Is It “Angry August” or Are You Burnt Out?
An in-depth examination and resource for the outdoor guiding industry to identify, address, and prevent burnout in the workplace.
Written and compiled by Carly Knudson
Every professional guide knows that feeling. It's nearing the end of a long season and everything feels more difficult. You’re tired mentally, physically, socially and spiritually; you’re sick of your coworkers; you’re sick of your clients; you start wondering what brought you here in the first place. You are dreaming about air conditioning and watching mindless TV on a couch… any couch will do.
For multi-day river guides, it may look something like this:
With twelve week-long trips under your belt with few-to-no days off, you have started sneaking hot dogs in the kitchen instead of eating steak dinners with the guests, your interp sounds like a sad broken record player, you feel like you might plot a murder of your coworker if you hear their version of John Denver’s “Country Roads” around the fire one more time, you realize dragging your boat through the Lake Creek shallows in your Carharts just isn’t as cute and funny as it once was, and the only joke you feel like you’re telling anymore is your response when guests ask you: “So, what do you do for a real job?”
Guiding provides us with a sense of purpose, place, passion, and clarity that few (if any) occupations can match. It presents and requires a spectrum of skills that are practical, dynamic, engaging, and multidimensional. We love what we do, our “offices” exist in some of the coolest places on the planet, some of our closest, life-long friends are also our co-workers, we get to share our love for wild spaces, and somehow, all while getting paid for it! We are consistently praised by our clients and people with “normal” jobs about how interesting, admirable, and bold our life and work is, some even threatening to quit their job as a stock broker for a career change to join us next season.
So… why are so many of us guides so burnt out?
Amidst the joy, glamour, and perks that the life of a guide holds, the realities of this industry have real consequences and sacrifices that are being increasingly talked about as mental health concerns are slowly becoming de-stigmatized in our community (see one example in Outdoor Magazine’s recent article). Despite the fact that outdoor recreation is one of the nation’s largest economic sectors and the demand for outdoor leaders and professionals is booming now more than ever, guide and guide-related turnover is high, leaving many outfitters struggling to find and maintain qualified professionals. While guiding is often seen as an idyllic and enviable lifestyle, as an industry we have historically flaunted “no days off” as a badge of honor. There are expectations of putting in 15+ hour work days, and juggling roles as entertainers, line cooks, servers, skilled outdoor navigators, weight lifters, medics, coaches, babysitters, inspirational speakers and tour guide extraordinaires. When matched with little sleep, substance use and abuse norms, precarious seasonal work, built-in systemic hierarchies, and a “don’t ask don’t tell’ mental health culture, it is no surprise that many of us experience the workplace phenomenon of burnout.
While most guides need little convincing of the fact that burnout exists within our culture, it seems apparent that the conversation and expectations associated with it are due for a reexamination. For generations, burnout in the guiding industry has been considered just another aspect of the job, and any sort of questioning of the hierarchies, job roles, work-life balance, and unsustainability of it all is seen as someone who is “just not cut out” for the exclusive club of super-human guiding warriors. (Guides don’t get hungry, sick, tired, cold, hot, scared, etc.) Tireless hard work during the season is just another sacrifice for the glamorous lifestyle choices that comes with being a guide. If you don’t like it, just do something else!
Unfortunately, for many of us, “just doing something else,” isn’t that simple. We love the places we work, we love our jobs, we love our coworkers, we care about the places we work and the people we share them with. Many of us feel that we have few options outside of guiding, not having the capacity for “normal” 9-5 jobs and two week vacation time and not wanting to lose our identity and camaraderie that guiding offers. And for that, the pure undying love and passion for our work, we often sacrifice stability, security, our health, and sometimes lose sight of what brought us to this line of work in the first place. We continue season after season in a state of burnout. This burnout cycle not only impacts the guides as individuals, but also impacts outfitters who are having to replace, retrain, and retain new guides in a highly specialized profession.
