The 3 Signs of Burnout: Is it time for a change?
By: Dr Cassie Roberts
Tags: Wellbeing, Stress, Work Stress, Therapy, Burnout

My first question to you is, “Who doesn’t feel overwhelmed or stressed at work sometimes?” — The truth is, when work stress becomes relentless, or chronic, it can push you into burnout.

Burnout is a hot topic in today’s workplace. We make a range of assumptions when we hear it mentioned. There is such a wealth of information on the internet about it, which can be pretty overwhelming. So, I will summarise the three main components.

The World Health Organisation defines burnout as a response to “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.

Burnout is not a disease, but it requires serious attention.

Thanks to the lifetime work of Christina Maslach, one of the leading researchers in the field of burnout, and her colleagues, we understand that there are three main components.

Overwhelming emotional exhaustion — “I can’t take it anymore”. The exhaustion can be emotional, mental or physical. A clear sign of burnout is when you feel tired all the time. You might feel worn out, experience loss of energy, depletion, debilitation and fatigue. This can result in significant absence from work. If you can relate to this feeling, then it might indicate the need for better sleep, exercise and nutrition. Feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job — “I can’t work here anymore”. You might feel cynical towards the job or organisation, experience feelings of detachment from the job, wanting to withdraw, or have feelings of irritability. You might feel disengaged from the workplace. This can result in the development of uncaring feelings, even hostility towards others (clients/customers or perhaps colleagues). Diminished personal accomplishment (the tendency to evaluate oneself negatively) — “I have no future, maybe I’m not actually good at this”. A negative response not only to the job, but to yourself. You might feel a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment, there might be the tendency to evaluate yourself and your work negatively, feel low morale or an inability to cope. You might think that what you are doing does not matter much anymore. This can lead to a lack of motivation and poor performance.

Burnout is LOST ENERGY, LOST ENTHUSIASM and LOST CONFIDENCE

If left unattended to, burnout can be a serious problem. Research has linked burnout to many health problems, including depression, anxiety, sleep problems and substance abuse. It can also negatively impact relationships and jeopardise career prospects.

You can make changes in your life to combat stress; healthy diet, regular exercise and getting enough sleep. But the solution for burnout also lies with changes to the workplace. According to Christina Maslach, a healthy workplace is somewhere that provides you with:

A sustainable and manageable workload

Choice and control

Reward and recognition

Supportive work community

Fairness, respect and social justice

Clear values

I invite you to consider whether your workplace looks like this, or ask yourself if it is time for a change. Perhaps consider speaking to your colleagues, manager or HR representative to see what can be done.