Conquer Professional Burnout For Good
- August 15, 2024
Work overload, long-term stress, pressing deadlines and the burden of responsibility is an endless wheel of despair, where, after months or even years of striving for better and better performance, you may loose the satisfaction of work that once was enjoyable, and you could do it easily and effortlessly.
Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion accompanied by a decline in professional effectiveness, alienation, and negative defensive reactions such as cynicism and pessimism that has resulted from prolonged or repeated stress. This state can be accompanied by anxiety, inability to concentrate, headaches, sleep disorders, deterioration of adaptation skills, loss of creativity and memory.
Over time, the symptoms of professional burnout can even reduce life expectancy and exhaust your working abilities. Therefore, it is essential to respect your own emotional, physiological and social needs in order not to end up with chronic stress and burnout. In this blog article you will find out what professional burnout is and how to protect yourself from it both at work and outside of it
How to recognize professional burnout?
Burnout is not just a disease of workaholics – anyone who works in a stressful environment can experience it. Interestingly that to date, still the definition of burnout syndrome is not included in any medical classification of diseases.
Burnout is not some sudden, serious illness that comes on unexpectedly. Usually, the signs of it can accumulate for years until a person experiences a severe crisis. To detect professional burnout in time, pay attention to the following signs:
- Interrupted sleep or sleep disorders;
- negative emotional state;
- cynicism and pessimism as a way of thinking;
- loss of concentrationand focus;
- lack of satisfaction with work;
- inability to perform routine tasks;
- avoiding communication with friends, colleagues, family;
- conflicts with family, at work or with strangers.
What can you do today to avoid burnout in your daily life?
One of the most important prerequisites that will allow you to avoid burnout is to find the balance between work and rest, as well as having the ability not to overload yourself by correctly prioritizing the workload. In this section, we are going to share some ideas on how you can support yourself using simple, but effective methods:
24 hour plan
The first step is to look at your day ahead (the next 24 hours) and balance the workload and the time for rest in it – strictly plan specific rest breaks every working hour to recharge. The breaks don`t have to be long – you can go get water, tea or coffee, go for a walk, have something to eat or just look out the window. Decide on what do you plan to accomplish in the next 24 hours and what would it take to prepare yourself for a successful day? Effective time planning is half of the success, the other half is executing the plan. And the most important advice for planning time and work is to evaluate what matters the most for you that day. Are you doing things because you have to? Who will benefit from it? Maybe there are things in your scheduled activities that are not necessary at all. Don’t do things that aren’t effective.
Dedicate 100% of your attention to the day ahead
The second method helps to reduce anxiety and calm your mind about the dreaded feeling that everything is important. Imagine that your work capacity and daily energy together make up 100%. If one task requires 70%, then only 30% will be left for something else. And try to stick to it – if something doesn’t fit in the designated 100% of the day, then move it to another day (and don’t beat yourself up about it). And if a new task comes up, follow the principle: “if I do this today, then what will happen” choosing the tasks that matter for the day so you don`t leave out the important things. At the beginning of each day, it is useful to determine the time and energy you devote to the most important tasks, so you know that your 100% of time will be spent wisely and won`t get wasted.
Stay on your task
Practiced focus on your task allows you to better concentrate on what to do next, without subjecting yourself to fear of the result or possible failure. Similar to how mountain climbers focus only on the next step they are taking. Stay in the present (here and now) and focus on the task at hand without stress and anxiety.
Transform work into a practical ritual by recording each stage of work. Focus on each step of the work you are doing, be mindful and perform all the necessary steps in sequence. Before and during the task, remind yourself of the goal, why you need to do it and what the planned result will be – both short term and long term.
Monitor your actions and progress – whether you have forgotten to do something, whether you have followed the work process, whether you have not overworked yourself, whether you have achieved your goal ahead of time. Of course, it will be quite difficult to observe all these things at once, but remember that being focused can only be learned through practice.
Take care of your well-being
The periods full of stress, when a sleepless night is compensated with countless cups of coffee, consuming fast-food is a very common scenario. After a long day in the evenings the tension is reduced with a dose of unhealthy snacks and drinks – all of this lifestyle could be called “running with empty batteries”. It is not a question of “if”, but rather “when” the body will no longer be able to physically keep up with the constant effects of burnout.
Taking care of physical health goes hand in hand with mental well-being, so self-help in such moments means to be supportive of yourself in every way possible – dealing with stress, stabilizing daily habits and taking care of yourself, so that you really eat nutritious meals, take the optimal amount of vitamins and minerals, drink water, set aside time for physical activities, create a sustainable daily rhythm and sleep hygiene.
What are the long-term solutions?
Burnout can affect any individual in any profession, however, it is more often observed in representatives of helping professions who work in close contact with people, as well as in various levels of management positions with work in conditions of increased tension and responsibility. Moreover, the roots of burnout can be deeper and can be contributed by a variety of individual factors, from perfectionism to difficult relationships in the professional environment, as well as poor work organization in the workplace and the overall organizational culture. Therefore, it is important to monitor your well-being in the long term and be proactive.
Balance between passive and active rest
When it comes to rest, it is important to pay attention that it cannot be only passive, but also needs an active component. For example, traveling, exploring new places, even walking can significantly improve our emotional well-being and get rid of everyday stress. A change of environment can be a great way to relax, to psychologically disconnect from the hustle and work responsibilities. After all, it is time that can be spent with family or friends and strengthening the sense of community with new adventures and experiences.
