{"id":129533,"date":"2026-05-18T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-therapist-tackles-trickle-down-effect-of-burned-out-bosses\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:00:00","slug":"durango-therapist-tackles-trickle-down-effect-of-burned-out-bosses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-therapist-tackles-trickle-down-effect-of-burned-out-bosses\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango therapist tackles trickle-down effect of burned out bosses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Barbara
Barbara Ferri presents her breakout session titled \u201cBurnout is a Business Issue: Strategies for Sustainable Leadership\u201d at the 14th annual Southwest Colorado Small Business Conference at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio in May. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When bosses are burned out, employees can feel it \u2013 and according to Barbara Ferri, a therapist with Durango-based Solum Life Therapy, that can create tension in a workplace that might ultimately lead to a business\u2019 downfall.<\/p>\n

In a 2024 poll<\/a> conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than half of employee respondents in all role levels said they felt burned out because of their job in the past year, and 37% reported feeling so overwhelmed that it impacted their ability to do their job well. Managers reported a 54% burnout rate \u2013 close to 15% higher than the burnout rate reported by entry-level employees.<\/p>\n

Ferri discussed the concept of burned-out supervisors causing burned-out employees during the Southwest Colorado Small Business Conference in Ignacio earlier this month.<\/p>\n

An employer\u2019s nervous system effectively becomes their leadership style when they\u2019re under pressure, Ferri said \u2013 and that can create an energy shift in the workplace that can spell disaster over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour team responds to your nervous system, not just your words,\u201d she said. \u201cAs a leader, you\u2019re the nucleus. You are the person projecting and rippling through everybody else. \u2026 You\u2019re going to create a stressed team that has tension and a sense of urgency constantly, a sense that we can\u2019t take breaks. That\u2019s terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

A stressful work environment as a result of a stressed out boss can burn out employees to the point of eventually driving them away, Ferri said \u2013 even if a company offers high pay and good benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs leaders, we don\u2019t want to create places that people want to leave,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a huge business expense (to drive employees away).\u201d<\/p>\n

Bosses \u2013 and employees \u2013 ignoring signals that they\u2019re burning out is a problem across the workforce, Ferri said, in part because of a common misconception that stress equals productivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this belief that, \u2018If I\u2019m not stressed, I\u2019m not productive \u2013 I\u2019m not getting things done, (and) I need to feel this way,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201c\u2026 People are so accustomed to feeling on edge that they don\u2019t want to let it go.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a nervous system is stressed, thinking narrows, reactions speed up and leadership capacity drops, Ferri said \u2013 all of which can deplete a boss\u2019 ability to lead their team well.<\/p>\n

Though addressing burnout is a long-term process that involves closely evaluating which day-to-day demands in one\u2019s workplace are truly sustainable, there are some micro-adjustments employers can make during the work day to shift their mood and help decrease the stress in a work environment, she said.<\/p>\n

Some of these strategies include checking in with one\u2019s nervous system so burnout can be identified to begin with; taking an intentional five-minute biological reset before high stakes meetings or work demands; taking a \u201cpost-conflict pause\u201d in a different physical space following any acute operational friction; and \u201cmodeling the break\u201d for employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cModeling the break\u201d means leadership granting their employees permission to recover and rest through modeling self-care in their own work, Ferri said. This can look like bosses visibly taking breaks themselves \u2013 not just telling others to \u2013 and showing employees it\u2019s OK to take time to nourish themselves during their work day by taking time to eat and drink regularly, preferably away from the desk.<\/p>\n

Sharina Ramsay-Adams, owner of Adams Overhead Door in Durango, said she\u2019s pushed through burnout at her job before, and that she wants to be intentional about not inadvertently modeling burnout for her employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t eat lunch while I\u2019m working. But I see where that might actually make my (employees) think, \u2018Oh, well, we can just push through and not eat,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBut, no, I want (my employees) to stop. (I\u2019ve realized) if I don\u2019t take the lunch, maybe that\u2019s why they don\u2019t take the lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramsay-Adams said she\u2019s seen the impact the energy of higher-ups at the company \u2013 including her own \u2013 can have on employees, and that she\u2019s committed to incorporating more burnout-prevention measures to help retain employees and keep staff members motivated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy chaotic energy creates chaotic energy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Loretta Velasquez, who works with senior in-home care company Home Instead, said burnout is a common issue in the health care field. She said she\u2019s witnessed some people in leadership roles at her work trying to push through burnout in an unhealthy way that has led to stressful interactions with employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigher ups are not providing a decent environment for people that work in high-stress jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re not doing their part to protect their business, because without employees, you\u2019ve got nothing. You\u2019re only as good as your team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some employers may be unable to rise to the challenge of addressing their own burnout and keeping it from spreading to their workforce, Ferri said \u2013 and in those cases, it may be time for employees to seek alternative work.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many times I have people in my practice that \u2026 have learned their boundaries, and they started resting and doing all these things, but it\u2019s like (they\u2019re) on an uphill battle,\u201d she said. \u201cSome places are just toxic, and you\u2019re not going to out-nervous system it. I wish you could, but sometimes, sadly, people have to leave their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Ferri\u2019s eyes, the success of a business is directly tied to how successful bosses are at regulating themselves and modeling work-life balance for their employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour nervous system state is not separate from your business, it is shaping it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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