At the end of the day, guiding is our occupation, and no matter how much you do it for the love of the outdoors, sport, lifestyle, etc., you should still be able to ask for the tools and resources that you need to succeed as a healthy and effective employee. Throughout this resource, I will explain from a seasonal/ guide lens what “burnout” in the workplace is, how it manifests, how to identify it, factors that contribute to it, and consider some potential solutions to address burnout in the guiding community.
What is burnout?
What’s commonly referred to in the river guiding community as “Angry August,” has a more clinical definition that is becoming increasingly researched as a serious health and well-being threat to individuals. What’s known as “burnout” is probably something you’ve heard colloquially spoken before, but is a concept that was originally coined in the 1970’s to refer to workplace exhaustion due to chronic stress, high ideals, high demands, and lack of (perceived or real) support.
A majority of studies have examined burnout in the “helping professions” such as with healthcare providers and educators. However, the concept is being discovered more frequently in all sorts of other professions, such as in elite athletes, coaches, first responders, and service industry workers. And lucky for us guides, we fit into the “all of the above” category!
Burnout has been defined as a psychological condition with three main components:
Exhaustion (emotional) is a fatigue that can come from caring too much, for too long. This is different from feeling “tired” after a long day of work: it’s more chronic and less attributable to specific causes. For guides, as being members of the “helper” and “giver” professions in an intense, demanding schedule, many of us deeply understand this feeling.
Depersonalization or cynicism is the depletion of empathy, caring, and compassion. For guides, this may manifest in feelings towards clients, other guides and personal relationships, or your outfitter.
Decreased sense of accomplishment is an unconquerable sense of futility, or feeling that nothing you do makes any difference. Though many of us start a trip or a season with feelings of stewardship, a clear sense of purpose and passion for the place, goals for the season, etc., as time goes on these feelings often diminish.
Distinguishing between burnout and other similar conditions:
Burnout can manifest in many different ways, but is generally experienced in the form of emotional/ psychological symptoms. It is often associated with feelings of cynicism, decline in workplace motivation, performance, and participation, increases in emotional volatility, strife in social relationships, and physical complications relating to chronic stress. There is also evidence revealing that there are gender-differences in burnout, in which the research notes that people that identify as women often experience burnout as emotional exhaustion, and people that identify as men experienced it more often as feeling lack of productivity and workplace satisfaction.
Workplace stress, on the other hand, is experienced as physical symptoms, and is a short term state that usually manifests as overproductivity, anxiousness, hyper-active or urgent behavior (ie. a guide that feels as though you need to be constantly working to “prove yourself” to your team and outfitter.) Stress that is not properly acknowledged or dealt with can lead to chronic stress, which in the workplace can turn into burnout. More severe states of traumatic stress can manifest as stress injuries such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
A similar condition that is often associated with burnout is a concept known as compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue can make it feel difficult to feel empathy, or “numb” to a patient/ client's needs. This is often due to consistent exposure to direct and indirect trauma, stress, or constant tending to the needs of others. Compassion fatigue is often seen in first responders, people in mental health professions, or other medical professions, but is also being identified more commonly in other areas of work.
Unchecked chronic stress and/ or burnout has been shown to have potential to progress into more serious mental health problems such as anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as chronic physical problems. While severity and symptom expression varies greatly between individuals, these are more long-term conditions with mood regulation difficulties, feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, difficulties concentrating or sleeping, physical problems such as chronic aches and pains, or suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
Guide-specific factors (stressors) contributing to burnout:
Factors that have been consistently identified in the workplace that contribute to burnout include lack of control, unclear job expectations, dysfunctional workplace dynamics, extremes of activity, lack of social support, work-life imbalances, high job demands and expectations, and feeling a lack of mastery or opportunities for development. However, when reading or listening to most discussions about occupational burnout, there are very few that can accurately conceptualize the unique factors that encompass a professional outdoor guiding career (many state that “going outside more” and “exercising more frequently” are the best burnout solutions). While there are some professions that have more parallels than an office job, such as nursing, firefighters and first responders, athletes, or military personnel, there is not much research at this point that provides solutions that are catered to our unique lifestyles and circumstances.
