Identifying and Overcoming Career Burnout
By Erin Giebler-Hill, for Revive Your Life
Photo by itsgangstamayne
Not many people can say they love their job, but some can say they tolerate it to the extent that they’re not dreading the thought of getting up and dragging themselves to the office every morning. On the other hand, if you find yourself hating everything about your job right down to the Post-It notes sitting on your desk, it’s probably because you’re suffering from career burnout.
Burnout can be described as a point in time when your physical and/or emotional strength is exhausted and you are no longer motivated at work. Burnout isn’t only bad for your career, but it can also wreak havoc on your physical and emotional well-being. According to the American Psychological Association, burnout and stress at work can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite or overeating, forgetfulness, and lack of concentration. It’s important to identify the causes of your burnout and address them to help yourself and improve your life.
Persistent stress in the workplace due to constant increased demands can lead to burnout, according to The American Institute of Stress (AIS).
“Stress can come from anywhere,” says Katie Run, a career planning professional. “Fear of layoffs, too much work, bad conditions and coworkers can cause people to stress out on the job and not want to be there or do anything.”
The AIS recommends identifying the sources of stress at your job and finding ways to avoid them or reduce their impact. However, some causes of stress are unavoidable. The AIS suggests you learn how to distinguish between the stresses in your life that you cannot avoid, such as the death of a love one, and the ones you can, like most of those you encounter at the workplace and those you bring on yourself.
Taking on too much at work can be a cause of burnout. By taking on too many tasks, you’re almost guaranteed to feel like you’re overwhelmed, stressed, and out of control. After a while, you’ll feel like giving up. It is important to compromise with people who are asking for your time on tasks, and limit how much work you put on your to-do list.
“A good manager would much rather you use your time efficiently than just give up because you’re overwhelmed and burnt out,” says Chris Wilson, an office manager.
According to the AIS, not placing unreasonable expectations on yourself with regard to your ability to accomplish things is a good step to take to avoid burnout caused by over-working. Learning to say no to requests, especially if others can satisfy them just as well, and delegating authority as well as responsibility can be very effective ways to reduce stress in the workplace.
Another cause of burnout is the feeling that you’re doing so much and not getting rewarded. Also, seeing others get raises and promotions ahead of you who you feel aren’t producing the kind of quality you are could make you want to surf the Internet instead of write up the report that’s due next week.
“This may be a time when you should really move on,” Run said. “Office politics are hard to overcome if you’re not a schmoozer. Talk with your manager about the reasons you’re not getting what you feel you deserve. If these reasons aren’t acceptable to you, you should look for a company where you’ll be appreciated and where you can regain the love for your job.”
Another cause of burnout, and maybe the scariest one to explore, is that you’ve chosen the wrong career or the wrong company to work for. You must consider these causes along with the others to identify the source of your burnout. It can be stressful and intimidating to think you may have to research and learn a new profession or switch to a company you’re not familiar with, but, in the long run, you will be happier at work once you find your niche.
As mentioned earlier, burnout can cause several health problems, but it can also impact your relationships. At work you could become alienated from your coworkers and create tension. Some may not understand your situation as burnout and could see it as you just slacking off. Coworkers may express their concerns to others or worse, your boss, and could negatively impact your position and cause added stress. You could also be bringing your frustration home and affecting those living with you, like your spouse or children. You may get angered at the slightest comment or minor incident and create the tension and frustration you’re feeling at work at home, forcing others you care about to feel the stresses of your work day.
If you are feeling different about a job you used to love, explore the possible causes and work to alleviate your burnout. Hopefully, you will be able to address these situations early on before you experience the full effects of burnout. Monitor your workload and discuss the issues with your boss or coworkers before things get too overwhelming. With this awareness, you will likely avoid burnout and learn to enjoy your job.
Are you currently experiencing career burnout? What types of symptoms are you experiencing, either physically or mentally? What have you done to cope? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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It’s all about taking one bite of the elephant at a time.
Great tips.
And thanks for the link love.
Burnout is a kind of job depression and caused by feelings of powerlessness - loss of control. It is stressFUL not NOT caused by stress. Burnout can be prevented or overcome by taking actions to increase feelings of control over one’s work and life. How one does that is an individual process - which begins with identifying what - specifically - is getting you down. You can do this by stopping when you get “that” feelings and noting what just happened to trigger it. Write this down. Then after ding this for several days, read over your “data” looking for patterns. Those patterns point to the causes of YOUR burnout factors. For lots of information on burnout - its causes, symptoms and what to do about it - check out my site. -docpotter
@ Marc and Angel - Glad you liked the article, the link love is warranted - you have some great content at your site that we hope our readers will take a look at.
@ Doc Potter - Great analogy - burnout as a kind of job depression. It makes sense that one who feels completely powerless would feel out of control causing burnout to surface.