Signs You’re in a Work Burnout
Job conditions, personal responsibilities, and other factors all play roles
Medically reviewed by Kira Graves, PhD
Burnout is a health concern defined as exhaustion that can be physical, emotional, mental, or a combination of these, along with challenges related to outlook, motivation, and performance. Research shows that it may affect about 80% of workers. Signs of burnout include stress, fatigue, procrastination, mood challenges, and a general feeling of being unwell.
Learn about work-related burnout, contributing factors, how to combat and prevent burnout, and more.
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Negative Effects of Burnout, Stress, and Your Job
People who experience burnout in the workplace are over three times more likely to be absent from work and nearly five times more likely to be less productive and not function thoroughly compared to employees who are not experiencing burnout.
In addition to increased time away from work and decreased productivity, burnout is linked to increased stress levels and worsening moods. This can negatively impact other employees and workplace culture and carry over to life at home.
It can also contribute to decreased profits and quality of work and become a safety issue depending on the type of work. In terms of employee health, burnout can increase the risk of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
What Does Burnout Feel Like?
Burnout can feel different to different people. It often includes feeling physically, mentally, or emotionally drained.
Physical symptoms: The most common symptom of workplace burnout is physical fatigue, affecting 44% of employees. Other physical burnout symptoms may include headaches and neck, back, or shoulder pain.
Mental symptoms: These may include stress, sleepiness, decreased motivation, procrastination, and productivity, as well as feeling ineffective, unaccomplished, and detached from your work.
Emotional symptoms: These may show up in your social interactions at work. You may withdraw or feel that your conversations are ineffective. Emotional burnout symptoms also include feeling discouraged and irritable.
Burnout vs. Stress
Stress is the body's response to stressful situations or events, whereas burnout happens when stress is not managed and continues long term. Some other health concerns that may arise with burnout include anxiety, depression, emotional eating, insomnia, obsessive compulsive disorder, and substance misuse.
Underlying Factors Behind Burnout
Many underlying factors contribute to burnout, and one of its primary causes is a workplace where the demands on employees are too much for its available resources to accommodate. This means that employees do not have access to everything they need to perform the job well, including adequate breaks and support.
The likelihood of burnout is related to both the situation or environment and the individual employee. Examples of situation-related burnout include:
Employees are overmanaged or undermanaged
Employees do not get long or frequent enough breaks
Employees have concerns about pay
Jobs With Highest Burnout Rates
People working in the following jobs are more likely to experience burnout:
Construction
Education
Healthcare and medical
Hospitality, including food services and hotels
Manufacturing
Retail and wholesale
Transportation and warehousing
However, some employees are more likely than others to experience workplace burnout, even in similar environments. Personal characteristics that can increase the risk of workplace burnout include:
Perfectionism
Experiencing instability or stressors outside of work
Having difficulty defining and holding boundaries
Having low self-esteem
Steps to Manage Stress From a Burnout
Managing stress from burnout in the workplace is similar to general stress management and includes:
Spending time in nature
For workplace stress, talking with a supervisor to discuss concerns or possible options for improvement can also help. They may help connect you to resources, reduce your workload, improve workplace conditions, or find solutions to specific challenges that increase stress levels or lead to burnout.
Sometimes, simply opening the line of communication can bring enough awareness to improve the situation or lead to time off or breaks to help with recovery.
Support Outlets for Burnout
Healthcare professionals such as therapists, psychologists, and counselors can help with burnout. There may even be mental health resources available through the workplace, which are sometimes called employee assistance programs (EAPs).
Other outlets for burnout support include human resource managers, supervisors, or managers. In addition to talking to people who can help, consider reading books or participating in a workshop or class to help you learn about tools for coping with burnout.
Support is also available for employers to help prevent and address burnout among employees. For example, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration offers workplace stress guidance.
Time Off During Burnout
Taking a mental health day is a great way to take time off while experiencing burnout to help treat the condition and alleviate the symptoms. Much like a sick day for a physical health concern, taking time off to rest and recover from burnout is essential. When taking an entire day off from work is impossible, talk to your manager about taking breaks throughout the day to rest and decrease stress levels.
Another option is to take a break from or get help with other responsibilities. For example, hiring someone to clean your home or do chores can free up time and energy. It can also be helpful to take time off from things other than work that can contribute to burnout, such as electronics or social media. Adding some form of self-care can also help you recover faster.
Summary
Burnout may include physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion and is a health concern that can lead to mental health challenges. It is linked to a negative outlook, decreased motivation, and decreased performance. If you're experiencing burnout, try implementing some stress management techniques and talk to a supervisor, manager, or human resources business partner about time-off options, schedule, or workload adjustments.
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
