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FINDING NO JOY IN YOUR JOB? Lacking motivation at work? Wishing you could escape the office for a long getaway? If so, you may be among the rising number of workers who have job burnout. If left unchecked, burnout can lead to serious health problems. The good news, though, is that burnout can be reversed.
The employment-focused website Indeed conducted a survey of 1,500 workers to determine the level of burnout. Over half—52 percent—of survey respondents experienced burnout in 2021, up from the 43 percent who said the same in the website’s pre-COVID-19 survey.
Although workers have felt the despair of burnout likely for as long as there’ve been jobs, the term “burnout” is relatively new. It was coined by German-born American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in his 1974 book, Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement. He described it as “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.”
Here are 10 symptoms of job burnout, according to health experts that include those at the Mayo Clinic:
• Have you become cynical or critical at work? • Have you become irritable
• Have you become irritable or impatient with coworkers, clients, or customers?
• Are you using food, drugs, or alcohol to feel better?
• Are you having more bad days than good days at work?
• Do you have stomachaches, digestive problems, or pain in your back or neck?
• Are you having headaches more frequently than usual?
• Have your sleep habits changed—getting either much more or much less sleep than usual?
• Are you avoiding conversations with colleagues or with your manager, or avoiding work altogether?
• Do you frequently fantasize about quitting your job?
• Are you too exhausted to do anything fun when you are not at work?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of those questions, you may have job burnout. What happens next? Unaddressed job burnout can have significant consequences on your health, such as:
• Excessive stress
• Fatigue
• Insomina
• Sadness, anger, or irritability
• Alcohol or substance abuse
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Vulnerability to illnesses.
Now comes a critical component: how to alleviate burnout. Experts emphasize that burnout doesn’t have to be permanent. It can be reversed.
There’s no magic pill that once swallowed restores your well-being. But by taking even small steps each day, you’ll restore your mental, physical, and emotional strength.For example, experts suggest:
• Strike a work-life balance. When you leave the office at day’s end, leave work concerns behind. Start and stick to a schedule that allows you to have a fulfilling personal life without having work concerns infringe on that.
• Develop outside interests. This is part of the work-life balance. Look into activities that can help relieve stress, such as yoga, tai chi, or anything from reading a good book to fishing, swimming, or simply taking a relaxing walk in a park.
• Tend to your physical health. This is an extension of the previous suggestion. Make time not only for exercise, but also to see to your basic needs, such as a good diet and a restful night’s sleep.
• Share your concerns with a manager. Turning back to what you can do at work, speak to a supervisor about what you’re going through. You may not be the only one experiencing burnout, and if addressed at the management level, the work atmosphere may improve.
• Build relationships with fellow workers. This is an extension of the above point. Developing positive relationships with your colleagues builds a sense of community, which fosters a sense of belonging.
• Ask for help. Turn to your colleagues, family, friends, clergy, or any trusted person for direction in what you can do.
Experts emphasize this point: Don’t underestimate your ability to take action on your own behalf. Take a hard, honest look at what’s causing your burnout, and make choices to restore yourself to a happy, healthy state of work.
Dennis Bova is a freelance writer and editor.