With combining personal stories, anonymous polls, individual guide interviews and anecdotes with existing burnout research, I have compiled a list of industry-specific factors that contribute to guides’ burnout experiences. Below, I have categorized them to examine how these unique experiences might relate to existing evidence-based burnout factors. Many will most likely hold to be more true to some than others based on personal experiences of burnout, length and type of season, who they work for, their relationship with their company, what type of guiding they’re doing, how long they’ve been guiding, their background, or access to additional resources. For more in-depth examples of these factors, check out our Redside Foundation “Burnout Companion Guide.”
Lack of Control. “Control” can be conceptualized in a number of ways; whether it be the inherent dynamics of working for someone else (pay rates, job placement), or more complex, guide-specific factors that are out of our control such as environmental factors and aspects that come along with seasonal work, such as job, housing, or community insecurity. Feelings of lack of control may also come with the inability to filter the types of client interactions we are encountering, or feeling like you are part of a “serving” class/ position.
Unclear/ High Job Demands and Expectations. While existing literature has two separate categories for “unclear job expectations” and “high job demands and expectations,” I find the guiding profession has overlap between the two, of an often unspoken pressure to continuously work hard, while not communicating when enough is enough. There are jokes of guides asking how to do tasks, and being told to “follow their hearts,” or poking fun by asking “you’re not going to do it that way are you?” While it’s mostly in good jest, these sorts of behaviors and attitudes add up over time. There are sometimes additional ambiguities within companies such as who qualifies for which pay scale, how to work in different regions or with different job positions and development opportunities, what is expected from you as a guide, etc.
Dysfunctional Workplace Dynamics. Being fairly broad and open to interpretation, this varies greatly depending on an individual’s outfitter and company policies. There are also some inherent, systemic problems built into the guiding industry that could fit in this category. Some examples may include work expectations and lack of bandwidth causing sacrifice of personal health, feeling exploited as a guide or working with a crew/ outfitter that does not respect you. Other organizational issues may stem from taboos of taking personal time, discussing personal issues, or having personal needs. Additionally, there may be the stress of navigating inherent systemic oppression based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, etc. that lead to barriers to entering and fairly navigating within the industry.
Extremes of Activity. Guiding itself is often extreme in multiple capacities: length of our work day, lack of breaks and quick turnaround time between trips, demanding emotional and physical labor, juggling between roles as a guide, and lack of work/ life balance during a season. This is often described as feeling like a guide always has to be “on”.
Lack of Social Support. Whether it be personal relationships outside of our work life or with dynamics between guides and outfitters, social support is an essential aspect to feeling seen, heard, and respected in a workplace. There are at times limited or lack of direct communication between guides or between guides and outfitters. Additionally, social connection and community can be difficult and complicated for seasonal employees, as many of us have multiple communities that are difficult to stay in touch with during the guiding season, and vice versa in the off-season.
Work-Life Imbalances. With the inherent nature of the work, it seems to be many guide’s MO to “work during the season, and live during the off-season.” For many of us, there is an inherent connection between a love of the outdoors, our profession, our personal life, and our identities, and there are blurred lines between our “work” and “life.” While there is both beauty and sacrifice with this fact and with seasonal work, some of the “life” sacrifices that are made during the working season are apparent contributing factors to burnout. With little personal time during the season, examples may include compromise of physical health routines such as diet, exercise, skin care, psychological care, dental care, physical health check ups, or lack of social support and connection. In guiding, there are also high rates of substance use that are considered a norm in the culture.
Feeling Lack of Mastery/ Challenge/ Opportunities for Development. When first entering the guiding industry, it feels as though there are many milestones to accomplish- whether it be gaining status and compensation for being a lead guide, working in a certain location, obtaining certifications, and perhaps even gaining experience in a different discipline for year-round guiding employment. However, once you feel like you have nowhere else to go, this can contribute to key components of burnout: feeling a decreased sense of accomplishment or purpose, as well as a sense of lack of control.
