Signs You Might Feel Work Burnout
Feeling exhausted when you wake up in the morning? When you think about heading to work, do you feel dread, annoyance, or just a deep sense of apathy? Do you think back to when you started this job with fondness, remembering a time when being there didn’t feel quite so painful?
You might be burnt out.
Work burnout is an incredibly common concern these days. With work being accessible to us on our phones or computers at any time, it can be even more challenging to not experience the conditions that lead to burnout.
Symptoms of burnout at work:
-Low energy and exhaustion
-Increased anxiety
-Feeling inadequate or incompetent
-Trouble sleeping or wanting more sleep than usual
-Forgetfulness
-Feelings of apathy, especially about things you may have previously cared about
-Physical symptoms, like headaches, stomach aches, or getting sick more than usual
-Sense of dread or doom
-Anger or irritability
-Sense that things will never improve
So what do you do if you’re noticing these symptoms of burnout at work?
Hold strong boundaries
As much as possible, let work be WORK and let everything else be NOT WORK.
If your job allows, do not bring work home. If you have to, or if you work from home, isolate your work to one specific area in your home and leave it there (yes, this means not working on the powerpoint on the couch where you relax and not answering your email in bed where you sleep.)
Delete work apps on your phone, only work specified hours, and be strict about what you can and cannot accommodate.
If this feels challenging, use “what if?” to help you do the mental experiment of holding a boundary.
For example, ask yourself “What if I don’t answer any emails after 6pm?” Maybe the answer is “I’d be able to focus on time with my partner and there’s a chance my boss would be upset with me.” Then ask “what if?” again–“What if I got that time with my partner and my boss is also upset with me?”
Continue in this way until you feel like you have a sense of the important factors and what possibility would or would not be worth it.
Identify areas that can change
Some part of your current work life may not be changeable, but are there parts, even small things, that are within your control to change? Even if this means taking small breaks between tasks at work or changing the level of effort you put into a project.
If there’s nothing changeable, what’s next? Even if the reality is that you can’t change jobs for the foreseeable future, dreaming about a time when things might be different can help remind you that this feeling won’t last forever.
Find support
Whether you felt support from a friend, partner, coworker, or a mental health professional, sharing your experience with the appropriate person and getting relational support will be important in moving through your symptoms.
And remember–your job is a contract. When you sign a contract, you commit to doing certain things for your job, but they also commit to doing things for you. If they are not holding up their end of the deal, that isn’t fair.
