[Massplanners] Planner Burnout

Fri Apr 1 08:53:01 EDT 2022

That was a powerful response by Sarah and I do see how this profession, and most others, fit neatly within the dominant cultural paradigm….you know which one I mean.

There is another nuance to this that I apologize if I missed it if mentioned earlier, but for a long time it’s been obvious to me that planners are pretty unique, at least in local government, in that they are good at a lot of things, engage in critical thinking, see patterns and interconnections, and are many times thought of as problem solvers. It is how we are educated and trained.

How this manifests itself often is that we are plugged into a wide variety of committees, task forces, initiatives, and projects, many times as leaders, because of our unique value and skill sets. We are the ones that tell public safety that the hazard mitigation plan is expiring…and then get the grant for them. We see an unfilled need for transportation planning…then push for and staff the new committee. Often our sense of commitment will not let us rest if the housing production plan is lapsing, the climate committee or housing trust has no staff, or the library roof is caving in and needs grant funding.

In many instances, these are not our job responsibilities, we just do it. We do it because it needs to be done, because nobody else will do it and we inherently know that to be a fact. And going back to the original cultural aspect of this, we know that support for these committees or programs through adequate funding for staff or other resources, will not be forthcoming. It typically isn’t funded adequately because our culture does not value the work, as it doesn’t value other professions integral to the very fabric of our communities such as child care, public health, and education.

I’m not saying that planning is even close to as critical is some of these human services professions, but the value makes itself clear, for those paying attention, when we write an amazing board report that leads to a critical decision, when we conduct the research and outreach that leads to passing an affordable housing bylaw, or helps the community become just a little more welcoming and inclusive. We don’t do it for the recognition and praise. We do it because we care, it’s the right thing to do, and our communities and the world needs it.

I know regarding my own career path that I hate to see needs go unfulfilled or anything that makes local government look any more idiotic that it often already does. In so doing, I contribute to my own burnout through overextension and mission creep. So I agree that this is just another example of a culturally driven negative workplace phenomenon….just another piece of the puzzle.

Too much philosophy and social critique for a Friday…

Chris

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Christopher J. Ryan, AICP
Director of Community and Economic Development
Town of Harvard
13 Ayer Road
Harvard, MA  01451
Tel: 978.456.4100 x.323
Email: cryan at harvard-ma.gov<mailto:cryan at harvard-ma.gov>
Web: http://www.harvard-ma.gov<http://www.harvard-ma.gov/>

**Please note new email address and domain as of 9/1/21
email is now cryan at harvard-ma.gov<mailto:cryan at harvard-ma.gov>. Please change in your
contacts list.
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From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org> On Behalf Of Sarah Scott via MassPlanners
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2022 6:30 PM
To: massplanners at masscptc.org
Subject: Re: [Massplanners] Planner Burnout

This email has been sitting in my inbox for a while, but after commiserating with a coworker about feeling burned out, they encouraged me to read it.  I really appreciate folks' supportive responses and thoughtful advice.  It's always helpful to know that you're not alone.

In addition to agreeing with a lot of what Mariah pulled out in her summary, I have a slightly different take.  A coworker recently shared with me this idea of the characteristics of white supremacy culture<https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/characteristics.html>.  I find that many of the characteristics are generally encouraged by the planning profession as a whole and by planners as individuals.  They're also imposed on us by elected officials, who seem to always want more from us.

One of the characteristics is a sense of urgency<https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/urgency.html>.  The author notes that this cultural habit perpetuates power imbalances, disconnects us from ourselves, and makes it difficult to take a truly equitable, inclusive, democratic approach to our work.  Of particular relevance to this email thread, the author writes, "A constant sense of urgency...makes it harder for us to distinguish what is really urgent from what feels urgent; after a while everything takes on the same sense of urgency, leading to mental, physical, intellectual, and spiritual burnout and exhaustion."  Yes, walks and sunshine and water can help us cope, but if we uphold this culture and its values, we'll continue feeling burned out.

Whenever someone in my office was in a tizzy about responding to a council order or getting a memo ready for the Planning Board, a former coworker of mine used to stare us straight in the eye and say plainly, "There are no emergencies in zoning."  Yes, there are legal deadlines for notices and Planning Board starts at 6:30 p.m., but they're not emergencies and we shouldn't treat them as such.  By doing so, we do ourselves and the communities that we serve an injustice because we take energy (and money and time and other resources) away from those issues that are truly urgent.

I'm so glad that this many people (especially Mariah!) took the time to notice their burnout and reflect on its impacts.  I hope that we, as individuals and as a profession, continue to find ways to mitigate this sense of urgency by noticing it, questioning it, and talking about it.

Sarah
(Cambridge, MA planner)

On Mon, Mar 7, 2022 at 1:00 PM roberta cameron via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>> wrote:

What an exemplary plannerly response to the concern:
1) Identify the problem
2) Collect stakeholder input
3) Tailor a strategy to the specific context at hand
4) Synthesize the result of your input-gathering and application, and report back.
There's a reason some of us just fall into this lifestyle, whether by intention, or because it's just the way we roll.

