to me, in my life or my professional environment that I can consider what I need and what I want to change. REFLOW helps us take this first step.
Karolina: While completing the test, you may be surprised how many questions don’t concern work directly. Why does it cover other areas of life as well?
Agata: Burnout occurs when, for a long time, the requirements exceed our resources to cope with them. Our whole life situation matters. When we’re going through a personal crisis, lacking sleep or support, it’s more difficult for us to face what we come across at work as well. That’s why we’re asking about resources – everything that helps regain strength and balance: rest, physical activity, relationships, possibilities to ask for help, setting boundaries or contact with things that give us pleasure and a sense of meaning. We also consider the patterns learnt at home that influence the way we treat ourselves and function professionally.
Karolina: There are also questions about using technologies.
Agata: Nowadays, technologies are an inseparable part of work and life in general. They can both support and exhaust us. It’s worth checking if the way we use them serves us and how it influences our nervous system. The longer we worked on the test, the more clearly we saw how many areas of life affect our wellbeing at work.
Karolina: How to prepare for taking the test?
Agata: It’s worth setting aside around 20–30 minutes and ensuring that you’re in a quiet, private environment. It’s good to choose a moment without rushing and other tasks, as well as to treat this time as a meeting with yourself.
Karolina: After completing the test, we receive an extensive report. How is it built?
Agata: The report reflects the construction of the test. It shows a general level of burnout risk and then the condition of our resources and symptoms visible in four dimensions: somatic, emotional, cognitive and behavioural. It’s worth treating the results as suggestions and hypotheses about our current situation.
The somatic dimension refers to the body: tension, pain of unknown origin, problems with sleep, the stomach or other physical ailments linked to chronic stress.
The emotional dimension shows how we feel about our work. The signs can include depression, indifference, anger or irritation at the very thought of starting work or completing a specific task.
In the cognitive dimension, problems with concentration and attention occur; we may also hold negative beliefs about ourselves and our work: I’m not cut out for this, this isn't the right place for me, all this makes no sense.
Karolina: The inner saboteur grows stronger.
Agata: When a burnout crisis affects us, negative thoughts can become stronger and stronger and evoke difficult emotions. All these areas interact, although we describe them separately in the report.
The last dimension, behavioral, concerns our behavior. We may isolate ourselves from our colleagues, react cynically or spitefully, put off tasks, have bigger and bigger difficulties completing them and lose motivation.
Karolina: So the report allows us to see the general level of risk and the way overload manifests itself in our lives.
Agata: Yes. These four dimensions were developed based on Christina Maslach’s work on burnout and the work of Albert Ellis, one of the pioneers of cognitive behavioural therapy. They let us see the links between the body, emotions, thoughts and behavior.
Karolina: How to read the report, what is worth paying attention to?
Agata: First, it’s worth looking at the general level of burnout risk. If it’s high or very high, let’s treat it as a warning sign and consider talking to a psychologist, psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Then, we can check which areas affect the result most and what protects us at the moment.
Karolina: While completing the test, is it possible to have thoughts such as: Something’s wrong with me or I shouldn’t use technologies like this?
Agata: We experience questions in different ways. We all have vulnerable spots that the test may touch on. Then a thought may appear: something’s wrong with me. It’s one of the strong mechanisms contributing to burnout. If this thought leads to self-blame and intensifies suffering, it’s an important sign. My beliefs and the way I treat myself may contribute to burnout or protect me from it. That’s why it’s worth showing ourselves compassion and care.
Karolina: What can we do with more detailed results?
Agata: Treat them as a map. The report shows where we can focus our attention and what we can begin with. It may turn out that our exhaustion is associated with work in the first place. Other areas of life or a decline in our resources may also be the source. For example, if I see that the way I use technologies burdens me and I feel overstimulated, I can think of a small, specific step: muting notifications, not checking messages after work or limiting doomscrolling.
Karolina: The report is accompanied by recommendations. They are a commentary on the result obtained and an encouragement to make changes to the daily routine.
Agata: Completing the test and reading the report are actions themselves – a moment of meeting with ourselves. The recommendations help us translate reflection into small steps tailored to our needs and abilities. It’s worth giving yourself some time to accept the result, especially if it evokes difficult emotions. You can rest, drink tea, talk to your loved one, ask for a hug or reach out for professional support. What matters then is time, a sense of security and limiting the pressure to make immediate changes.
Karolina: So knowledge gives us a choice.
Agata: Yes. It helps us regain a sense of influence and consider the next steps. Counteracting burnout also includes work organization and conditions in which we function. We can check what we can influence, what we need from others and where it’s worth looking for support. This is where change can begin.
