Understanding Burnout: The Trap of Responsibility Without Control

Phase 0

Responsibility Without Authority Will Break You

Standing on the Ledge — Chapter 2 (Continued)

Tonight I’m not ranting. I’m mapping the terrain.

Because there’s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from being held responsible for outcomes you’re not allowed to control.

You get judged on results.
But you don’t get the tools, the time, or the authority to shape them.

The system stays protected.
You take the hit.
And they call it “performance.”

Responsibility without authority will break you.

What it looked like in my contract (the mechanics)

Here’s the part people don’t want to hear: it wasn’t that the work couldn’t be done. It’s that the work was blocked—and the blockage didn’t count as real information.

  • Task required. “Do X.”
  • I mobilize. “Okay. I can do X.”
  • Permission wall. “No—you need three weeks’ notice.”
  • Result. Task doesn’t get completed.
  • Reality gets erased. Complaint comes in: “X wasn’t done.”

And then there’s the 24-hour clause.

“You have 24 hours to rectify.”
Okay. I’m not afraid of 24 hours.
But the list you handed me will take a week.
And on top of that, I need you to move things so the work is physically possible.

Then the last twist—the one that makes you feel like you’re losing your mind:

It gets sent to head office.
Head office doesn’t notify me for 36 hours.
The deadline was 24 hours.
So by the time I even know it exists… I already “failed.”

That isn’t performance measurement. That’s outcome theater.

The sociological frame (why systems do this)

Mills: This is what happens when a structural problem gets renamed as an individual flaw. A “private trouble” gets treated like it’s just your personality, your competence, your attitude—when the real issue is the system and how it’s built (Mills, 1959).

Durkheim: When rules are inconsistent, shifting, or impossible to satisfy, people end up in a norm-confusion state—expectations exist, but the pathway to meet them keeps collapsing. That mismatch produces strain, anger, and disorientation (Durkheim, 1893/1997; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2025).

Power & insulation: Responsibility without authority is also a risk-transfer device. Risk flows downhill. Control stays uphill. The organization protects its narrative, and the person closest to the mess absorbs the blame (Lipsky, 1980; Mills, 1956/2000).

In plain language:

  • The system gets to stay “right.”
  • The metrics get to stay “objective.”
  • The worker becomes the variable that can be punished.

The psychology (why it crushes you over time)

High demand + low control is a classic stress recipe. When the pressure is high and your decision latitude is low, strain goes up. You’re running full speed while someone else holds the steering wheel (Karasek, 1979).

Role conflict and role ambiguity happen when expectations collide or stay undefined—“Do it now” versus “You’re not allowed to do it now.” That contradiction creates ongoing stress and makes “performance” deteriorate in predictable ways that then get blamed on the person (Rizzo et al., 1970).

Effort–reward imbalance hits when you keep pushing effort into a system that returns blame, instability, or disrespect instead of fairness. That mismatch isn’t just discouraging—it’s associated with negative health outcomes (Siegrist, 1996).

Burnout isn’t weakness. It’s what chronic overload + low control + constant mismatch looks like in the human body over time (Maslach et al., 2001; Demerouti et al., 2001).

And if it repeats long enough, you can end up with a learned-helplessness flavor—again, not because you’re passive, but because repeated blocked action teaches your nervous system that effort doesn’t reliably change outcomes (Seligman, 1972).

That’s the trap:

  • You keep trying.
  • You keep getting blocked.
  • You keep getting blamed.
  • You start burning fuel just to remain functional.

What I’m taking forward (without pretending I can control everything)

Covey’s “circle of influence” matters here—not as motivational wallpaper, but as triage. I can’t control a whole system. But I can control what I document, what I agree to, and where I refuse to be turned into the scapegoat (Covey, 2020; FranklinCovey, n.d.).

So here are my rules going forward:

  • If the deadline is 24 hours, then access + prerequisites must also be available inside 24 hours — or the deadline is fictional.
  • If the customer must move things, then “waiting for customer action” goes into the official timeline — not my hidden burden.
  • If head office delays forwarding, then the clock starts when I’m notified — not when someone else receives an email.

This is how you stop “performance” from being used as a weapon: you force reality back into the record.

Close

One line I’m keeping:
Responsibility without authority will break you.

One boundary I am setting:
I will not accept deadlines I’m structurally prevented from meeting — and I will put blockers in writing, immediately.

One step for tomorrow:
Start (or update) a simple “constraints log”: what was requested, what blocked it, who owned the prerequisite, and when I flagged it.

Godspeed.

References (APA)

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Published by Lugh Sulian

Lugh Sulian Standing on the Ledge · Rebuilding from the Rubble Lugh Sulian is a working name for a working moment. This profile exists to hold Standing on the Ledge: Rebuilding from the Rubble—an ongoing, real-time record of what happens after collapse, when old rules stop functioning and new ones haven’t yet earned trust. This is not myth reenactment. Not spiritual bypass. Not curated healing. It’s a field journal from the threshold. The name Lugh points toward skill, clarity, and responsibility carried with awareness. Sulian gestures toward sight—what can be seen when illusion drops away and pretending becomes too expensive. Together, they frame the posture of this work: to look clearly, act deliberately, and refuse to rebuild what already failed. Through short-form video, spoken reflection, and long-form writing, this project explores: Collapse without spectacle Responsibility without authority Burnout as a systems problem, not a personal flaw Pagan cycles as lived practice, not aesthetic Small fires instead of grand rebuilds This space is intentionally unfinished. It documents: Standing still without freezing Moving forward without rushing Learning from rubble instead of hiding it Unplugged-Pagan.com serves as the grounding—seasonal awareness, ritual stripped of performance, and meaning built from experience rather than doctrine. Standing on the Ledge is one expression of that grounding, focused on the human cost of broken systems and the slow work of rebuilding integrity. This is not a teaching platform. It’s a shared watchpost. If you’re here, you’re likely between versions of yourself—tired, alert, uncertain, and still standing. You don’t need answers yet. You need honesty, boundaries, and permission to move at the speed of truth. No conclusions offered. No certainty promised. Still on the ledge. Still watching. Still working the rubble. Godspeed. Optional Short Versions (for profile headers or bios) Short bio (Facebook / site header): Threshold work. Pagan-rooted, process-driven. Documenting collapse, clarity, and the refusal to rebuild what failed.

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