Burnout sneaks up on you. It’s more insidious than the tiredness you feel after a long day. Think of it as a depletion of your inner battery, a state where even the simplest tasks feel like moving a mountain. That’s how I felt when I experienced burnout. It’s not something a good night’s sleep can solve. It’s a deep-rooted problem needing a solution.
If you’re not sure whether you or someone else is burned out, then consider asking these questions to test it:
- How excited are you to work?
- Do you have any long term plans?
- How hard is it to get up in the morning?
- How much energy do you have?
If your answer is consistently low to those questions, along with some anxiety, low morale and frequently being distracted, then you’re probably experiencing burnout.
It’s crucial to distinguish burnout from mere exhaustion. Exhaustion is to burnout what a sprint is to a marathon – a temporary state versus a chronic one. Burnout involves a prolonged feeling of emotional detachment, futile, and exhaustion.
You’ll be surprised at how contagious burnout is. A negative work environment can spread it like malware in a network, dragging down the collective morale.
The origins of burnout are as complex as its symptoms. It’s a cocktail of lifestyle choices, relationship with colleagues, job satisfaction, purpose at work, personal traits, and stress. Each factor contributes to the overall problem. Based on my experience and from talking to others who had burnout, the biggest contributors are: 1) Negative relationship with colleagues. 2) Caused by high expectations, but have low control at work
The consequences are as varied as its causes. Physically, it’s like a system running on overdrive, leading to fatigue and illness. Mentally, it’s akin to a looping error message of depression and anxiety. Professionally, it manifests as dissatisfaction, worse job performance, more employee turnover and a retreat from team dynamics.
Understanding that burnout increases gradually is key. You’ll feel more irritable and tired at the beginning, before the symptoms become increasingly worse.
In conclusion, burnout is not just a personal issue; it’s a systemic one. It requires a thoughtful approach, blending self-care with professional adjustments. Just as a well-oiled machine performs optimally, a balanced life ensures both personal happiness and professional productivity. Remember, the key to fixing burnout lies in understanding it – not as a flaw in your character, but as a natural response to an untenable situation.
Treating burnout
As with any condition or issue, the first step to treating it is to realise you’re going through it. Before doing anything else, it’s crucial to prioritise your health. This means adequate sleep — ideally between 7-9 hours — eating a diet rich in nutrients and committing to regular exercise.
Addressing burnout needs you to delve into its root cause, much like peeling an onion. Each layer you remove helps you get closer to the core, revealing deeper insights into why you feel the way you do. Talking to someone about it is helpful, especially to a mentor, coach or therapist, to peel more layers off the onion and understand the main reason for it.
It’s worth understanding what you value most in your career at this stage of your life, so you know how much your role is causing your burnou. Then, reflect on whether your job gives you that. For example, this could be doing purpose-driven work, career development, or autonomy.
Try to communicate more openly about how you feel with others. The effects of burnout are well known and a good manager should support you through it. For me, taking an extended period of time off to recharge has been extremely helpful and I recommend that to others.
Take care of yourselves!