Don’t stop believin’: the journey to entrepreneurial burnout and back again

Abstract

Burnout is a well-studied phenomenon that can cause deleterious effects to any organization, especially if the organization is a recent startup. It has been suggested that burnout is often prevented by psychological capital and/or passion, both of which entrepreneurs seem to have in abundance. However, recent attention has been directed toward entrepreneurial burnout, a phenomenon that occurs when an entrepreneur is overcome with stress and considers throwing in the towel. Grounded theory-building techniques are used to analyze data from a new venture with a first-time entrepreneur. Data includes 15 months of financial reports, sales reports, observations, social media posts/reviews and interview data. A chronic lack of resources, high expectations, and a loss of hope potentially lead to powerful negative emotions such as burnout. More than other psychological capital components, hope seemed to be the key contributor to a downward spiral and to a renewal of passion and energy. This research is unique for a few reasons. First, it singles out the power of hope in the burnout literature. Second, the researchers had the opportunity to have incredible access during their 15-month data gathering. Third, the researchers were able to witness an entrepreneur in both a downward (negative) and upward (positive) cycle.

RÉSUMÉ

Le burnout est un phénomène bien étudié qui peut causer des effets néfastes à toute organisation, surtout si celle-ci est une jeune entreprise. Il a été suggéré que le burnout est souvent prévenu par le capital psychologique et/ou la passion, deux qualités que les entrepreneurs semblent avoir en abondance. Cependant, l’attention s’est récemment portée sur le burnout des entrepreneurs, un phénomène qui se produit lorsqu’un entrepreneur est accablé par le stress et qu’il envisage de jeter l’éponge. Des techniques d’élaboration de théories ancrées sont utilisées pour analyser les données d’un nouvel entrepreneur qui en est à sa première entreprise. Les données comprennent quinze mois de rapports financiers, de rapports de ventes, d’observations, d’articles/de revues dans les médias sociaux et de données d’entretiens. Le manque chronique de ressources, des attentes élevées et une perte d’espoir conduisent potentiellement à des émotions négatives puissantes comme le burnout professionnel. Plus que d’autres composantes du capital psychologique, l’espoir semblait être le principal facteur contribuant à une spirale descendante et à un renouvellement de la passion et de l’énergie. Cette recherche est unique pour deux raisons. Premièrement, elle met l’accent sur la puissance de l’espoir dans littérature sur le burnout. Deuxièmement, les chercheurs ont eu l’occasion d’avoir un accès incroyable pendant leurs quinze jours de collecte de données. Troisièmement, les chercheurs ont pu observer un entrepreneur dans un cycle à la fois descendant (négatif) et ascendant (positif).

KEYWORDS:

• Entrepreneurship
• burnout
• hope
• passion
• qualitative

Mots-clés:

• Qualitatif
• Burnout
• Entrepreneur
• Espoir

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Ross

John is an author, entrepreneur, award-winning public speaker and teacher. John started as a 7th grade history and English teacher, then a program manager of musical events and eventually ended up as a project lead at one of the world's leading manufacturing companies. He has started and consulted with numerous successful small businesses. Currently, he is employed as an assistant professor of leadership and entrepreneurship at Indiana University Southeast's School of Business.

Hank Strevel

Hank Strevel is an Assistant Professor at Purdue Fort Wayne University. He has a BA in Psychology, an MA in Communication Studies, an MA in Public Administration, and a PhD in Business Administration. He is a US Armed Forces veteran and has a plethora of experience in the private sector in small business entrepreneurship and consulting. His scholarly interests encompass strategic decision-making, artificial intelligence, and storytelling.

Bahar Javadizadeh

Dr. Bahareh Javadizadeh is an Assistant Professor of Management at Indiana State University who specializes in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. Her research in organizational behavior revolves around creating a better workplace environment for all employees. She is especially interested in the individual and organizational outcomes of perceived identity threat in the workplace, the creation of façades of conformity as a coping mechanism. Moreover, she has an interest in exploring glass ceiling beliefs among women and minorities. Her research in human resource management outlines the influence of organizational resources, such as training and staffing, on service performance.