Imagine having to do the same mentally and physically-taxing tasks over and over again for years, without any other outlet for fun and leisure. This repeated feeling contributes to workplace burnout. In this article, we’ll talk about how to prevent burnout in the workplace and identify the signs and causes to alleviate your mental, emotional, and physical state.
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What is Job Burnout?
According to Elliot Aronson and Ayala Pines, work burnout refers to the emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion in long-lasting, emotionally demanding situations. It’s a work-related issue derived from all the stress you experience in the workplace. It’s a combination of the frustration and fatigue from unresolved concerns that pile up at work.
Whether it’s your job responsibilities, work environment, or colleagues, job burnout shouldn’t be taken lightly. Knowing how to prevent burnout in the workplace is the first step to achieving a mentally, emotionally, and physically stable state.
Feeling burned out at work may be caused by several factors. The pandemic is one of the reasons that impacted employees during its surge in 2020 and 2021.
A Forbes article shows a survey involving 1,500 respondents from different demographics, industry sectors, and experience levels. The overall results show a drastic rise in work-related stress post-pandemic.
- 52 percent of respondents experienced burnout in 2021, a rise from 43 percent of respondents who experienced burnout pre-COVID
- The pandemic hit older generations the most, with a 7 percent increase from the 24 percent who experienced burnout before the pandemic.
- 67 percent of the majority of the respondents say that the pandemic has made workplace burnout worse
- 59 percent of millennials are burned out today, while 58 percent of Gen-Z workers experience burnout during COVID times
How to Prevent Burnout in the Workplace: 6 Major Causes
Before we tell you how to prevent burnout in the workplace, know what factors cause workplace burnout in the first place. A Harvard Business Review article classifies the causes into six, and they are:
1. Unmanageable workload
If you’re experienced enough to handle tough workloads, you shouldn’t have a problem managing daily job responsibilities. However, if you’re not too keen on time management, you’ll have to set rules and systems to tackle daily tasks. In this case, it’s essential to:
- Plan your to-do list for the day
- Prioritize work and major tasks
- Delegate tasks
- Say no
- Let go of perfectionism
2. Lack of control
Employee disengagement is one of the valid reasons why organizations don’t flourish. When employees are disengaged, they impact productivity and indirectly impact customer satisfaction and revenues. A lack of control at work can make you feel like you’re being treated as a robot.
When employers don’t give you access to resources, if you feel like your voices aren’t heard, or if you don’t have autonomy in your job, it’s possible to experience burnout. That said, it’s crucial to talk with your superiors regarding this matter. On the one hand, superiors must also ensure a positive work environment to encourage subordinates to bring their A-game to the table.
3. Insufficient reward system
Having a good reward system is one way to prevent burnout in the workplace. On the other hand, the lack thereof will make employees feel unvalued and dispensable at work. If they feel like their efforts aren’t rewarded accordingly, this can make them think everything’s not worth the trouble. That said, find out what type of rewards and recognition make you happy and communicate this with your boss.
4. Absence of community support
Mental and emotional issues are inevitable in the workplace. But the important thing is how people handle these concerns. Having an excellent support system can boost the morale of employees. An absence of incredible community support could make them feel lonely and frustrated.
Try to connect with supportive and like-minded colleagues a few minutes per day. See if you can improve the work dynamic in the office. If your colleagues aren’t willing, it might be advisable to jump ship.
5. Unfair treatment
Some employees feel like their superiors treat teams differently. For example, others might be given access to excellent resources, while others aren’t. And this can make people feel underappreciated, especially if you’re working hard to meet goals.
In this case, try to speak up and ask why you feel there’s a lack of fair treatment in the workplace. Knowing how to prevent burnout in the workplace entails a lot of courage and honesty so others can understand how you feel.
6. Mismatched values
It’s essential to match your values as employees to your company and superiors. Otherwise, you’ll feel a burden doing the implemented methods that don’t align with your values and principles.
Assess your company values and vision. See if there’s an opportunity for change soon. If not, it’s time to move on to another organization that meets your values.
5 Stages of Burnout in the Workplace
Before telling you how to prevent burnout in the workplace, we’ll let you know the five stages a burned-out worker goes through and the signs you must watch out for.
1. Honeymoon Phase
This is the stage where people accept new job roles and feel extremely committed and energized to complete the task. You’ll have high energy levels at this stage even when the stressors start to pile up.
Signs:
- Commitment to the task
- The need to prove oneself
- High productivity levels
- High creativity
- Job satisfaction
- Unrestrained optimism
2. Onset of Stress
When you’re feeling the stress more regularly, this is when your optimism starts waning. And you’ll likely experience physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.
