Do you feel stressed all the time ? Are you experiencing a a lack of focus at work with an extreme tiredness? Are you experiencing an absence of motivation? You are probably suffering from burnout.
Burnout is the process of being exposed to chronic job stress , its main signs are : extreme exhaustion, feeling less identified with the job and experiencing reduced professional ability and the person who
suffers from burnout and would feel empty, tired and incapable of coping with daily life.
Burnout is a process that does not happen overnight instead it happens progressively .
Yet, unfortunately in most of the cases, it is discovered in the late stages.
What are the causes of burnout?
Generally, burnout is simply caused by being engaged in activities or tasks that require more energy than what you can provide.
If you are hired for a job position that like sales jobs which are highly dependent on
clear targets in terms of revenues or other customer-facing jobs that are sensitive to Turn-around
time such as incidents solving tasks or delivery positions where you tend to handle a high volume of
requests, chances are high that you will become a victim of burnout. The same rule applies to leadership positions as we grow professionally our responsibilities get multiplied.
Definitely, there is a price to pay when we tend to be perfectionist and multitask all the time,
perfectionists are known to fall easily into burnout as they are always paying attention to the smallest
details which is time-consuming and stressful and would definitely result in working extra hours and
maintaining an intensive work routine.
Working and studying at the same time is not an easy mission besides being time-consuming and
requiring working at full speed and dedication they do not follow the same mental schemes which adds up an extra layer of stress.
What are the results of burnout ?
The impacts of burnout can never be neglected, they can vary from chronic stress to reach severe
depression and other health issues such as memory problems, high blood pressure, heart disease and sometimes cancer due to high levels of cortisol which is the hormone of stress.
What are the solutions that can be adapted to cure burnout and to avoid it?
Focus on the main tasks that are critical to you or are better done by you and try to delegate other
tasks to offload yourself, at work you can try to request support from other colleagues mainly new
joiners to support you with some of the simple tasks which can represent a source of learning for them and it can also decrease your workload. If you are managing your own project try hiring more people if the financial situation of the project allows it and when it comes to your personal life try requesting help from your partner to support you with some of the tasks whenever it is possible.
Time management is not only an important soft skill it is one of the backbones of success : Effective time management can help you manage your tasks more efficiently, one of the key tips for time management is avoiding multitasking and focusing on each task separately, reducing the number of inefficient meetings , starting with priorities and spending less time on social media apps. Also, you can rely on some of the IT tools to gain more time, for instance, you can use keyboard shortcuts that can help you perform some of the tasks faster, the same rule applies to some of the Excel formulas and some of the e-mail tips and tricks : For example, you can write on one file the repetitive sentences you tend to use in your e-mails and copy paste them whenever you are writing a new e-mail and you also use some of the project management software available for free to organize your tasks and avoid to miss deadlines.
It is essential to keep your manager updated about your situation especially if it is not improving . Try
having an open discussion with your manager where you share a full analysis of your situation and
suggest potential solutions . For example , if you are managing a big workload , it is never a bad idea to share with him data related to the tasks you are managing and suggest hiring more resources to
support . If your burnout is a result of working for a long time on repetitive tasks , you might suggest getting assigned to different projects.
It is very important to take annual vacations for a minimum of two weeks in which you need to
completely disconnect from work, forget about checking your e-mails or to connect to other work tools. Try to spend time in nature and to reconnect with your loved ones during this time.
Vacations are very important to renew our energy and get motivated.
If the previous steps did not work, you might need to start a new chapter in your career by looking for a job that is less stressful and less demanding. Try to analyze your situation and learn more about other job positions, do not hesitate to seek feedback from trusted people and make sure you look for a job that matches your profile and needs.
If you still feel tired and depressed despite your different trials to overcome burnout you might need to seek support from a professional, try to consult a therapist who specializes in burnout to follow up with you.
To sum up, burnout is a tricky situation from which many people are suffering. It is always better to try to avoid it but in case we fall into it we need to adapt the required measures to improve our situation and gain back our productivity and motivation.