Apparent signs of job burnout and ways to deal with them

Do you think you have burnout? When looking for signs of burnout in ourselves, it’s natural to think about symptoms like changes in energy and mood during work hours or how we feel about our jobs. Dissatisfaction with the job, declining job performance, and frustration with working conditions are common symptoms of job burnout. These signs warn you that your current job stresses you more than you can handle. If you think you have burnout, stay with us.

What is burnout?

If you look deeper, you can see the signs of burnout in aspects of life that will surprise you. Studies show a direct relationship between people’s sense of job burnout and their satisfaction with the balance between life and work.

Imagine that you are standing in the center of a scale. One side of the scale is your personal life, and the other is your professional life. The pressure on the part where the work life is located increases, and you go to the other side to moderate the scales again. Many of your duties and responsibilities are left on the other side of the scale. You try to take care of both parties and meet the needs of both parties, and these efforts are ineffective and eventually lead to your exhaustion.

Although these back-and-forths may sound familiar, they are an overly simplistic description of burnout. The boundaries between work and personal life are not so clear and precise. The nuances of this part of our lives are very multifaceted and complex.

This is true even in the best of times. Given the current economic pressures, difficulties, and limitations of working from home, addressing the conditions that may lead us to burnout is significantly more critical than ever since many of us can’t change our current work situation.

7 common signs of job burnout.

First, we must know the common signs of job burnout, which indicate that the balance of our life scales is disturbed. We will introduce ways to help stop this vicious cycle in the following. The good news is that with a few simple changes and deep awareness, you can improve things for yourself and bring balance back into your life.

1. Fatigue that does not go away with more rest.

Physical fatigue is one of the first symptoms you will notice. Constantly feeling tired adds to your stress and triggers many other symptoms below.

Our emotional, mental, and physical energy is ultimately interrelated. In burnout, more sleep doesn’t make your tiredness go away because the root of your problem is mental fatigue that hasn’t been addressed.

If you think your problem is entirely physical, seek medical advice and treatment because fatigue may be symptoms of depression, sleep disorders, lack of certain nutrients, or other issues that need treatment. Insomnia caused by stress can also be a part of this problem.

2. Postponement of basic needs.

One of the most obvious signs of burnout is constant busyness. Unfortunately, sometimes people are proud of this condition or consider it normal. They proudly announced that they could not have lunch today due to their busy schedule. Sometimes you may spend the hours you should be sleeping on backlogged tasks and neglect tasks necessary for your health to complete unfinished tasks.

Whether these conditions are intentional or unintentional, they make you forget yourself. As a result, work and personal life balance will be disrupted over time, and your job burnout will increase daily.

3. Grumpiness and irritability.

Stressful work environments are usually triggers of bad moods. In addition, it makes your nervous and incorrect reactions not only limited to the work environment and continue in your personal life as well. One of the signs of burnout is that we misbehave even in situations that do not cause us to be angry or upset. In different cases, we get irritated quickly and show a lousy temper, even if it is unimportant. Grumpiness for no reason is a secondary symptom of burnout.

4. Lack of concentration and attention.

These signs of mental fatigue can be caused by physical fatigue, exhaustion, and neglect of personal care. You probably lack concentration and attention if you struggle with the abovementioned symptoms.

Lack of focus means you don’t have enough energy to complete a task, Even elementary and trivial tasks. Feeling like you don’t have enough time and energy to do your work acts as a catalyst for burnout.

5. Unexplained physical ailments.

In the context of job burnout, the stress created for people is the most critical factor in causing most symptoms. Usually, the stress caused by job burnout manifests itself in the form of various physical problems that have no medical reason behind them. Some of the most critical physical stress symptoms are headache, neck and shoulder pain, and digestive issues. Random pains and even weight changes without reason can be physical signs of burnout.

People in this condition usually refer to many doctors to find an explanation for their physical problems. Usually, the leading cause of these problems is not found because burnout cannot be detected in medical examinations.

If you are also experiencing such symptoms and problems and are stressed, you must find the root of it and eliminate the cause of all these stresses and tensions. If you tried and didn’t get results, you can talk to your doctor about your work stress and get advice.

6. Self-medication, indifference, escape from reality.

When the stress in life increases, the human desire to escape from reality increases. Instead of facing problems and solving them, we prefer postponing and not facing them at all. Alcohol consumption, drug use, or over-the-counter medications can trigger happy hormones in our brains. These conditions make us resort to the wrong treatments that cause more problems.

Another sign of indifference and escapism is that we engage in video games or endless surfing on social networks to escape from everyday stress. This process makes us busier and less time for basic tasks. As a result, our stress increases. In fact, with this model of escaping from reality, the problem is not solved, and we get stuck in a wrong cycle that worsens the situation. Of course, if these escapes are limited, it is usually normal, but if it exceeds the limit and prevents you from doing basic tasks and tasks, it is a warning sign that your life has gone off the main track.

