How Does Workplace Burnout Affect Your Overall Health?
After experiencing The Great Resignation, companies and employees are now worrying about the next phenomenon: The Great Burnout. With numerous professionals quitting, Fortune reports that 30% of employees left behind struggle to cope with their increasing workloads. Sadly, experts state that these extra burdens can lead to long-term job dissatisfaction and workplace burnout.
This is not only alarming for employers but also a big warning sign for employees that are juggling numerous work responsibilities. Workplace burnout is more than just stress. In this article, we will discuss why you should care about it.
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Workplace Burnout is More Than Just Exhaustion and Stress
It can be easy to misdiagnose burnout as many things, like stress or even exhaustion. While you may experience various negative emotions caused by work, it’s crucial to be able to distinguish burnout from other experiences because of its drastic effects.
Since workplace burnout can affect your career decisions, a post from LHH clarifies that burnout stems from a lack of autonomy, unclear job expectations, workplace inconsistencies, and a mismatch with company values. Meanwhile, career dead-ends can cause stress for employees who don’t have opportunities for growth within their work.
This distinction is crucial, especially because both experiences can cause stress and frustration. But while new work opportunities can solve career dead-ends, workplace burnout must be resolved through adequate rest.
Dr. Lotte Dyrbye of the Mayo Clinic points out that insomnia is a common workplace burnout symptom because it’s an effect of long periods of stress. Chronic fatigue interferes with the neurological and hormonal system that regulates sleep, thus causing sleeping problems.
This can be dangerous since sleep can contribute to the onset of mental health problems like depression and anxiety. On top of that, you can also experience physical symptoms from workplace burnout, such as headaches, stomach aches, and indigestion.
So, while workplace burnout may seem similar to other experiences, you need to spot red flags before your health starts to suffer.
How to Realistically Combat Workplace Burnout
Below are some of the ways you can overcome workplace burnout.
1. Make time for rest
Burnout can take a toll on your physical and mental health, which is why adequate rest is crucial for your recovery. To get a good night’s rest, our article on ‘Preventing Entrepreneurial Burn Out’ states that you need to cut the cord and put your phone away a few hours before you go to bed. Since you won’t need to worry about any work messages, you can fully relax and decompress after a long day.
2. Seek support from loved ones
Recognizing that workplace burnout can affect your mental and emotional well-being means you need to seek support from trusted individuals. Research conducted by George Washington University recommends finding social support from co-workers to find release from emotionally draining jobs. Of course, getting support from your family and friends can also ease the mental and emotional symptoms you experience from burnout.
3. Set boundaries in your work
A lack of autonomy and control can cause workplace burnout, so it’s crucial to establish boundaries wherever possible. To illustrate, you can try to delegate tasks or seek assistance from co-workers that you can trust. You can also try to prioritize the most important tasks and then get to the rest once you have more time and energy.
Workplace burnout is more than stress since it can cause negative impacts on your mental and physical health. Combat burnout before things get worse by addressing your needs in life and at work.
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