Professional burnout: how to identify it and take action

📌When we talk about professional burnout, we usually mean physical and emotional exhaustion, stress related to work.

❗In addition to exhaustion, you may also experience a feeling of uselessness, powerlessness, and emptiness.

❕Professional burnout is not a medical diagnosis. Some experts believe that another mental disorder, namely depression, is hidden behind burnout.

⚜Indeed, emotional burnout can increase the risk of depression. However, depression and emotional burnout are different conditions, and their treatment requires different methods.

⁉What increases the risk of developing professional burnout?

⚜The risk of developing burnout can be influenced by both certain personality traits (increased anxiety, low self-esteem, a tendency to feel guilty, emotional instability) and past work experience.

⚜Often these factors act together. This helps us understand why one person experiences burnout in the same situations, while another person does not.

⁉How do you know if you have professional burnout?

⚜To find out if you have professional burnout, answer the following questions:

⿡Do you doubt the value of your work?

⿢Do you have difficulty getting ready for work and cannot start it for a long time?

⿣Do you often lose patience and get irritated with colleagues or clients?

⿤Do you lack the energy to do your job well?

⿥Do you often doubt your skills?

⿦Do you have insomnia or changes in appetite?

⿧Do you often have headaches, stomach problems, intestinal problems or other physical complaints without a clear reason?

❕If you answered yes to most of these questions, you are most likely suffering from professional burnout. In this case, we can also recommend that you consult a psychotherapist and a general practitioner to discuss your condition and rule out other diseases.

⁉What factors contribute to this?

⚜There can be many reasons for burnout, but I would still like to highlight the main ones:

⿡Inability to influence your employment: if you cannot influence how you do your job, for example, in relation to your work schedule, tasks or workload.

⿢Lack of clarity in the image of your work result: If you are not sure what result your boss or colleagues want from you, you are unlikely to feel that you are doing your job well.

⿣Conflicts with other employees: Perhaps you work in a stressful environment where there are constant conflicts with colleagues, or your boss is often dissatisfied with the results of your work. This also creates unnecessary tension and can increase stress.

⿤High workload or lack of tasks: Perhaps you have realized that your job is boring and there are no interesting tasks for you. Or, on the contrary, you are so overloaded with things that you do not have time to do anything. Both the first and second situations require a lot of energy. This can lead to fatigue and professional burnout.

⿥Lack of support: If you feel lonely at work and in your personal life, you can also experience more stress.

⿦Work-life balance issues: Maybe your job takes up so much of your time and energy that you have nothing left for your family and friends. This lack of balance can lead to professional burnout

⁉How to deal with professional burnout?

⚜Burnout is often associated with situations that you cannot always control. But there are ways to control how you cope with stress.

⿡Suggest your options for solving the problem: discuss your ideas, possible risks, and realistic deadlines with your boss. Perhaps you can find a compromise together to solve the problem. Set realistic goals and clarify task priorities. If the situation at work is unlikely to change, you can start looking for a job that would suit you better.

⿢Seek support: ask colleagues, friends, or loved ones for support. Communication with other people can help you cope with increasing stress. A sense of belonging protects against emotional burnout. If your work has psychological services, take advantage of them.

⿣Try meditation or relaxation skills: choose activities that can help you cope with stress. Examples include yoga, meditation, or mindfulness practices. Something as simple as taking a few deep breaths a day can help relieve stress.

⿤Add exercise: Regular physical activity can help you cope with stress. It can also distract you from work.

⿥Try to sleep 8-9 hours: Sleep restores your well-being and helps protect your health.

ANASTASIIA SLEPTSOVA CONSULTANT VICE PRESIDENT FDT CONSULTING ASSOCIATION