Signs:
- High blood pressure
- Fatigue
- Change in diet or appetite
- Forgetfulness
- Headaches
- No focus
- Irritability
- Restrained social behaviors
- Job dissatisfaction
3. Chronic Stress
The third stage of job burnout is when you’re feeling stressed out almost every day in the office. This is called “chronic stress” and may lead you to experience more severe symptoms.
Signs:
- Lack of hobbies
- Physical illnesses
- Resentfulness
- Apathy
- Exhaustion
- Aggressive behavior
- Procrastination
- Tiredness
- Missed deadlines
- Increased alcohol/drug consumption
- Denial
4. Burnout
This is the burnout stage where symptoms worsen, and it’s almost impossible to cope with burnout. You’ll feel unfocused throughout the day and have difficulty in practically every aspect of your job.
Signs:
- Develop an escapist mindset
- Obsession over problems
- Social isolation
- Physical symptoms like illnesses are more evident
- Chronic headaches
- Self-doubt
- Pessimistic
- Feeling empty and unsatisfied
- Neglecting personal needs
- Bowel issues
- Isolation from work or family
5. Habitual Burnout
This is the final stage of workplace burnout. You experience chronic stress that impacts your overall physical, mental, and emotional state at this stage. As a result, you’ll feel an ongoing need to stay away from work, friends, and family.
Signs:
- Depression
- Chronic sadness
- Mental fatigue
- Physical fatigue
- Burnout syndrome
How to Prevent Burnout in the Workplace: 7 Expert Tips to Get You Back on Your Feet
Preventing job burnout takes time and a strong will and determination to get you back up on your feet. But here are seven easy ways on how to prevent burnout in the workplace.
1. Ensure recovery period
If you feel like you’ve been churning out tasks at work, take time to provide yourself with a recovery period. Try to ease off on your workload by speaking to your managers. On the one hand, managers should determine when someone has been working hard and give them a break they deserve. On the other hand, create realistic goals and objectives so both you and your manager won’t go beyond one’s capacity.
2. Promote excellent well-being
The steps on how to prevent burnout in the workplace mean promoting good well-being among employees. Different strokes for different folks indeed. This means others may view stress as a challenge that improves their skills. To others, stress can be a gamechanger that impacts their productivity and focus negatively.
You can determine the activities that make you happy and start doing them during your free time. Whether you like working out or taking your dog out for a walk, do those things when you’re outside the office. On the other hand, managers can also help by identifying their employees’ feelings. If managers feel that employees are stressed out, let them leave early or take a break.
3. Foster social connections
Humans are innately social creatures. That’s why we live on the adage, “No man is an island,” because let’s admit, we rely on others for support. When we nurture social connections, we enhance our way of life and boost mental health. To ensure our social connections are intact, don’t neglect friends and family time every week. Managers can also take their employees out for team-building activities. This way, teams, and members will have other things to talk about aside from work-related matters.
4. Determine your purpose
Having and identifying a purpose is one of the steps on how to prevent burnout in the workplace. If employees know why they’re burning the midnight oil at work, it will be more fulfilling once task completion is achieved.
Managers would have to ensure that employees know their roles and how they align with the company’s mission. Next, encourage employees to take ownership and let them reflect on their own goals and objectives. Then hold regular meetings to ensure that these goals and objectives are met through the company mission and vision.
5. Learn to manage stress
Every employee is likely to experience stress in the workplace. The most important thing is how they deal with and manage stress. If short-term stress isn’t taken into priority, this can lead to job burnout. The first action in managing stress is figuring out what stressors are causing it. Then you can do these tips to manage stress in the office:
- Keep a stress diary and jot down what stresses you
- Practice deep breathing
- Do meditation exercises
- Think positive always
- Monitor your thoughts to cope with stress well
- Take regular breaks at work to do non-work-related things like stretching, reading, etc.
6. Exercise regularly
One way to prevent workplace burnout is to exercise regularly, releasing endorphins, which are the body’s happy hormones. So squeeze in a quick workout every morning before or after work if you can. Better yet, you can spend your work breaks by doing a short 15-minute HIIT exercise to get you cranked up for the rest of the workday.
7. Take control
Taking control is essential when you feel like you don’t have autonomy in your role and responsibilities. Autonomy pertains to having the freedom to work in whichever way that suits you.
First, you need to set up systems to complete the task at hand. Next, list down proven steps and processes that you’re comfortable with. Then know what steps you need to take to support your superiors as well.
On the other hand, managers should also encourage employees to set their deadlines. Finally, empower employees by asking for their opinions and suggestions and providing feedback when necessary.
Conclusion
Workplace burnout is an ongoing mental, emotional, and physical issue that both employees and employers must address. If not addressed, these will lead to more severe conditions such as depression, physical diseases, and overall fatigue. Once you experience the telltale signs of job burnout, refer to these tips on how to prevent burnout in the workplace. That way, you’ll quickly be reminded that it’s only a bad day and not a bad life.
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