| Are You on the Road to Burnout?
By Megan Martin
Remember the thrill of starting your current position—when you came to work eager, ready to challenge yourself, and excited to meet new goals? If that time seems long gone and you spend a good portion of your day feeling overworked, undermotivated and detached, wondering what happened to that “spark,” you may be experiencing a case of burnout.
The symptoms vary—from depression to a decrease in productivity to problems with your home life or health. Often those most afflicted by the problem are the best employees, those who would characterize themselves as hard-working perfectionists.
Mark Flaherty, sales executive for SALO Project, says too often companies do not take the problem of employee burnout seriously. “To some organizations, it's like a badge of honor for people to work hard. The mentality is: If you don't work hard, or if you don't work overtime, you're seen as not being dedicated or not looking to get ahead. But people reach their breaking point. You have to make sure you're accommodating people.”
While many U.S. companies are coming around to this idea, employees are often pushed too hard—to the point of burnout. Luckily, even if you find yourself in a stressful environment, there are ways to take care of yourself and regain enjoyment of your work.
1. Identify the Problem
In order to alleviate burnout, the first step is being able to correctly identify it. “If you don't know what contributed to burnout, you won't know what corrective measures to undertake,” says David Javitch, columnist and President of Javitch Associates, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm, in his Entrepreneur.com online article “How to Prevent—and Rescue—Burnt Out Employees.”
Catching burnout early is a must—the longer you let the problem go, the more difficult it is to reverse. Flaherty notes that once you're burnt out, it can take a long time to remedy the situation—that even a month or six weeks of “decompression time” won't necessarily cure it.
One way to determine if you're truly suffering from burnout is to take a few days off, or even a vacation—especially if you haven't in a while. If you feel fatigued on the job, but rejuvenated after a little R&R or vacation time, you may just be experiencing a case of exhaustion.
On the other hand, if you take time off and still dread returning to work, feel so stressed by your manager's demands that it's impossible to stay afloat, or begin the new project that would once have excited you with a sense of detachment, the problem may be more serious.
Look at your work habits—are you a perfectionist, constantly striving to meet unattainable goals? Working too many hours? Do you feel your work and home life are not in balance, or feel deprived because you don't have the time to focus on activities you enjoy? Look deep—once you've found the source of your frustrations, you can begin combating them.
2. Overcoming Burnout
So you've identified yourself as “burnt out.” Don't panic—there are still ways to overcome it.
Give yourself a break
If you're experiencing symptoms of burnout, it's likely that you're pushing yourself too hard. “There's a crucial difference between being motivated and being driven; while both forces may produce stellar results, motivated people stay fresh and energized over time. Driven people burn out,” says Douglas B. Richardson in his CareerJournal.com online story “Stressed or Burned Out? There Are Solutions.”
Richardson also notes that “Burnout stems from the desire to please others. It often is the hallmark of perfectionists, who feel they must excel at everything and strive for the approval of some unseen judge or jury.”
Remember that it isn't possible to do everything. If you feel the demands of your supervisor are too much to handle, speak up. Give yourself permission to take a personal day to do something you enjoy.
Add variety to your worklife
If you find yourself stuck in the same routine or schedule every day at work, performing the same tasks in the same order, taking your lunch at the same time every day—it may be a good idea to shake things up. Just because you feel burnt out, it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to find a new job—you may just need to re-envision your position.
Ask yourself what tasks in your position you truly enjoy. Learn to delegate less-enjoyable tasks so you leave yourself free to do more of the work that is truly satisfying. Look at what used to motivate you about the position, and see if you can regain that momentum. If previous motivators no longer apply, think about what might motivate you now that you've been in the position for a while and have a better understanding of what it requires.
Consider refocusing—is there a new way to look at your position and find ways to challenge yourself and improve the work you do? Could you “expand” your position by focusing on an aspect you often overlook, and making it more of a priority? If your job still seems stale, try seeking out tasks within the organization you think you'd enjoy doing and see if extra help is needed. Or take any new and creative ideas to your supervisor and see how they may be best implemented into your position.
Have a Sense of Humor
If you feel like you're chained to your cube for most of each day, working in isolation, you may just need to loosen up. Flaherty notes that companies where people care for one another on a social level often experience fewer cases of burnout.
“Make work fun,” says Flaherty. “Don't be too serious. Break up your day and joke and laugh—humor in the work place is so important. People get burnt out when they're wound too tight. The harder you work, the more fun you need to have. Most companies realize they need that.”
Simply chatting with colleagues or listening to music are two simple ways to break up your workday and decrease feelings of stress and isolation.
Work toward work/life balance
A 2005 study by the Families and Work Institute found that “employees who balance career and family demands are healthiest and most successful,” yet the majority of Americans claim to be unhappy with their work/life balance.
Flaherty contributes part of the problem to technology—“Nowadays it becomes so easy to not get away from work when you've got the technology. Blackberries are the worst thing ever because you never escape work: You're working 24/7, checking emails, so it's like you're always there.”
If you feel comfortable, ask your manager if it's possible to implement a more flexible work schedule, telecommute one day a week, or sponsor a work/life balance seminar at the office.
Flaherty also recommends having hobbies outside the office as a way to relieve stress and take your thoughts away from work. “Variety is the spice of life,” says Flaherty. “Variety in your home and work life—you've got to have that. Everyone needs some change once in a while.”
Search For Greener Pastures
If self-analysis and changing your attitude toward work still leaves you feeling in a rut, don't be afraid to speak up. While you may think it's taboo to express concern to management at your company, it may be the best thing you can do. Most companies are aware of the demands they place on staff, and if you ask for help in resolving the issue they will likely respond.
However, if your company is unwilling to acknowledge your needs, it may be
time to consider a move. “If your corporation expects that you must continue
working as you have—and if there is not an appreciation or acknowledgment
of your current condition, it may be necessary to change your environment,” says Javitch.
If this ends up being your decision, you can start your search for a new
environment that will be better-suited to you.
Megan Martin is a writer based in Chicago. She can be reached at Megan.M@BeTuitive.com.
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