Warning Signs of Workplace Burnout & How to Deal With Them

Introduction

You are dreaming of your holiday sipping the mojito in your hand reading your favorite book when suddenly you wake up to the ringing of your morning alarm and suddenly find yourself throwing yourself out of bed, dreading another day at work. Your mailbox is full, your to-do list is endless, and despite how much you try, feeling perpetually tired, apathetic, or drained emotionally at work?  Ring a bell? You may not be simply tired-you may be burned out.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout according to the ICD-11 is a syndrome understood to arise from prolonged workplace stress that has not been effectively controlled. This is typically defined by three main features –

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion

• increased mental distance from one’s work, or feelings of negativism or cynicism towards one’s work

• and decreased professional efficacy.

The issue of workplace burnout is notable and troubling owing to the swift transformations in the working milieu. It is present in every single industry. Long-term work pressure, extra work hours, and continuous stress of the workplace contributes to chronic fatigue, apathy, and lack of productivity. The sheer exhaustion together with consistent lack of motivation and emotional numbness is what leads to lagging well-being and productivity on an individual and organizational level. Contributing factors are lack of autonomy over tasks, poor coping mechanisms, unrealistic deadlines, and deficient organizational support. If dealt with relatively, burnout has the potential to inflict deep-rooted mental and physical ailments which is why it is essential for both stakeholders, individuals and organizations, to quickly ascertain and actively seek to minimize the spectacle dubbed as workplace burnout from spiraling out of control.

Workplace burnout is the most prevalent type of burnout with 57% higher risk of workplace absence of more than two weeks because of illness (Borritz et al., 2010) and 180% higher risk of depressive disorders development (Ahola et al., 2005). Also, it may interfere with everyday cognitive functioning, short term memory and attention.

So how to recognize burnout ? Below are the important signs of workplace burnout:

Important signs of workplace burnout

1. 1. Constant exhaustion and fatigue are one of the first indicators of burnout. No matter how well you sleep at night, you simply can’t seem to energize yourself during the day. It may be paired with muscle tension and having headaches.

1. 1. Stress at work may result in decline in overall efficiency and productivity, missing deadlines or having more errors than normal.

1. 1. Chronic workplace stress can result in excessive mood swings, anxiety, and the feeling of getting frustrated over small things.

1. 1. Mental exhaustion at the workplace results in work-life imbalance and isolation leads to work stress home and impacts personal relationships.

Reasons for burnout symptoms at work:

• • Lack of control: When no control is exercised over how the work is done, workload and timelines included, it can lead to job burnout.

• • Lack of support: When you feel isolated and experience lack of support from family and friends, it can lead to poor motivation to work.

• • Having a heavy workload and long hours of working: Working in a helping role, such as health care, that entails a great deal of giving to other people.

• • Work-life imbalance: Perhaps your job consumes so much time and energy that you have no energy left for friends and family. Such imbalance may result in burnout from work.

• • Sense of Worthlessness: gives you a feeling of never being able to accomplish anything therefore leads to feelings of lack of achievement and productivity. The feeling has a relation with the causes of exhaustion and cynicism as symptoms of complete burnout.

How to prevent it then? Here are some ways in which you can prevent burnout at work.

Handling burnout at work

• • Learn to say NO: A simple act of saying NO and setting boundaries can help in preventing burning out from work. Knowing oneself capabilities and boundaries and being assertive is important for better workplace balance.

• • Prioritize self-care: Taking time off for yourself, going out on solo dates and picking up your hobbies again helps you to rejuvenate and take mind off of stressful work life. This in turn helps increase productivity and efficiency at work.

• • Shift your perspective: While rest, relaxation, and replenishment can ease exhaustion, curb cynicism, and enhance efficacy, they don’t fully address the root causes of burnout. Back at the office, you may still face the same impossible workload, untenable conflicts, or paltry resources. So now must take a look at your mindset and assumptions.

• • Reduce your exposure to job stressors: Job stressors such as heavy workload, long work hours, lack of control and poor communication can lead to burnout at work. Asking help from colleagues or distributing work can prevent you from burning out.

FAQS of Burnout at the Workplace

Q. How to recognise burnout amongst your peers?

A. If your peers seem disinterested, found frequently zoning out, making more mistakes than usual or feeling exhausted, they are more likely experiencing burnout at work. You can encourage your peers to seek help in organizations like MindSage located in New Delhi, which provides expert therapy sessions to help individuals manage work-related stress.

Q How can organisations help employees avoid burnout?

Companies can reduce employee burnout and job burnout symptoms by promoting healthy work culture, flexible work arrangements and providing mental health resources. This ensures manageable workloads.

Q Can burnout lead to long-term health issues and show signs of stress at work?

Yes, chronic workplace stress can contribute to cardiovascular diseases, anxiety disorders, depression and high blood pressure.

It is important to manage burnout at work as early as possible in order to maintain productivity, good mental health, and a healthier office for everyone. After all, both employees and companies can work together towards a more balanced workplace by managing stress and recognizing the signs of burnout. From time to time, it may be necessary to change how employees’ tasks are structured or even transfer them to a different role within the same company. This may benefit the employee but could also help the company retain talent which is definitely a win/win. But it is essential to balance this with being open to considering what is best for you. A healthy lifestyle can greatly benefit from asking for assistance.