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The Signs of Burnout and a Recovery Technique that you can use Today

Updated: Dec 15, 2022


Burnout is an occupational phenomenon where employees experience a mix of physical and psychological symptoms that result in decreased job satisfaction and productivity.


The World Health Organization defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”


Symptoms & Signs of Burnout


We live in a world that moves fast and we're wired to all forms of media, fighting for our attention. When we’re at work and the pressure is high, we often push through any subtle signs of physical or mental stress, pushing our bodies and minds to their limit. A lot of the time, because of the high demands on our time and attention, we often miss the signs of burnout before it’s too late.


Here is a list of symptoms and signs to take note of (Bridgeman, Bridgeman, & Barone, 2018).


Symptoms


The physical symptoms include:

  • Feeling exhausted

  • Unable to recover from a common cold

  • Frequent headaches

  • Frequent gastrointestinal problems

  • Sleep disturbances

  • Shortness of breath

The behaviors include:

  • Irritability

  • Heightened emotional responses (quick to cry, quick to anger)

  • Suspicious and paranoid about colleagues

  • Substance abuse

  • Stubbornness, rigid thinking, and unwillingness to listen to other people

  • Negative attitude

  • Appears depressed


Prevalence of Burnout in Workers Today


A recent large-scale workplace study conducted by Allianz (2022) into the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers revealed that 42% of the 2,000-sample group surveyed said that fatigue and burnout heavily impacted their job satisfaction in their current role, this included 50% of Generation Z employees surveyed. They cite increased pressure on productivity and workload as key causes of burnout and overall mental health issues.

Employee burnout can trigger a downward spiral of both employee and organizational performance and notably also has a key influence on employees’ personal and family life.


When we are burnt out, we’ve exhausted our mental and physical resources, and this slows down our ability to meet the ongoing demands of our roles. It doesn’t just affect the speed at which we get things done, it also affects the quality of the work and our ability to speak up and ask for help. As a result of this, we push on and believe we need to try harder and be more efficient with our time. The large prevalence of time management tools and resources available today is a key indicator of our keen desire to try and balance the competing demands that face us; and yet time is a finite resource.


Energy Management


A more useful perspective that is gaining increasing traction is learning how to manage our energy. In this context, energy is our physical, mental and spiritual strengths that develop our capacity for doing work. Energy is a renewable resource that can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the time we do invest. This is a fundamental paradigm shift from a focus on efficiency to instead focusing on effectiveness.


In order to continue to operate at our best, it is important to understand where we gain energy from and what we can do to re-fuel. Our energy sources are closely connected to our basic human needs that cover mind, body, emotions, and spirit.


These interact together to influence one another and thus no one source is sufficient on its own.


Physical energy is derived from how well we fuel our body, including nutrition, exercise, rest and sleep. When we are able to manage our emotions, developing psychological flexibility, we can enhance the quality of our emotional energy and subsequent performance.


Mental energy can be enhanced by learning how to develop attentional focus; a key strategy to counteract the growing influence of distractions so common in today’s work and social environments.


Finally, we can tap into spiritual energy when our activities are aligned with our values and help to develop a sense of meaning and purpose.


Download the Energy Management Audit exercise below to assess your energy strengths and deficits.


This will help you identify the specific area/s that you need to re-fuel. You can then leverage your insights to design an ongoing program to enhance your wellbeing and performance. If you need help with this, don’t hesitate to book a Wellbeing Coaching session below or email Sophie Firmager on sophie@realisedpotentialgroup.com



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