Roberta Cameron, AICP

Community Preservation Act Manager

Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development

City of Somerville

rcameron at somervillema.gov<mailto:lmorton at somervillema.gov> • 617-791-7283

On Mon, Mar 7, 2022 at 11:28 AM Mariah Kurtz via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>> wrote:
I have so much gratitude to everyone who reached out - phone calls, emails, and a kind local colleague who took me out to lunch on Friday. I went into our Special Town Meeting feeling much more confident and less stressed out than I would have without all of the kind words. I had two zoning amendments being proposed - one which would create a Planned Unit Development overlay district and one which would update the zoning map with district boundary adjustments. After a long discussion, the PUD lost the 2/3 vote required by 1 vote. But the map was approved unanimously and no one cussed me out, so I'll take the win.

It's clear from the deluge of responses I received that most, if not all, planners struggle with feeling overworked and underappreciated. In some ways that's comforting (I'm not alone!) and in other ways that's disconcerting for our profession. I hope that we're all able to take care of ourselves, but I also wonder what changes or support we need to advocate for to keep our work sustainable.

I've tried to condense the advice I got from folks for you all to consider as well:

  *   Take care of your basic needs: get enough sleep, drink water, eat well
  *   Take breaks and go outside. We need sunshine and fresh air.
  *   Create flexibility in your schedule. If you have night meetings, don't come in at your usual time. Communicate your schedule clearly to your non-night meeting coworkers who may not understand why you're coming in "late"
  *   Say no to things and take things off of your plate rather than just trying to constantly be more efficient with an ever-growing pile of work.
  *   Connect with other planners more casually, without a constant webinar or meeting. Get lunch, have a call just to catch up.
  *   Remember that our force of good in our communities is not dependent on one project. The overall effect is still good.
  *   Remember that the Town will still be ok even without one particular initiative or project. Life goes on and it will be ok.
  *   Remember that there is always more to do than we can do. Pace yourself.
  *   Remember that you are not a public servant, but a public professional
  *   Find the little wins and celebrate them.
  *   Connect with people in your community outside of contentious topics or long public hearings.
  *   Spend a bit of time after a meeting to take notes, finish paperwork, or otherwise prepare yourself for an easier day tomorrow.
  *   Have an activity or routine to do right after work to switch yourself out of work mode. A walk around the block, preparing a snack, a 5 minute meditation, hang out with a pet, etc. Pay attention to your achievements outside of work too.
  *   Don't put Town email on your phone, or if you do, at least turn off the notifications
  *   Leave your job if you need to for your sanity. Your whole life shouldn't be your work and if folks in your Town are expecting that of you, move on to a new Town.
  *   It's ok to get frustrated, but don't dwell on it. Feel it and let it pass, then keep moving forward.
  *   Build your group of allies and your network and ask for support when you need it
  *   Advocate for your ability to work flexible hours and work from home.
  *   And lastly, a tip from me which I tested out this weekend and now comes highly recommended: schedule a massage for after town meeting.
So many of you reached out and I'd love to connect with you all but it's going to take me a while to sift through emails. Be well and take care of yourselves.

Mariah Kurtz (she/her)

Assistant Town Planner

Town of Erving

12 East Main Street

Erving, Massachusetts 01344

Phone: (413) 422-2800 ext. 1108 |  Online: www.Erving-Ma.gov<http://www.erving-ma.gov/>  | Facebook: Town of Erving<https://www.facebook.com/townoferving>

When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication.
________________________________
From: MassPlanners <massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners-bounces at masscptc.org>> on behalf of Mariah Kurtz via MassPlanners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>>
Sent: Friday, March 4, 2022 10:17 AM
To: Massachusetts Planners <massplanners at masscptc.org<mailto:massplanners at masscptc.org>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL][Massplanners] Planner Burnout

Happy Friday y'all.

This is a much less technical question than most here, but it's what our little Town is struggling with at this moment.

I write this 24 hours away from a Special Town Meeting where two zoning articles will be voted on. The situation has devolved into widespread misinformation and personal attacks on public officials over this. I have my slideshow, jumbo foam-core map, and beloved anxiety meds prepared, but more conceptually, how do you stay motivated when things like this happen and keep yourself from totally burning out?

I'm a relatively young planner and I understand that the nature of public work means not everything I work on will move forward, but our team here is exhausted. Several of us have been teetering on the edge of burn out for months. Luckily our Select Board (and some kind-hearted, informed residents) have been supportive of us taking a step back to evaluate our capacity for new projects. I've created a master project list which plans out 3-5 years. We're deciding which grants to apply for a year ahead to prepare ourselves. But it seems like every time we plan to take a breather something new happens: a flood washes out a bridge and three roads, construction can't be finished due to supply chain issues, a new wave of COVID hits, or we only have one plow driver available during a snow storm. I was only a Planner for 6 months before the pandemic hit so I feel like I've jumped into this career on hard mode. My light at the end of the tunnel is a public art project set to be installed in July and I'm hesitant to even look forward to that because I feel like something will go wrong.

I imagine that all of us are dealing with these struggles in some fashion, so what tools do you and your team use to cope with these hurdles short term and prevent burn out long term?

Mariah Kurtz (she/her)

Assistant Town Planner

Town of Erving

12 East Main Street

Erving, Massachusetts 01344

Phone: (413) 422-2800 ext. 1108 |  Online: www.Erving-Ma.gov<http://www.erving-ma.gov/>  | Facebook: Town of Erving<https://www.facebook.com/townoferving>

When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication.
When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication. When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication.
When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of State has determined that email is a public record, is subject to the Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66, § 10, and covered by Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521. This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient or believe that you have received the communication in error, you are strictly prohibited from printing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or otherwise using this communication.
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