What Exactly Is Burnout?
Burnout isn’t just being overworked or not getting enough rest. Burnout has been described as “job-induced depression“
When work just gets too frustrating and pursuing your career & business goals feels futile, you become pessimistic and experience an extended period of time where exhaustion and a lack of interest in things, start to result in a decline in job performance. A lot of burnout really has to do with experiencing chronic stress.
What are the signs you may be experiencing burnout:
A clear sign of burnout is when you feel tired all the time and you feel you don’t have any energy left
When you don’t feel enthusiastic about anything anymore or you no longer have that internal motivation and drive, and you have to drag yourself to work everyday
You may feel like what you’re doing doesn’t matter that much anymore, or you may be disillusioned with everything. You might generally notice that you feel more pessimistic than you used to
Burnout and chronic stress may interfere with your ability to pay attention or concentrate. When we're stressed, our attention narrows to focus on the negative elements that we perceive as a threat rather than an opportunity
How to move past Burnout into a balanced situation
Be Optimistic
Optimism and pessimism all come down to the story you tell yourself about what happens to you. Pessimists tend to focus themselves on the negative and assume that bad events will last a long time. If you are continually looking on the bright side you will become more optimistic over time which will help you achieve more and this will increase your focus and success
Find Meaning In What You Do
When you find true meaning in your work — when it’s not just a business or a job, but a calling — you don’t burn out. When jobs are meaningful, long stressful hours don’t have to be the path to an early grave. In fact, the exact opposite can be the case.
During stress, increase your social Calendar!
When you get busy at work, you often make less time for friends and family. Bad idea. That’s the emotional equivalent of being so overworked you stop eating and starve yourself. Research has shown that those who handle stress the best tend to increase their social activity when things get hard. Most people tend to do the opposite.
A few tips to look after you in times of high Stress
Take time off and enjoy a nice break or holiday
For more information on how to manage your work time and cut back on long working hours, contact Paul Redmond at RDA on 053 9170507 or email paul@rda.ie