Being full of energy for work and life is a hot topic now more than ever. The Microsoft Work Trend Index survey found that 41% of employees worldwide are thinking about quitting this year because of burnout. 54% of respondents said they are overworked and 39% said they are completely exhausted. What should you do if you can’t think about work? We tell you about the symptoms of burnout and how to fight it at all stages.
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Is Burnout a Disease?
The WHO has included professional burnout in the classifier of diseases as a clinically significant syndrome “arising from a situation of chronic stress in the workplace that cannot be successfully overcome.” That is, it is a kind of chronic stress, but not an independent disease.
The symptoms of burnout can be as follows:
- Emotional people become hypersensitive. Sensible people who are used to hiding their emotions prohibit themselves from feeling, empathy is lost, cynicism appears.
- The person distances himself/herself from professional duties, experiences motivational or physical exhaustion, fatigue.
- What used to be a pleasure is no longer satisfying and gives no incentive to move on. Even betting at Bet22 or watching favorite Friends episodes does not bring joy anymore.
- The always alarming signal is a decrease in work capacity and efficiency.
Constant fatigue can be the first sign of burnout. Weekends or vacations don’t save you anymore. Then fatigue is followed by insomnia, reduced concentration, and slight apathy. More time is needed to perform the usual work. Unreasonable colds can appear. Mood is characterized by irritation and dissatisfaction, outbursts of self-pity and resentment.
It’s often difficult to trace burnout at first – there is no mood, it happens to everyone, and everyone gets tired. However, if you miss the first symptoms, the body starts to work in energy-saving mode, spending energy only on the most necessary things.
Consequences of Professional Burnout
If the initial stage involves purely psychological symptoms, it can be much worse further on.
WHO has developed a system of diagnostic criteria. According to them, the symptoms of a professional burnout can have a number of non-specific manifestations: unexplained headaches, gastrointestinal dysfunctions, sleep disorders, etc.
And if in the beginning, a chronically tired employee constantly feels inner tension, then further it can lead to cardiac disorders, hypertension and even diabetes of the 2nd type.
Who Is Susceptible to Professional Burnout?
Burnout occurs more often among employees who are unable to maintain an optimal balance between their professional and personal lives. Workaholics, employees who put things off until the last minute and work in spurts rather than systematically.
Employees who are constantly overworked in the workplace.
Those whose professional activities involve helping other people.
It’s much harder to leave a job on time if you understand that you are needed here and feel your usefulness in the moment.
A typical example of professional burnout is in the healthcare industry. Analysis showed that up to 85% of doctors faced the problem of burnout in the workplace.
Professional burnout is not related to the situation “not my job, I need to look for a new one”. Demotivation in this case can be overcome by coaches or psychologists. It is about the work that previously made you happy, but over time and for certain reasons began to give you more stress than joy.
To understand how to get rid of burnout, you need to understand what causes it.
How to Fight Professional Burnout
It is important to rest in time, and not when your strength is completely exhausted. It is better to prevent a problem than to fight with obvious symptoms and consequences. Here are a few tips that should help you “turn off” the work mode in time:
- Leave work problems at work. This can be done with the help of the ritual of changing. If you have a change of shoes at work, then at the end of the day, take off your “work” shoes, leave with them in the office and work issues. Even if you work from home, the ritual of changing clothes is great to help you switch to work in the morning and “come home” in the evening.
- Shield yourself from the infoshop. Flipping through your Instagram feed or reading the news is not a good rest. It’s how we switch our attention, but the brain keeps trying to concentrate and absorb information. When you get home, turn off your communications, your computer, your music. Turn your attention to your loved ones, your pets, the details of cooking dinner. Monotonous household chores work well with this.
- Admit to yourself that there are a lot of other interesting things in life besides work. Work on the computer – sign up for a dance, a lot of socializing – engage in knitting, tired physically – read a book.
- Form a supportive environment – friends, family, relatives, interest groups. These people will not only support you emotionally but also help in a difficult situation. Avoid irritating and toxic communication.
- Increase your stress resistance. If it is impossible to exclude stressors, master ways of adaptation to them at special psychological training, individual or group therapy.
- Cardioercise. When stress occurs, the body produces adrenaline. It is necessary to get rid of it through muscle tension. This will help to cope with another problem: with a sedentary way of life, by the end of the working day, the psyche is tired, but the body is not. Because of the imbalance, insomnia can appear. To prevent such conditions will help physical activity: swimming, dancing, running, walking, yoga.
- Walking in the fresh air. If you spend a lot of time in closed rooms, the lack of fresh air, lack of natural light and the opportunity to look at the far distance, can affect the psyche. Make it a habit to take daily walks outdoors.
- Slow down. Get a relaxing massage, go for a stretching session. Force yourself to stop during the day to just look around, smile, or be surprised by simple things.
Burnout will not disappear by itself. To get rid of the symptoms and consequences, you need to take conscious steps toward a healthy, balanced life every day. Our brains are designed so that any emotion can be addictive on a physiological level. Increase your awareness and habituate yourself to positive thoughts and emotions.