Guide-specific solutions for combating burnout:
When considering addressing stress and burnout, there are multiple layers to consider. Based upon concepts from the work done by the Nagoski sisters in their book “Burnout,” while the first step includes understanding what burnout is, how it manifests in your body, and which factors contribute to your burnout experience, your solutions will be multifaceted. Not only will you need to come up with a plan to handle your stressors, but you will also need to figure out how to address your stress itself.
Recognizing that there is a difference between what is stressing you out and how your body is reacting to the stress are essential components of taking the steps to addressing burnout. Strategies for dealing with stressors are most likely not going to deal with your body’s manifestation of the physical, emotional, and mental impacts of stress, and vice versa. While dealing with stress will often be a more personal, self-care type of work, addressing stressors is a more “top-down” sort of approach.
While some factors that contribute are controllable as a guide, many will be inherently out of your control as an individual, and are systemic, organizational, or environmental. How you deal with a controllable stressor will look differently than uncontrollable stressors.
(For a guided worksheet to deeper explore your burnout experience, including more in-depth examples of factors contributing to burnout, and guide-specific ideas for solutions, see our Redside Foundation Burnout Companion Guide.)
Addressing controllable stressors- planful problem solving.
Planful problem solving entails situations in which a problem presents that is within your control as an individual guide and crew member. When deeming a problem as “solvable,” you are able to make a plan to change or address the issue from a top-down approach. Solutions often come from effective and direct communication, being open and honest with yourself, your coworkers, and your employer, creating self-care routines, or utilizing or creating resources. It may feel overwhelming to try and address everything all at once, so it can be helpful to try to focus on a few that feel like they are most contributing to your workplace stress and burnout. Below is a broad list of solutions to common problems associated with guide burnout.
Grasp a greater sense of control in the profession. Grasping a sense of control often comes with effective and direct communication with your employer and coworkers as to understand job expectations, pay scales, etc (see below, “clarify job demands and expectations). Additionally, planning for seasonal instability (financial plans, housing, community building, off-season employment) may help gain a sense of security.
Clarify job demands and expectations. Whether it is your pay scale, positions of leadership, how an outfitter or trip leader wants a certain task completed, when it is okay to take breaks and for how long, etc., guiding is an occupation, (no matter how fun it is!) and ambiguity is not usually the best approach. Though this job often encourages a kind of “learn as you go and gain experience” tactic, this can often lead to miscommunications and hard feelings between guides and with outfitters, spoken or not. Informal 15-30 minute breaks where you hang out and check-in within your crew, having pre/ post trip meetings, or asking for formal outlines of company policies are all possible helpful solutions.
Build strong social support systems. Social support and a sense of strong community is one of the key factors to building resiliency, combating burnout, and contributes to mental and physical health outcomes. As many of us have multiple communities, it is important to make an effort to connect those close to us within our industry, and outside of our industry. Additionally, finding a company and crew that is supportive, equitable, respectful, and aligns with your personal values is extremely valuable. Acting as a role model and advocate within your team may also prove to set an example for others, that it is okay for people to have bad days, make mistakes, take a break, etc.
Work to create more of a work-life balance throughout the season. Working to create “work-life balance” can be a little more complicated for guides, as many of us consider our work to be our life/ identity. However, sustainability within this career calls for recognition that we are not invincible, we all have human needs, and at the end of a day, this is a job, and we still need to take care of ourselves and know how much to invest. Integrating, short, attainable self-care routines, monitoring or cutting back on substance use, and taking breaks when we need it (short breaks during trips, and taking weeks off if financially feasible) are all ways to work towards this.
Find opportunities for personal growth and development. Both inside of guiding and outside of guiding, experiencing challenges and opportunities for growth and development help to keep the profession interesting and dynamic. Try to communicate with your outfitter and team about goals you may have as a guide; new skills you want to improve at; leadership, instructional, or mentorship roles you may want to have; or different rivers, yurts, hunting zones, or guiding regions you want to work in. You may also get to a point that you want to get creative or look for greater, more extreme versions of change, such as guiding in a completely new discipline or area or for a new outfitter, transitioning to a more off-water/ managerial role, outfitting yourself, starting your own business or trade, or a total career change. These feelings and transitions are normal, and whether you feel you are “burned out” or not, we all come to a time in our lives when transitions occur.