7. Dissatisfaction with activities or tasks you used to enjoy.

This symptom is common with symptoms of depression. Burnout and depression both have overlapping symptoms. You may experience both or be involved in only one of them. As for burnout, you usually feel exhausted, stressed, constantly distracted and worried, and unable to concentrate on your activities. Because of this, it becomes difficult for you to enjoy things. Even things you used to love and enjoy doing.

Another aspect of the same problem is that you no longer know what activities appeal to you and don’t see what you enjoy. When you focus so much on working and solving life’s problems, it’s easy to forget what you can want in life.

3 steps to balance work and personal life.

1. Set a separate time in your daily schedule for personal and work matters and stick to this schedule. Your daily schedule should be a balanced combination of both. In addition, you should include in the program a set of activities and tasks that you enjoy and that make you feel good.

2. Be sure to take time to rest periodically during the day. For example, a short time to get up from where you are sitting and do some stretching movements. During this time, give your eyes a break and, if possible, walk a few steps and breathe fresh air. These simple actions will reduce tensions, increase energy and focus, and change your mood.

3. Focus on the “shoulds” first. That is, the duties, responsibilities, and tasks you must do in the workplace and for personal health. Be sure to include these essential tasks in your daily schedule. Next, put projects and tasks that have lower priority. Other than your critical tasks, leave everything else you have for when you have done the main functions. Most of your energy and focus should be on more important tasks.

8 recommendations to deal with job burnout.

1. Take some time off.

If you have been working for a long time without any vacation, take some time off. Of course, this leave should not be for a few hours or one or two days. When you suffer from job burnout, it is necessary to live away from the work environment and its tensions for a long time and completely stay away from the work environment. You must give up all work duties and not have work-related contact for at least two weeks.

It may seem impossible, but if you talk to your employer about burnout and its problems with your productivity, you can get their consent and take time off. To spend the holidays, choose something that you enjoy. This may be traveling or family parties, or doing nothing at home.

2. Find a way to relieve stress.

Over time, job burnout causes the accumulation of all kinds of stress and worries. You need to find a way to release some of this stress for yourself. For example, physical activity can be an excellent way to reduce stress. Some people enjoy playing video games. Of course, what you do to eliminate stress should not hinder your main work. You should make time for it in your spare time. The more you go to physical activities and sports, the better results you will get. But relaxing activities such as painting can also be practical and valuable.

3. Stop drinking alcohol, caffeine, and smoking.

Some people turn to things like cigarettes, caffeine, energy drinks, and, unfortunately, sometimes drugs to get rid of difficult situations. The euphoria after using these methods is temporary and does not solve your problem. Over time, it becomes an addiction. Even something as harmless as caffeine can disrupt your sleep and thus add to your stress and physical issues.

4. Accept other responsibilities.

Changing your responsibilities at work can change your mood, like taking a break. Ask to be given different responsibilities or transferred to another department in your work environment.

5. Get help from others.

Sometimes you can get help from others to do part of your work. Talk about your feelings with your friends and loved ones. You don’t always have to bear everything by yourself. If your workload is high and your duties are heavy due to procrastination, you can outsource part of it and take the burden off your shoulders.

If you can’t find someone to support and listen to you, write someone a letter or see a counselor. You do not need to send the letter to anyone. The fact that you write part of your problems and concerns somewhere is enough to reduce some of the stress for you.

6. Make working more enjoyable.

By doing creative things, you can make work more enjoyable for yourself. For example, consider challenges for yourself and set a reward for it. Or by adding something interesting, such as a vase, to prepare a more pleasant working environment for yourself.

7. work from home.

Take permission to work from home. On days when you work from home, you don’t have to worry about commuting, and you can spend more time on yourself.

8. Get enough sleep, exercise, and eat well.

These three principles are necessary for our mental and physical health; Get enough sleep, exercise, and eat healthy food. Take time to prepare healthy food. Be sure to devote time to exercise or walking to work. Try to sleep on time and 8 hours at night.

It may sound cliché, but you should take time to care for yourself. When you do this, you will gradually realize you are taking steps towards good and aliveness. Over time, when you balance your life, you will notice that you have more energy and motivation at work, and your personal and work relationships have become stronger and more intimate.

If working is all we do all day, we certainly can’t feel good about it. When you find the signs of burnout, look for a solution to make yourself feel better by doing small things and stepping towards improving the situation little by little. Get started early, and don’t let burnout get you to the point where it becomes impossible.

Many of the symptoms of burnout are familiar with the symptoms of depression and anxiety. If your problems are not solved by planning, time management, taking small steps, and things like that, be sure to use professional and medical help to solve the problem.