One symptom of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.
—One symptom of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important.
Burnout is a very real threat to people in
challenging and stressful jobs. It mainly strikes highly-committed,
passionate, hard-working, and successful people, who lose all motivation
and interest in their work.
What is Burnout?
According to Ayala
Pines and Elliott Aronson, burnout is “a state of physical, emotional
and mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in emotionally
demanding situations.” Herbert J. Freudenberger defines it as “A state
of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of
life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward.”
Understand Burnout
These definitions embrace
the two key components of burnout – exhaustion and disillusionment.
Together they highlight the irony of burnout. Anyone can become
exhausted, but burnout only strikes people who are highly committed to
their work. While exhaustion can be overcome with rest, a core part of
burnout is a deep sense of disillusionment and a loss of a sense of
meaning.
Making time to relax and think about the things you value in life can help you to avoid burnout.
Recognize the Symptoms of Burnout
NOTE
High achievers, in particular, should watch for burnout
As you get less satisfaction from your work, the
downsides of the job become more troublesome. As you get more tired you
have less energy to give and it becomes more difficult to stay on top of
an increasingly demanding workload.
If your organization fails
to support you, you can grow increasingly disenchanted with it and lose
faith in what you are doing. You can become cynical and disenchanted.
This is full-scale burnout.
Physical Symptoms
These are much as you would expect them to be and can include: Physical fatigue
Frequent illness
Sleep problems
Emotional Symptoms
These may include:
Disillusionment with the job
The loss of a sense of meaning
Cynicism towards the organization
Feelings of frustration, and a lack of power to change events
Strong feelings of anger against those you hold responsible
Feelings of depression and isolation
Behavioural Symptoms
These reflect exhaustion and a loss of satisfaction with work:
Increasing detachment from co-workers
Increased absenteeism
An increased harshness in dealing with your teams
A marked reduction in your commitment to your work
Increased alcohol consumption
Find the Right Level
Many of us get our
sense of identity and meaning from our work. We may have started our
careers with high ideals or high ambitions and may have followed these
with passion. We are hard-working, effective, full of initiative,
energetic, and selfless. Not surprisingly, with this level of commitment
and resilience, we are often spectacularly successful at what we do.
Avoid Over-Commitment
The trouble starts when
things become too much for us. It’s not just that we are exhausted.
Other factors come into play, too. The problems that we are facing start
to seem too large, or we lack the resources that we need. Perhaps
supportive mentors move on and are replaced by people who do not
subscribe to the same ideals as us. Maybe we feel that we are no longer
appreciated, or the physical and emotional demands on us are just too
great. This can be where burnout begins to set in.
If you are having problems at work, share them with a supportive
colleague, who may have dealt with a similar situation before.
Check Yourself for Burnout
Rating
Rate each question on a scale of 1–5, where 1 = Not at all and 5 = Very often.
Do you feel run down and drained of physical or emotional energy?
Do you find that you are prone to negative thinking about your job?
Do you find yourself getting easily irritated by small problems, or by your co-workers and team?
Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your co-workers?
Do you feel that you have no one to talk to?
Do you feel that you are achieving less than you should?
Do you feel under an unpleasant level of pressure to succeed?
Do you feel that you are not getting what you want out of your job?
Do you feel that you have more work than you have the ability to do?
Now add up the scores and check them against this list.
10-12
You show no signs of burnout.
13-21
There is little sign that you are at risk of burnout.
22-29
Be careful – you may be at risk of burnout.
30-39
You are at severe risk of burnout – do something about this urgently.
40-45
You are at very severe risk of burnout – do something about this with the greatest urgency.