Addressing uncontrollable stressors- positive reappraisal.
Positive reappraisal techniques entail situations in which a problem presents that is not within your control as an individual guide and crew member, and is usually industrial or organizational. In “Burnout: The Secret to Completing the Stress Cycle,” (Nagoski, E. & Nagoski, A.) positive reappraisal is determined to mean that “deciding that the effort, the discomfort, the frustration, the unanticipated obstacles, and even the repeated failure have value- not just because they are steps toward a worthwhile goal, but because you reframe the difficulties as opportunities for growth and learning.” This is reminding yourself of the reasons you are here in the first place as a guide, remembering what keeps you going, practicing gratitude, etc. Within uncontrollable stressors, learning and practicing ways to deal with the stress itself will also likely prove to be beneficial.
Checking in and reminding yourself why guiding is important (to you, society, clients, etc.) Whether it be the nature of the work, occupational flexibility, the ability to work outside, opportunities for education and stewardship, etc., try and remember what brought you to guiding in the first place. What keeps you going and in the industry? What inherent values does guiding and our profession bring to the people we serve/ society?
Remembering the unique, dynamic, skill sets that guiding requires. And that it is a legitimate career! Sometimes, no matter what your position is or what your background is, it is difficult to feel validated in our industry when clients, peers, family, and society directly or indirectly ask when we are going to “get a real job.” It is easy to forget how many incredible skills guiding requires and grants you with, and that many people just honestly can’t conceptualize what a career or lifestyle looks like outside of a year-round, 9-5 position. It does not mean you are” less than” or “doing it wrong”, it means you are creative, passionate, and adaptable!
Reminding yourself of personal values and goals. Personal goal setting is an extremely valuable tool in combating burnout. Setting attainable, realistic, and simple goals for your season, your career as a guide, and in your lifetime are good check-in exercises to employ. Additionally, continuing to show up for your personal values in the workplace is extremely beneficial.
Recognize the strengths that you already have to combat stress, burnout, and adversity (ie, resiliency!) We all have inherent traits and characteristics that make us adaptable, strong, and able to handle difficult situations. (Check out a character strengths test here.) Some of our strengths may be different than our crew members, and it may be helpful to recognize that while you may be very graceful with your social skills and leadership abilities, another guide may excel in other places, such as in bravery and perseverance. Learning to lean into your strengths and how to work together as a team can prove to be incredibly beneficial in combating burnout.
Work on gratitude and self-compassion practices. Gratitude has been scientifically proven to improve mental and physical health, sleep quality, relationship strength, self-esteem, resilience, and help to combat stress and burnout. Simply writing down or acknowledging a few things you are grateful for may seem simple, but goes a long way. Additionally, positive self-talk, giving yourself permission to feel stress, burnout, other feelings, and recognizing stressors can help to validate your experiences.
Validating stress, emotions, discomfort, and conflicts. It is important for us to be advocates for the guiding industry that we want to see. A lot of what may contribute to stress and burnout in our industry is the fact that burnout, stress, and hardships within guiding are often not talked about, which can feel very isolating. Along with practicing self-compassion, it can be very helpful to find someone you trust, whether it be a coworker, another person in the industry, or a person in your company’s management to discuss feelings of conflict and burnout. Remember that if you are feeling burnt out, odds are people around you are also feeling similarly. It is usually simpler to acknowledge and change unhealthy dynamics as they occur rather than letting them build up over time and turn into colossal, complex issues.
*Bonus: Planful Problem Solving Meets “Uncontrollable Stressors:” If there are larger, systemic issues that feel out of your control as an individual guide or with your outfitter, there are always opportunities for teamwork and collective action to advocate for issues that you feel strongly about. Whether it be bringing up issues to your outfitter, organizations within the industry, or contacting local policy makers, multiple voices are louder than one.
Dealing with the stress itself:
Just because you recognized or managed a stressor does not mean that you have dealt with the stress itself. Your body cannot distinguish between actual, physical stress and emotional/ mental stress, and often will hold onto the stress with physical symptoms until it can recognize that the stressor is no longer a threat. How one deals with stress depends greatly on how stress manifests in your body (check back to burnout signs and symptoms), the resources you have, your personality type, etc.
