Beyond the brink: STEM women and resourceful sensemaking after burnout

Abstract

This paper attends to the burnout recovery experiences of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and qualitatively explores how these individuals renegotiate, reorient, and recalibrate their work trajectories after burnout; an ambiguous and shocking event that has been shown to cause lingering disruption for both individuals and organizations (Salvagioni et al., 2017). We bring together conservation of resources (COR) theory and a sensemaking approach, illustrating how attention to sensemaking reveals the dynamics of resource allocation during times of disruption and loss; that is, the relational negotiation of protecting, investing, and fostering resources, including and importantly to burnout, a recognizable sense of recovery. Our rich qualitative analysis and findings reveal three sensemaking plotlines (Combative, Regenerative, and Promissory) through which rituals of resource management take place. Insights from this study provide a theoretical exposition for the post-burnout experience, illuminating the black box between burnout and recovery. We present a number of theoretical and practical contributions in developing the scholarly vistas surrounding (post-)burnout studies and STEM careers that better conceptualize (i) how marginalized members in highly instituted settings experience the aftermath of burnout and (ii) the broader implications this has for the sustainability of workforces.