How to Fight Burnout at Work
Know what burnout feels like., Know the secondary signs., Evaluate your job responsibilities., Keep a stress diary., Talk to your doctor.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know what burnout feels like.
In a nutshell, burnout comes from working to exhaustion.
It’s different from being tired: it tends to manifest as a feeling of pointlessness or despair that lasts for weeks or months.
If you’re feeling no motivation for a job you used to be passionate about, that’s a reliable sign of burnout.Burnout is especially a problem for perfectionists, overachievers, and anyone else who holds themselves to really high standards.
It’s also common in high-stress or emotional fields, like counseling and some types of nonprofit work. -
Step 2: Know the secondary signs.
Burnout starts as emotional exhaustion, but it can very quickly affect your mental and emotional health as well.
If you’re concerned about feeling burned-out, keep an eye out for signs of stress.
The signs may vary depending on how your mind and body react to difficult situations, but may include some of the following.Exhaustion or insomnia.
Impaired concentration.
Anxiety and depression.
Loss of appetite.
Constant fidgeting.
Increased susceptibility to illness. , If you’re feeling burnt-out and assign the blame to your job, look a little deeper.
Are you equally exhausted by all your work duties, or does the stress come from a particular area? In some cases, you can relate your burnout to one or two tasks instead of the whole job.
Are you able to delegate some of the more stressful tasks to spread them around your team? If you only have to perform a particular duty once a week, it may bother you less.You may not be able to eliminate every stressful situation that arises at work, but you should still figure out what your stressors and priorities are. , If you're interested in the patterns that lead to your burnout, keep record of them.
Every time you feel especially stressed or exhausted at work, write down the date, cause, and effects of your feelings in a specially designated notebook.
After you've been doing this for a few weeks, you can look over old entries to see if you recognize any consistencies., Stress and depression can have profoundly serious effects on your health; they aren’t just “in your head,” and you don’t have to deal with them alone.
Check in with your GP about your situation at work.
They may be able to help you identify your stress responses and manage them, or they may refer you to a therapist or specialist.Therapy can be helpful in managing stress and burnout, whether or not you have an official mental health diagnosis.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps you develop workable strategies to respond to stress and anxiety.
It is often recommended to those experiencing burnout.If therapy doesn't help on its own, you may be prescribed antidepressants. -
Step 3: Evaluate your job responsibilities.
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Step 4: Keep a stress diary.
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Step 5: Talk to your doctor.
Detailed Guide
In a nutshell, burnout comes from working to exhaustion.
It’s different from being tired: it tends to manifest as a feeling of pointlessness or despair that lasts for weeks or months.
If you’re feeling no motivation for a job you used to be passionate about, that’s a reliable sign of burnout.Burnout is especially a problem for perfectionists, overachievers, and anyone else who holds themselves to really high standards.
It’s also common in high-stress or emotional fields, like counseling and some types of nonprofit work.
Burnout starts as emotional exhaustion, but it can very quickly affect your mental and emotional health as well.
If you’re concerned about feeling burned-out, keep an eye out for signs of stress.
The signs may vary depending on how your mind and body react to difficult situations, but may include some of the following.Exhaustion or insomnia.
Impaired concentration.
Anxiety and depression.
Loss of appetite.
Constant fidgeting.
Increased susceptibility to illness. , If you’re feeling burnt-out and assign the blame to your job, look a little deeper.
Are you equally exhausted by all your work duties, or does the stress come from a particular area? In some cases, you can relate your burnout to one or two tasks instead of the whole job.
Are you able to delegate some of the more stressful tasks to spread them around your team? If you only have to perform a particular duty once a week, it may bother you less.You may not be able to eliminate every stressful situation that arises at work, but you should still figure out what your stressors and priorities are. , If you're interested in the patterns that lead to your burnout, keep record of them.
Every time you feel especially stressed or exhausted at work, write down the date, cause, and effects of your feelings in a specially designated notebook.
After you've been doing this for a few weeks, you can look over old entries to see if you recognize any consistencies., Stress and depression can have profoundly serious effects on your health; they aren’t just “in your head,” and you don’t have to deal with them alone.
Check in with your GP about your situation at work.
They may be able to help you identify your stress responses and manage them, or they may refer you to a therapist or specialist.Therapy can be helpful in managing stress and burnout, whether or not you have an official mental health diagnosis.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps you develop workable strategies to respond to stress and anxiety.
It is often recommended to those experiencing burnout.If therapy doesn't help on its own, you may be prescribed antidepressants.
About the Author
Nathan Ramirez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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