One way to signal to your body that a stressor is no longer a threat is to try and “complete the stress cycle,” with an intentional action or behavior. Examples of this shown to help include intentional, physical movement or exercise, intentional, slowed, deep breathing, positive social interaction, deep, belly laughter, creativity, or displays of affection. For more information on what a stress cycle is, listen to or read the Nagoski sisters work on burnout and the stress cycle.
Other suggestions to cope with stress from the CDC include:
Physical health routines (Diet, exercise, sleep, taking breaks, avoiding excessive substance use)
Emotional/ mental health routines (Journaling, gratitude practices, meditation/ mindfulness practices, communicating with others about conflicts/ feelings)
Connecting with community
How does all of this relate to resilience?
Resilience is one of the most effective tools shown to combat burnout, and broadly refers to the ability to handle and cope with stress, stressors, and adversity. Being resilient does not mean that people don’t experience stress, emotional upheaval, or suffering, but that they have the tools to deal with it in a healthy way. Many of our suggested “tips and tricks” for stress and stressors also help build resilience: such as social engagement, self-awareness and self-care, attention and focus, finding meaning/ purpose, and having a “growth mindset.” Other ideas include engagement in service, self-reflection, being connected to others, and having opportunities for self-efficacy and mastery. Note: Redside offers multiple opportunities for guides to develop resilience, including workshops with the Responder Alliance. If you, your outfitter, or your crew may be interested in additional information, contact us.
Moving Beyond the Guide
Though many previous interventions focus on the individual, it is important to note that many contributing factors to burnout occur on a systems-level. It is important to take care of both the person and the job by strengthening and taking care of the individual and also balancing the demands and resources of the job. This means approaching the topic of burnout as a collaborative, supportive, and compassionate team effort between guides, outfitters, and industry leaders. Throughout this article are ideas based on feedback I have received from various companies, outfitters, and guides. In order to see real, meaningful, and lasting change in an industry that is long overdue, it will take strategic planning, creativity, respect, effective and thoughtful communication and feedback, and the continual building and utilization of support systems within our community.
For additional resources and access to our downloadable Burnout Companion Guide, check out our burnout resource page.
Copeland, D. (2021). Brief workplace interventions addressing burnout, compassion fatigue, and teamwork: A pilot study. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 43(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945920938048
Gottschall, Shannon, and Eva Guérin. “Organizational and Non-Organizational Risk and Resilience Factors Associated with Mental Health and Well-Being in the Royal Canadian Navy.” Current Psychology, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01508-x.
Hall, Justin, and Jeremy Jostad. “Turnover of Outdoor Adventure Education Field Staff.” Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, vol. 12, no. 2, 2020, https://doi.org/10.18666/jorel-2020-v12-i2-9853.
Kolaski, Alexandra Z., and Jennifer M. Taylor. “Critical Factors for Field Staff: The Relationship between Burnout, Coping, and Vocational Purpose.” Journal of Experiential Education, vol. 42, no. 4, 2019, pp. 398–416., https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825919868817.
Koutsimani P, Montgomery A and Georganta K (2019) The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Psychol. 10:284. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284
Lewis, Patrick. “Embracing the Mystery Box: How Outdoor Leaders Discover and Sustain Their Way of Life.” Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, vol. 10, no. 4, 2018, pp. 304–322., https://doi.org/10.18666/jorel-2018-v10-i4-8745.
Lilian Jans-Beken, Nele Jacobs, Mayke Janssens, Sanne Peeters, Jennifer Reijnders, Lilian Lechner & Johan Lataster (2020) Gratitude and health: An updated review, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15:6, 743-782, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2019.1651888
Nagoski, E. & Nagoski, A. (2019) Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Ballantine Books.
Salvagioni, Denise Albieri, et al. “Physical, Psychological and Occupational Consequences of Job Burnout: A Systematic Review of Prospective Studies.” PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 10, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185781.