People throw the term ‘burnout’ around often, but do you know what it really means, how you can identify it, to maintain your wellbeing, and what to do if you suspect you might be suffering from it?
Part of our vision is to help conscious professionals lead more balanced and meaningful lives, and as such we’d like to shed some light on the topic of burnout and provide some helpful advice for you to identify it, and most importantly – avoid burnout.
Let’s get into it.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion.
It can happen when you feel overwhelmed, overworked, or underappreciated. If you’re not careful, burnout can have some really negative effects on your health, your career, and your relationships.
Burnout can be caused by a number of factors, including long hours, high stress levels, and a lack of job satisfaction. We find that it is most common in high-pressure jobs that require long hours or have unrealistic deadlines.
Looking at the working environment, burnout can lead to a number of negative consequences, including decreased productivity, absenteeism, and even driving people to quit or resign from their jobs. If you’re experiencing burn out at work, or sense that a colleague may be, it’s important to take steps to address the problem.
What Are The Burnout Red Flags?
When someone is experiencing burnout, there are often some very clear signals. These can include:
- Feeling exhausted or drained most of the time
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Losing motivation or feeling apathetic
- Increasingly relying on alcohol or other substances to cope
- Having difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Experiencing physical health problems such as headaches or gastrointestinal issues
- Feeling like you’re not doing anything well, even things you used to enjoy
If left untreated, burnout can lead to physical health problems such as headaches, insomnia, and heart disease. It can also cause mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Sadly, burnout in the workplace is a very real phenomenon. In fact, it’s estimated that up to one in four people will experience burnout at some point in their lives. That’s why it is so important to know what to look for and what steps to take to avoid it BEFORE it becomes a real problem.
6 Tips to Avoid Burnout
Being conscious and intentional about your health, wellbeing and mindset is a key driver to ensuring you avoid unhealthy habits that can lead to burnout. The most important thing is to identify the root cause of your stress and make changes to your lifestyle or work environment to reduce or eliminate it.
- Identify the causes of your burn out. What is it about your job that is causing you to feel stressed and overwhelmed? Once you identify the root cause of your burn out, you can begin to address it.
- Talk to your boss. It’s important to communicate with your boss about your feelings of burnout. They may be able to offer suggestions or make changes to help you feel more comfortable in your job.
- Take a break. If you’re feeling burned out, it’s important to take a step back and relax. Take some time for yourself outside of work. This can help you recharge and come back to work with fresh energy.
- Seek counselling. If you’re struggling to cope with burnout, consider seeking counselling from a professional. This can be an extremely helpful way to address the problem and find ways to cope with the stress of your job.
- Set boundaries. Learn to say no to additional commitments, and make time for yourself. – Find a healthy balance.
- Make sure you’re taking care of your physical and mental health. Eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep are all important.
Recovering From Burnout
Recovering from burnout is about learning to recognise triggers, be vigilant about prioritising self-care and managing healthy boundaries so you can ensure it doesn’t happen again. It’s so important to identify where your stress stems from and make changes to your lifestyle or work environment to reduce or eliminate it.
Every one of us is different, and you’ll need to identify things that help you – incorporate regular breaks during the day to relax and rejuvenate or be more diligent about exercising regularly to release tension and improve your mood. Eating a healthy diet that will boost your energy and mood is a key factor to your overall wellbeing, as is getting enough sleep each night.
Sterkla and wellbeing
We’re in the business of making life coaching accessible to everyone on the planet, and building people up to lead meaningful lives, lives where they truly live out their purpose. Helping professionals build conscious awareness so they are able to identify what is working and what is not working in their lives is just one of the reasons Sterkla exists.
The coaches on Sterkla are fully equipped and highly skilled in assisting you, and providing the tools you (or those you love) need in order to identify, recover from or altogether avoid burnout. For more information or to request a demo for your business, visit www.sterkla.com or contact support@sterkla.com, or download the Sterkla app on Apple and Play stores.