Burnout: How to Recognise It and What to Do About It

Workplace burnout is a mental and emotional state that occurs when you feel exhausted, apathetic, and cynical about work. This can lead to a variety of symptoms, including depression and anxiety. While some cases of burnout are caused by external factors like long hours or difficult projects at work, others stem from internal struggles such as feeling bored with your job or having trouble meeting deadlines. Fortunately, there are many ways to overcome workplace burnout once it starts affecting your productivity at work and home life – including taking breaks throughout the day.

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion caused by long-term stress. It can lead to depression and other health problems if left untreated.

Burnout symptoms include:

Feeling tired all the time
Having trouble sleeping or waking up feeling unrefreshed in the morning (this could be due to poor sleep quality)
Being irritable with others around you (you might find yourself snapping at people more often than usual)
Experiencing negative thoughts about your job or workplace environment

The symptoms of burnout

Lack of energy
Exhaustion
Feeling negative about work
Lack of enthusiasm for your job and the people around you, including your co-workers and bosses. If you used to care about them, now all they seem like are a bunch of annoying busybodies who do not understand what is important in life. You may also find yourself being rude or snappy with them without realising it until later when someone points it out to you.
Feeling like nothing matters anymore because everything just feels pointless anyway. This can lead to feelings such as apathy towards other people’s problems (or even self-pity) because there does not seem much point in helping others if our own lives are so awful!

Burnout can be caused by a variety of factors.

Burnout is a complex condition that can be caused by a variety of factors.

Stress: Stressful situations in the workplace can lead to burnout, such as an excessive workload or unrealistic expectations from managers and co-workers.
Fatigue: If you are running on empty due to lack of sleep or other health problems, it may be harder for you to stay productive at work – and this could lead directly into burnout territory over time.
Lack of control: When employees feel that they have no control over their job-related tasks, such as being instructed by someone else on the duration of their lunch break, they may experience a sense of helplessness and develop resentment towards their situation. This can worsen feelings of depression or anxiety, particularly when combined with stressors like excessive workload.

How to overcome workplace burnout.

Take a break.
Get some exercise.
Talk to a friend or family member about what is going on in your life, including work.
Try to laugh more often throughout the day, even when it feels like nothing is funny at all!
Take some time every day (even just 30 minutes) to reflect on your life and career goals and how they relate to each other so that you can make sure they are still aligned as time goes on. This does not have to be an elaborate process – just sit down with pen and paper, or open up a document on your computer if that works better for you; just take time each day to think about where things stand right now and how they might change over time as well as why those changes would matter so much that they would warrant making them happen sooner rather than later (or never).

Workplace burnout is common, but you can overcome it

Burnout is a common problem, but you can overcome it.

Take a break: Burnout is often caused by overwork and stress, so the first step towards recovery is to take some time off from work and recharge your batteries. If possible, go on vacation or even just get out of the office for an hour or two every day – you will feel better for having done so
Talk to your boss: If you are feeling exhausted because of long hours at work, talk with your supervisor about how many hours are reasonable for each position within their company (and do not forget that there might be some legal protections against excessive overtime). A good manager will prioritise the happiness and well-being of their employees. If quitting the job outright is not a viable option, a good manager may collaborate with their employees to identify alternative solutions to address the issue.

Conclusion

Burnout is a very common problem in the workplace, but it is not something that you have to suffer with forever. By taking steps to manage your stress levels, you can overcome burnout and return to feeling like yourself again.

At HR Domain, we understand that personal and professional growth is important to you. That’s why we offer a variety of courses that cater to your specific needs, including our Personal Resilience course, as well as courses on self-development and interpersonal skills. By enrolling in one of our courses, you will gain valuable knowledge and skills that will help you progress in both your personal and professional life, beating burnout.

Do not wait any longer to invest in yourself – take the first step towards a better future by enrolling in one of our courses today.