Preventing Burnout In The WorkplacePosted January 23, 2013 in In the Workplace
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is a expression used to clarify the feeling of low interest and long lasting exhaustion. It's related to being stressed about your job, but it's most likely a bit past the day-to-day stress. If you think of the stress stage as similar to "too much pressure to get things done", then burnout will come later after that, as something like "have no interest at all in what I'm doing".
It's a bit more than simply having a bad day - it's something that's produced over a long time, most likely years. It's one reason why why people shift careers .
Signs Of Burnout
There are several ways to tell if you, or a coworker, is burnt out. A few of them are:
- Lack of motivation. Do you struggle to get out of bed regularly and get to work? Do you take time to actually get started at work?
- No interest in work. When you're at work, do you find it hard to gain and retain interest in the tasks or work that you're carrying out?
- No fulfillment from accomplishments. Any time you accomplish something, or accomplish a big task, are you feeling no sense of satisfaction or accomplishment?
- Loneliness. You may feel alone, whether in your workplace or private life. Whether this is true or not is another thing.
At this stage, you could feel as if you're experiencing a kind of burnout, or possibly you're on your way to a stage of burnout or disinterest in your job. Don't worry - there are many ways for you to address this thought and prevent a sense of burnout:
- Get sufficient sleep each night. It might seem obvious, but ensure that you get enough sleep each night to ensure your mind and body are rested and restored and ready to tackle the next day at work.
- Eat and drink healthily. Making sure you eat a balanced diet is a great way to reduce stress and eventually prevent burnout. Drinking plenty of water throughout your day is also a good idea.
- Try to split up your work and your personal life. A huge part of the road to burnout in the workplace is merging your work with your home life. This means taking work home, wondering about work while you're away, and working longer hours and weekends to get things done. Whilst you may occasionally need to put in extra hours for a project or deadline, it needs to be the exception instead of the norm. Get into a habit of distancing the two parts of your life.
- Reduce the amount of time you are working. Often individuals who experience burnout are those that actually work over 40 hours 7 days. They are often working 50 or 60 or even more hours over an extended period of time. This affects the balance between work and life and can cause burnout. As I previously mentioned, keeping the balance between the two is important. Have a conversation with your manager to understand how you can lessen the hours you're working. Even a little bit gradually will assist in the long run.
- Reassess your work and career priorities. Sometimes you'll want to have a think about the sort of work you're carrying out at your job, and in what way it affects your career priorities. If you're doing extra work that doesn't align with your long term goal, then ask yourself if it really needs to be done. If you're attempting to do the work of two people, then ask yourself if you're capable of getting help with some of the work, or lose the work entirely. Sometimes the other work you're doing isn't actually as essential as it's thought to be.
- Take a vacation. One of the best ways to prevent burnout in the workplace is to take a getaway. Escape from your work pressures and vacation in another place. It could be a weekend away at the coast, or a flight to another country. Maybe it's a short weekend away, or a two month trip to several countries. It's up to your budget and time restraints, but this is a good way to recharge yourself, and will make you feel refreshed when you get back. I've taken a few holidays in my time and have noticed I feel significantly better when I get back than when I left!
Hopefully these ideas and tips will allow you to recognize and avoid burnout before it affects you and your career
By: Complete IT Professional
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