BURNOUT: Signs and Prevention

by Kristina M. Brophy, Community Development Specialist

Most of us start jobs or projects feeling motivated and wanting to make a positive contribution to the organization or project.  Over time, the interest and motivation that led us to take on responsibility of the job/project may be replaced by a feeling of stress due to the constant demands and stresses of the job. Those feelings of overwhelming stress that last for a long time can lead to burnout, a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. “Burnout is a syndrome often observed in caregivers, e.g., social service employees, nurses, or hospital staff, with physical symptoms including exhaustion, fatigue, headaches, and disturbed sleep patterns. In addition, nonspecific pain, reduced attention span, feelings of meaninglessness, apathy, or detachment from work can also be presented by burned out subjects”.

How many of us have woken up in the morning dreading the prospect of going to work, having no energy, feeling overloaded, cynical, and resentful, and not being productive once we get there? Feeling that way once in a while is pretty normal, but it may be a sign of burnout if that feeling hits every morning.  According to HelpGuide.org, you may be on the road to burnout if:

• Every day is a bad day.
• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
• You’re exhausted all the time.
• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
• You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.

While burnout may be caused by overwhelming stress, it isn’t the same as just feeling too much stress. For the most part, we feel stressed by the pressure of too many physical and psychological demands. We think that once we have everything under control, the stress will go away and we’ll feel better.  In contrast, burnout is the feeling that there’s just not enough….not enough time to get everything done, that there will never be enough time to get everything done, and worse yet, not feeling motivated or caring whether it gets done. Most of us recognize when we’re under a lot of stress, but may not be as readily aware that we’re suffering from burnout.  Recognizing the difference between stress and burnout will help deal with the problem.  The Ohio State University Department of Aging (www.corevalues.com) identifies the differences as follows:

Burnout affects not only your work life, but your home and social life as well.  It can impact your body making you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. While some of us may not realize how negatively burnout impacts us, experts suggest that because of its many negative consequences, burnout should be avoided, or if it does occur, should be dealt with right away. If warning signs of burnout are ignored, the problems will likely become worse. Livestrong.com provides a good questionnaire to determine if you are experiencing burnout. The questionnaire, as well as additional information regarding burnout, can be accessed at http://www.livestrong.com/article/14719-preventing-burnout.

The following steps can be taken to prevent impending burnout from becoming a full blown breakdown:

Burnout Prevention Tips (helpguide.org)

• Start the day with a relaxing ritual. Rather jumping out of bed as soon as you wake up, spend at least fifteen minutes meditating, writing in your journal, doing gentle stretches, or reading something that inspires you.
• Adopt healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping habits. When you eat right, engage in regular physical activity, and get plenty of rest, you have the energy and resilience to deal with life’s hassles and demands.
• Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself. Learn how to say “no” to requests on your time. If you find this difficult, remind yourself that saying “no” allows you to say “yes” to the things that you truly want to do.
• Take a daily break from technology. Set a time each day when you completely disconnect. Put away your laptop, turn off your phone, and stop checking email.
• Nourish your creative side. Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun project, or resume a favorite hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with work.
• Learn how to manage stress. When you’re on the road to burnout, you may feel helpless. But you have a lot more control over stress than you may think. Learning how to manage stress can help you regain your balance.

Coping with job burnout

Helpguide.org also suggests that there are ways to combat burnout specifically related to your job. That may mean changing what you’re doing at work, or in more extreme cases, changing jobs or careers.  If changing jobs isn’t an option, you can still improve your situation or state of mind by following a few simple steps. First, identify specific stressors in your work life.  Next, it is important to change the way you deal with the stressors.  The following suggestions from helpguide.org may help:

• Actively address problems. Take a proactive approach – rather than a passive one – to issues in your workplace. You’ll feel less helpless if you assert yourself and express your needs. If you don’t have the authority or resources to solve the problem, talk to a superior.
• Clarify your job description. Ask your boss for an updated description of your job duties and responsibilities. Point out things you’re expected to do that are not part of your job description and gain a little leverage by showing that you’ve been putting in work over and above the parameters of your job.
• Ask for new duties. If you’ve been doing the exact same work for a long time, ask to try something new: a different grade level, a different sales territory, a different machine.
• Take time off. If burnout seems inevitable, take a complete break from work. Go on vacation, use up your sick days, ask for a temporary leave-of-absence—anything to remove yourself from the situation. Use the time away to recharge your batteries and take perspective.

These strategies may help you avoid burnout, but are not intended to substitute for the help available from general health and mental health care professionals. If you are feeling too overwhelmed to deal with problems related to burnout alone, consider the benefits of consulting a licensed health/mental health professional.An interesting phenomenon that emphasizes the importance of addressing burnout is Karoshi or occupational sudden deathwhich translates literally from Japanese as “death from overwork”. The major medical causes of Karoshi are stroke and heart attack due to stress.  Interestingly, according to Wikipedia, “a recent measurement found that a Japanese worker has approximately two hours overtime a day on average.”  To make matters worse, the overtime is often unpaid. The Japanese government acknowledges that companies bear the responsibility of overworking employees.  They recognize the extent of the problem and are working on ways to alleviate it.

Although, Karoshi is thought to be a uniquely Japanese phenomenon, according to Matthew Reiss, Americans are no strangers to it.  Because of the large number of work-related deaths in Japan, legislation of a national pension system was developed for surviving members of karoshi victims’ families. The reality of this phenomenon has not appeared to make an impact on the United States as Washington has not taken any action to address the problem.  “US courts give no quarter to damage claims by overworked Americans. The law seems to suggest that if everyone is overworked to the point of debilitation, no-one therefore warrants compensation. This makes America’s Protestant work ethic a Puritan plague and affirms anthropologist Marshall Sahlins’s comment that the market system has handed down to human beings a sentence of ‘life at hard labour’”.

We may all tolerate stress and burnout as a normal part of our personal and work lives, but in order to avoid the Karoshi phenomenon and live calmer and healthier lives, we should consider ways to avoid burnout. I always try to remember that if I follow the boundaries I have in place for myself and not be overcome by all expectations from others and the “should haves”, “could haves” I impose on myself, I am more likely to be happy in my personal life as well as my work life.  If you’ve already experienced burnout, Sherry’s article about how to recover from burnout should help.

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