Burnout is becoming more common in the American workforce and may be crippling and distressing. It saps the joy from your relationships with your family, friends, and coworkers. However, burnout is only sometimes noticeable. Here is a guide to help you recognize the symptoms of burnout and solutions to dealing with it.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and frequent physical weariness caused by prolonged stress. World Health Organization’s International Disease Classification (ICD-11) now recognizes burnout as an “occupational phenomenon.” The ICD-11 describes burnout as a syndrome thought to result from ongoing workplace stress that has not been effectively managed.
What are the 5 Stages of Burnout?
- Honeymoon Phase: Typically, you begin a new career or business venture with dedication, zeal, and innovation. If you continue overworking and adopt regular relaxation strategies, this could quickly develop to the next stage.
- The onset of Stress: You begin to realize some days are more stressful than others. You can start to feel the expected effects of stress symptoms on your body, mind, or emotions.
- Chronic Stress: Your stress levels alter at this period, shifting from motivation to experiencing stress more frequently.
- Burnout Phase: You occasionally lose your ability to operate correctly. Physical symptoms such as stomach troubles, gastrointestinal disorders, and headaches worsen and become persistent.
- Burnout Phase: You may experience persistent physical and mental exhaustion that prevents you from working.
Burnout FAQs
What Causes Burnout at Work?
Challenging workloads
A demanding workload might sabotage the work-life balance.
Lack of control
Being powerless to change decisions that impact your employment, such as your schedule, tasks, or workload.
Conflicting job expectations
Negative business practices lead to toxic workplace conditions that reduce employee motivation and increase stress.
Dysfunctional relationships at work
Dependable relationships can nurture your career ambitions. Lack of assistance can cause burnout.
Work-life conflict
Your job may consume so much of your time and energy that you lack the power to spend quality time with your loved ones.
How do you know if you’re Burned Out?
Burnout frequently comes with a sense of total fatigue that does not go away with standard therapeutic measures. You can determine if you are experiencing burnout by recognizing the signs.
Common Signs of Burnout
- Headaches and backaches
- Anger and temperamental issues
- Sleeping difficulties
- Fatigue
- Reduced output at work
- Anxiety and worry
- Loss of motivation at work
How Burnout can affect the Body
Chronic stress during burnout can increase the risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and sudden cardiac death in humans.
How to Recover from Burnout
You can address burnout in the following ways:
- Ask for assistance from family, friends, or coworkers.
- Try a stress-relieving activity.
- Discuss your alternatives with your employer.
- Get enough sleep to promote well-being.
What’s the difference between Burnout and stress?
Stress and burnout frequently coincide. However, burnout is work-related tiredness, feeling overwhelmed, and a sense of being “stuck.” In contrast to focusing, where you can picture yourself feeling better once things calm down, burnout feels hopeless.
Burnout is sometimes viewed as a personal issue fixed with easy-to-implement strategies like “learning to say no.” However, there is growing proof that individual remedies are insufficient to address massive and fast-changing phenomena in the workplace.