It should be noted that rest is also important in the work environment. Why not set aside time every hour for a 5 to 10 minute long break where you are not doing work or thinking about it. If this principle is not observed, the brain quickly gets tired and cannot recover, as a result of it work productivity decreases and the risk of professional burnout increases, which most directly affects not only our material well-being, but also our relationships with others and our sense of well-being.
Revise your work situation
To revise your work situation it is recommended to carry out an inventory of your responsibilities, identifying the factors that cause burnout – the proportionality of the workload, work intensity and job satisfaction. Even small steps such as team support, recognition of accomplishments from others, the simple but so important “thank you” can make people feel appreciated.
Learn to draw boundaries and practice the courage to say no, when it’s too much. At the same time, thinking about career development in the long term will help continue personal growth and education to not get stuck in a routine. Choose to focus your energy and attention on the responsibilities that bring you satisfaction and focus on the tasks that you are best at, thus increasing your self-confidence and sense of success.
Regular socialization and awareness
Even when you feel anxious, tired or stressed, it is important not to forget about the people that matter and not to cancel your social life – not to miss anniversaries, holidays, special gatherings with friends and to maintain your private life active. Likewise, talking to a trusted person or a specialist can be useful for an outside perspective on the issue of burnout. Sometimes burnout has deeper roots and causes, that can be eliminated with better awareness of the situation. It will be easier to deal with burnout when you share your worries with others. Moreover, many workplace health insurance policies these days already include consultations from such specialists.
Schedule pleasant things that bring joy
Plan vacations and rest days, including physical activities, trips, fun events and develop non-work interests into everyday life – do what brings you joy in your free time, because hobbies are essential for mental well-being. For your pleasure, you can plan various motivational and inspirational events by yourself, with family and friends incorporating pleasant activities that will allow your body and mind to recharge from stressful work events. You can also include pleasant activities in your work as bonding, team-building or fun activities with colleagues. Do sports, paint or travel – whatever brings you joy! Engaging in enjoyable activities reduces overall stress levels and promotes a positive mood. Such activities also build self-confidence and allow the development of valuable skills.
How to prevent and eliminate professional burnout at work?
To create a supportive, healthy, and productive environment for yourself, your colleagues, or for your employees, employers and managers should ensure the following:
Efficient time planning. Thoughtful planning of your time and work will prevent a disproportionate workload and chronic rushing and firefighting atmosphere. Unless the specifics of the job allow it, your private time should be clearly separated from time that is devoted to work, so everyone knows when you should not be disturbed regarding work matters you are not ready to discuss. There are many ways to communicate your availability by using busy lights like Luxafor Flag or Busy Tag.
Supportive and positive work environment. The importance of positive and supportive environment and the quality of your work relationships can not be undervalued. There is much less chance to experience stress or burnout in a collective microclimate that fundamentally prevents toxic relationships, gossip and mobbing among colleagues. Clearly defined goals and tasks, having a transparent remuneration and bonus system, open and honest communication, and objective evaluations can help ensure this.
Appropriate work assessment. Adequate work evaluation matters so much because burnout in the workplace is most likely to be contributed not only by the heavy workload itself, but even more so by the feeling that your work is not properly evaluated. Employees need recognition for what they have done, and the work assessment is an integral part of it – words can both bring others down and lift them up, so choose them wisely to motivate your team.
Physical activity and movement. One of the most available and effective drugs against stress, burnout and depression is sports, movement, outdoor activities. When a person moves, substances are released in the body that increase well-being, and they are also more resistant to diseases, heavy loads and stress. That is why exercise is often used to successfully treat burnout. A combination of physical and mental exercises helps to regain mental well-being, and in most cases a complete remission of the disorder is achieved. Therefore, physical activity of employees should be encouraged as much as possible.
Improved job satisfaction. Work productivity and achievements are closely related to employee satisfaction and well-being. It has been proven that an employee who feels satisfied and knows that the employer cares about him, shows higher work efficiency and results. Satisfaction with work can greatly benefit everyone in the workplace leading to better collaborations and more satisfied employees, employers, clients and business partners alike. Motivated and happy employees are more loyal to the company and appreciate their work. They are willing to do more to achieve their own and the company’s goals, are proud of their professional achievements and the team as a whole. Job satisfaction, like the level of motivation and productivity can be improved with some of the actions already mentioned above.
The bottom line
Regardless of whether you are a manager or an employee, it is essential to study and your emotions as well as the work situations that seem challenging, because you can learn to control them and manage them in a way that achieves the desired result. The key to conquer professional burnout is to work on the prevention and to manage the causes that have lead to exhaustion. In order for a car to work well, it needs to be regularly refueled and serviced. In order for us to carry out our tasks and achieve our goals, we must regularly take care of renewing our energy.
If you feel that your energy is starting to run out at work, you need to understand it in time and make a decision to stop and take time to rest. The next step would be to try to understand the cause of the problem and find a solution as soon as possible, preventing the symptoms of burnout from continuing their victory march.
We hope this blog has introduced you to useful practical activities that can help you avoid stress, re-energize, gain clarity to strategically move on and find a way to manage your tasks better, all while increasing your sense of quality of life and satisfaction about your job.
If you have encountered burnout syndrome at work and feel that you are not able to find a balance or a solution on your own, be sure to seek help from a qualified specialist, do not be afraid to look for opportunities and resources that will help you deal with stress and stop the loop of professional burnout altogether. The purpose of this article is to encourage our readers to think about their well-being and to motivate you to focus more on productive work and a healthy lifestyle, so that burnout does not have the slightest chance of stopping your professional development.
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