A personal experience with burnout led Zahaan Bharmal, a Google employee and recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Public Achievement medal, to reflect on the principles of physics to understand the complexities of work and stress. In a world increasingly defined by chaotic systems, Bharmal argues that the expectation to operate at full capacity contributes significantly to mental health challenges.
Bharmal’s journey began with a strong belief in the predictability of the universe, heavily influenced by Newton’s second law of motion: “force equals mass times acceleration.” This principle instilled in him the notion that hard work equated to success. However, after being made redundant just nine months into his first job during the tumultuous summer of 2001, he faced a harsh reality that contradicted this belief. The collapse of the dotcom bubble had financial repercussions that rippled through his management consultancy, leading to widespread job cuts.
Understanding the broader context of his layoff was crucial for Bharmal. He recognized that similar crises occurred throughout the years, including the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crash, the eurozone crisis in 2011, the rupee crash in 2013, and turbulence in the Chinese stock market in 2015. Each of these events exemplified chaotic systems where minor failures escalated into significant disasters, highlighting a critical gap in predictability.
Bharmal draws parallels between these financial crises and personal experiences of stress and burnout. He illustrates how chaotic systems operate under the premise that small changes can lead to drastically different outcomes. The “three-body problem” serves as an analogy, where adding a third planet to a two-body system creates complexity that defies straightforward predictions. This concept resonates in everyday life, where individuals often strive for control by maximizing efficiency, inadvertently making themselves more vulnerable.
A recent report from Mental Health UK revealed that 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme stress in the past year, with young people facing the most pressure. The report highlighted that nearly half of young workers regularly engage in unpaid overtime, while 84% of desk workers feel pressured to work beyond their scheduled hours. This systemic expectation to operate at maximum capacity mirrors Bharmal’s experience, where he learned the importance of incorporating slack into his daily routine to build personal resilience.
Drawing on another physics principle, Bharmal likens stress to heating water, where it remains unchanged until it reaches a critical boiling point. This analogy emphasizes that stress accumulates over time, leading to sudden transformations such as burnout. The notion that people can absorb strain for extended periods before reaching a breaking point reflects a critical aspect of mental health.
To combat burnout, Bharmal emphasizes the necessity of allowing for recovery and establishing a balance between work and personal life. He posits that society has cultivated an economy that glorifies overwork while framing burnout as a personal failure rather than a systemic issue. The alarming increase in individuals leaving the workforce due to mental health conditions signals a need for reevaluation.
Bharmal advocates for recognizing that resilience requires inefficiency and that robust systems must incorporate slack. Until this perspective shifts, society risks continuing down a path that prioritizes optimization over wellbeing.
He concludes by reiterating that while Newton’s second law remains relevant, it is equally important to understand the value of knowing when to ease off. By applying these lessons from physics to personal and professional lives, individuals may find a path towards sustainable success and improved mental health.
