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Job burnout is on the rise according to several surveys. People are feeling emotionally exhausted, detached from their work and colleagues, and less productive. This makes them more prone to suffer health consequences, needing sick leaves and may lead to quitting their jobs.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling too much emotional, physical, mental stress for too long. Burnout in many ways is related to one’s job. But it can happen in other areas of life and affect the individual’s health.
Burnout can be caused by stress, but its not the same. Stress makes you feel overwhelmed, but burnout makes you feel depleted and used up.
5 Signs of Burnout;
Burnout can have different symptoms, and can be confused with stress and if not treated can lead to depression. These are the signs to look for in someone to identify if a person is going through burnout.
- Exhaustion: You may feel drained and unable emotionally to deal with problems around you in both professional and personal life. You may feel low and experience extreme tiredness, leaving you without energy. These symptoms can show physical pain, and stomach or bowel problems.
- Alienation from activities: Look out for signs of cynicism and frustration towards work and colleagues. You may start to emotionally distance yourself, and feel numb at work.
- Reduced Performance: This can happen at work from home when caring for family members because you have no energy left for everyday tasks. Burnout makes it hard to concentrate, handle responsibilities, or be creative.
- Mental Burnout Symptoms: Mental burnout symptoms are self doubt, helplessness, defeat, and failure. Feeling that one is left alone all by themselves, losing sense of purpose, feeling increasingly cynical, dissatisfied and incapable are some of the symptoms of mental burnout.
- Physical Burnout Symptoms: You may feel fatigued and without energy. You may get sick often having body aches, and recurring headaches, lose your appetite, or experience insomnia.
Causes of Burnout in office;
Various life and work factors contribute to burnouts. Many psychologists see burnout as any type of prolonged stressful condition. It’s been proved by studies that women are more prone to burnouts than men.
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Some common causes of burnout are;
- Unmanageable workload,
- Unfair treatment at work,
- Confusing work responsibilities,
- Lack of communication or support from managers,
- Immense deadline pressure,
- Too much work, not enough time to rest,
- A feeling that work or life is out of control,
- Feeling unrecognised or unrewarded at work,
- Work and responsibilities are too demanding,
- Boring or routine work, or chaotic and high stress work.
- Lack of sleep.
