If you are at risk of burnout and you intend to do
something to improve the situation, you need to identify which areas of
work are at the root of the problem, and then take practical remedial
steps.
Identify the Pressure Points
Identify the most
important sources of long-term and day-to-day stress in your life.
These are likely to fall into four categories – excessive workload,
people problems, personal exhaustion, and disillusionment.
Reduce the Load
If excessive workload is the
problem, see if you can cut out any low-yield jobs. Are you managing
your time as well as possible? Could you delegate more tasks to other
people? Then consider whether you are being too accommodating. Perhaps
you should be more assertive in letting people know that you have too
much work and can’t take on more. Are you using all of the resources
available to you, including your support network? Finally, check that
you’re not being asked to handle a project that no one else wants
because the organization simply does not have the capabilities,
resources, or skills to bring it to completion.
Limit the Damage
High Impact
Taking serious action to avoid burnout
Managing the stressful situation assertively
Cutting back on any unnecessary activities
Refocusing on activities that you find satisfying
Getting enough rest
Negative Impact
Allowing emergencies to delay action
Hoping that people will notice that you’re unhappy
Hoping that things will get better without action
Distancing yourself from the people you need
Never taking any holidays
Think Smart
Exhaustion is a major factor in burnout and is
usually a result of a failure to look after yourself properly when
you’re trying to cope.
Take a good, long
holiday, make sure you get enough sleep and rest, and try to develop a
healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and some exercise. This
will help you to deal with the demands of a stressful job.
Strike a Balance
NOTE
You can only burn out if you were alight in the first place
If “politics” seems to be
a problem, check that you are allocating enough time to managing your
stakeholders and that you are correctly managing your support network.
Don’t stop communicating. However, you do need to find a balance between
being available to the people with whom you live and work, and
distancing yourself from people who drain you emotionally. You also need
to balance the demands of different groups of people. An obvious
conflict is between work and family. You need to find a way of
reconciling these, while still leaving time for yourself.
Protect the Meaning of Your Job
Another major
cause of burnout can be disillusionment with your job. Focus on
protecting those parts of your job that give you the most meaning and
satisfaction. If the job itself is badly designed, or inherent
contradictions are causing you stress, analyze it to check it out, and
do what you can to improve your situation. If frustration with a lack of
career development is the problem, look again at career planning and
establish whether you need to move on.
