Work burnout is a specific type of work-related stress. It is a state of physical or psychological fatigue that also consists of a sense of decreased achievement and sometimes a loss of personal identity. If you feel burnout at work – find out what you can do when your job affects your health. To find out how I help people with stress, click here for more details.
“Burnout from work” isn’t a medical diagnosis. Many authorities think that other conditions, including depression, are behind burnout from work. Experts explain that individual variables, for example personality traits and family lifestyle, may impact who experiences work burnout.
No matter what the cause, burnout from work may affect your physical and psychological wellness. Let’s consider how to determine if you’ve got work burnout and what you can do regarding it.
Are you burnout from work?
Think about:
- Have you become negative or critical at the office?
- Do you drag yourself to work and have difficulty getting started with tasks?
- Have you become moody or impatient with co-workers, clients or customers?
- Do you lack the strength to be consistently effective?
- Do you struggle to focus?
- Do you lack pleasure from your accomplishments?
- Do you feel disillusioned regarding your work?
- Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
- Have your sleep patterns altered?
- Are you distressed by unusual headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical issues?
If you answered yes to any of these concerns, you may be going through work burnout. Think about talking to a doctor or a mental health provider, since these symptoms can also be associated to health conditions, such as depression. I use hypnotherapy to help people with burnout from work. Besides hypnotherapy, there are other approaches, from CBT, Mindfulness to simply getting more exercise or regular relaxation.
Factors contributing to burnout at work
Burnout from work might occur from different factors, such as:
Lack of control.
An inability to impact decisions that affect your work. These may include your timetable, tasks or workload. This might lead to burnout from work. So could a absence of the resources you need to do your work.
Unclear job objectives.
If you’re uncertain regarding the level of authority you have or what your line manager or others expect from you, you are unlikely to feel comfortable at your workplace.
Dysfunctional workplace dynamics.
Maybe you work with an office bully, or you feel undermined by co-workers or your manager micromanages your performance. This could play a role in work anxiety and burnout.
Extremes of activity.
When a job is tedious or chaotic, you require constant energy to remain motivation and focus. This may lead to exhaustion and burnout from work. Hypnotherapy clients often tell me about how feeling disillusioned by work leads to stress and anxiety.
Lack of social support.
If you feel isolated at your workplace and in your private life, you might experience more anxiety.
Work-life imbalance.
If work requires so much of your time and effort that you don’t have the strength to spend time with your loved ones and friends, you may burn out easily too.
From London hypnotherapy clients I’ve helped with work-life balance, the following elements often play a role in work burnout:
- You have a substantial workload and work extended hours
- You battle with work-life balance
- You work in a helping occupation, such as hospitals and health care
- You feel you have very little if any control over your work
- Consequences of burnout from work
- Overlooked or unaddressed burnout from work could have substantial consequences, such as:
- Excessive anxiety
- Low energy
- Sleep problems
- Sadness, anger or irritability
- Alcohol or substance misuse
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Type 2 diabetes
- Vulnerability to health problems
How to manage burnout from work
Start to take action. To get started:
Analyze your choices.
Discuss particular issues with your manager. Perhaps you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises or solutions. Try to set objectives for what must get accomplished and what can be delayed.
Look for support.
Reach out to co-workers, friends or family members, since support and understanding can assist everyone to cope a little better. If you have usage of an employee assistance programme, make use of applicable services.
Try a relaxing activity.
Explore programmes that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi.
Get some exercise.
Frequent physical activity can assist you to more effectively deal with anxiety. Additionally, it may take your mind off work.
Get some sleep (If you can!).
Sleep restores well-being and helps guard your health.
Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on what’s happening in the here and now. One way is to notice your breathe flow and being aware of what you’re sensing and feeling at every moment. You do this without interpretation or judgment. In a work setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.
Maintain an open mind as you consider the possibilities. It’s important to do your best not to let a stressful or unrewarding job undermine your health. For information about how I help people reduce stress and burn out, click here.