Occupational burnout: How to spot it and take action

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet life’s constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. While excessive stress feels like one is drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being/feeling all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.

The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life – including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds, flu and others. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away!

Most of us have days when we feel helpless, overloaded, unappreciated, or when dragging ourselves out of bed requires what seems like superhuman strength – this may occur from time to time due to a variety of reasons. However, if you feel like this most of the time, you may be burned out. Burn out is characterised by:

• Constant feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• Lowered immunity and frequent illness, headaches and muscle pains;
• Reduced professional effectiveness or loss of motivation;
• Increased mental detachment from work and from the world;
• Increased feelings of cynicism related to one’s job;
• Decreased sense of accomplishment or satisfaction; and
• Withdrawal from responsibilities and procrastination.

Burnout results in:

• Frequent absenteeism;
• Lowered productivity, ineffectiveness at work, loss of motivation and hope;
• Feelings of detachment and depression;
• Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness;
• Fatigue;
• Insomnia; and
• Sadness, anger or irritability, etc.

Job burnout can result from various factors, including:

• Lack of control– due to an inability to influence decisions that affect your job such as your schedule, assignments or workload, including a lack of the resources you need to do your work. This becomes increased if you are a perfectionist.
• Unclear job expectations – if you’re unclear about the degree of authority you have or what your supervisor or others expect from you, you’re not likely to feel comfortable at work.
• Dysfunctional workplace dynamics– working with an office bully, feeling undermined by colleagues or being micromanaged by your boss can contribute to job stress.
• Extremes of activity – when a job is monotonous or chaotic, or when you are faced with increased workloads and overtime work, you need constant energy to remain focused, which can lead to fatigue and job burnout.
• Lack of social support– feeling isolated at work and in your personal life, may lead to being more stressed than usual.
• Work-life imbalance – if your work takes up so much of your time and effort that you don’t have the energy to spend time with your family and friends, you might burn out quickly.
• Inability to delegate – due to a need to be in control, or where you try to be everything to everyone and take on too many responsibilities, may lead to burnout.

Burnout can be reversed and the taking necessary steps can help you to feel healthy and positive again, but trying to push through the exhaustion and continuing as you have been, will only cause further emotional and physical damage. Whether you recognize the warning signs of impending burnout or you’re already past the breaking point; you need to take the time to pause and implement actions to overcome burnout. In order to effectively combat burnout, you need to:

• Recognize the warning signs of burnout.
• Reverse the damage by seeking support and managing your stress.
• Build your resilienceto stress by taking care of your physical and emotional health.

The following tips for preventing or dealing with burnout can help you cope with symptoms and regain your energy, focus, and sense of well-being:

• Evaluate your options.Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor. Maybe you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises/solutions. Try to set goals for what must get done and what can wait.
• Seek support.Whether you reach out to co-workers, friends or loved ones, support and collaboration might help you cope. If you have access to an employee assistance program, take advantage of relevant services.
• Try a relaxing activity and exercise.Explore programs that can help with stress such as yoga or meditation. Regular physical activity can help you to handle stress effectively and it can also take your mind off work.
• Find and implement balance in your life. Take time off from work to recharge your batteries and participate in personal activities that bring you satisfaction. Spend time with family and friends.
• Get some sleep.Sleep is vital as it restores well-being and helps protect your health.
• Mindfulness is the act of focusing on your breath flow and being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling at every moment, without interpretation or judgment. In a job setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.

Stay aware of and take good care of your mental health especially as we are living in troubling and demanding times. You only have one life and it is your priority to take care of it.

This article contains information from the Mayo clinic; Melinda Smith, Jeanne Segal and Lawrence Robinson.