Do you think job burnout is real?
With the increased stress, it’s become common to hear about diseases like burnout, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, mental disorders etc.
The term “Job burnout” was first coined by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1970 to explain the consequences of severe stress in professionals. According to World Health Organization (WHO), burnout is an occupational phenomenon classified as a disease.
It affects all working professionals, especially doctors, nurses, teachers, financial analysts, lawyers, construction workers, sales managers, compliance officers, social workers, police officers, security guards etc. However, women and people under 30 are more at risk of burnout.
However, when defining “job burnout”, many experts don’t always agree on what exactly job burnout is. Generally, it is defined as a type of work-related stress resulting in
- Extreme physical and mental exhaustion.
- Affecting their daily life, health, and relationships.
- They start losing purpose, motivation, happiness, and work satisfaction.
Burnout is a very different condition from depression. Burnout is the situation that arises when one starts feeling helpless. Even after much effort, it is always less at the end of the day. Nothing works out. One starts feeling helpless. There’s no work satisfaction, and the person loses concentration. They slowly start to withdraw from work as if there is no solution to their issue. Ultimately, they lose hope and faith.
At the beginning of this stage, people start consuming tea, coffee, alcohol, smoking, or drugs to calm the mind. When it further deteriorates, it starts affecting their sleep. Complaints of unexplained and frequent physical pain, such as headaches, abdominal pain, and back or joint pain, start. Slowly but certainly, the person starts to withdraw from work. They stop putting more effort as if they have given up. They do only as much work as is necessary to do the work, which hinders their professional development.
Let’s understand what can be done in this situation.
(1)Support from colleagues:
We all need to understand and accept that everyone is different. We all have different skill sets and cannot be equally perfect in every task. At the same time, no matter how hard you try, it is challenging to do the work flawlessly if you are not good at a particular work. Laziness and the non-ability to do some work are two different situations.
If you are in any situation where you are struggling with work, it is of utmost importance to discuss it with your co-worker or your superior. Getting their support to understand your work better than shooting in the dark is crucial. Simultaneously, it would be best if you also worked on developing the required skillset. If you know how to crack it, achieving happiness and professional growth will be easier.
(2)Remove some “me-time”:
This is non-negotiable. Start any activity you enjoy apart from work and home. Take some time once a week or a few hours every evening for an activity you enjoy. A sure-shot way to do this is to register your name or take membership for the activity. It should be at a specific time.
Initially, you need help to remove time between loads of work. But once you start this, the activity will fit into your routine, and slowly your mind will start settling down. It will become easier to deal with stress when the mind is healthy and any situation looks simple to resolve, which is the ultimate path to success.
(3)Evaluation of your work list:
It is usual for everyone to add unnecessary stuff to their plate. And it might surprise you if you evaluate what you do daily. We waste our time by getting to work, which is optional. Analyzing and then prioritizing the work is essential.
First, finish what is on your priority list and say NO to the rest. That will save you from not finishing work, which is essential. In addition, it adds more work satisfaction and leads to professional growth.
Evaluating your time and wasting less time on unnecessary activities is imperative.
Stress, depression and burnout all seem similar, but each situation requires different efforts to resolve. It is best to understand the situation first and find the solution keeping the person’s personality behind.
In a gist, avoid using same stick for all.