A Profit and Loss Statement for Your Life

One approach to dealing with stress and burnout: Think of your emotional and other resources like a portfolio

- By Robin Abrahams and Boris Groysberg

Sometimes people sustain losses that you cannot o set. When this happens, it is natural to feel frustrated and powerless.

STRESSED OUT? The point of being too tapped out to better your own condition is known as “resource depletion”—a state that may have worsened since the start of the pandemic.

HAVE YOU EVER COME HOME at the end of a day too worn out to cook or even order dinner, and fallen asleep with your clothes on? That point of being too tapped out to better your own condition is known as “resource depletion.” It’s part of a theory called “conservation of resources,” a way of thinking about stress, trauma and burnout that has become increasingly influential since psychologist Stevan Hobfoll introduced it in 1989.

Everyone needs food and sleep, but the specific damage a “Hungry Night” does depends on each individual’s circumstances and resources. Consider three different people:

Alex is a 56-year-old ER nurse who planned to move into a less demanding job before the pandemic struck. She is married with a teenage child. She has nights like this several times a week and resents her husband Lonnie for not picking up slack at home.

Miguel is a 22-year-old immigrant working in a meat-processing plant to support his family back home. This has been his nightly routine for the past year. He has no health coverage and his English is poor.