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Psychologist's Advice: How to Avoid Professional Burnout
10.09.2023 19:16
Professional burnout is a phenomenon that people are increasingly encountering in the modern world.
You can't ignore it, otherwise there will be serious consequences: dismissal, depression and bad thoughts. Let's figure out together with psychologist Stanislav Sambursky what it is and how to avoid it.
Professional or emotional burnout is a complex of symptoms caused by chronic stress at work, leading to anxiety and depression. Since 2019, this syndrome has been included in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD 11).
Reasons
Stress that leads to emotional burnout is very insidious. It begins unnoticed from a series of minor traumatic situations. First, an employee stays late at work, then takes on an important project that doesn’t let him go even at night, and then becomes so immersed in work that he postpones a life-saving vacation.
Half a year or a year passes, and you can forget about ease. The burden that you have taken on yourself does not allow you to live fully. "Mondays" and "January 1st" do not help, after which a new life usually begins, since you cannot throw off the accumulated burden.
Life = work
Many will say that it is stupid to refuse to participate in an important project, because it guarantees career growth, a mortgage on favorable terms, a new car, etc. Yes, it is. But you can’t escape from fatigue. Work gives new opportunities, but it also takes away emotional and physical health.
Any workaholic sooner or later drops out of the race, and then his weak points are exposed. A person makes a career, lives by business, but avoids responsibility in other areas, especially in personal ones.
He has a “weighty” reason not to see his loved ones, to call his parents once a month, not to start a family, not to take care of his health, etc. By burying himself in work, the workaholic runs away from problems and from fundamental deep reflections.
Sometimes it’s different. A person is so charged that he manages to be the best in the office, an ideal spouse and parent. He has everything scheduled by the hour. Sometimes instead of 10 things, he does 20 and always with a smile on his face. Will he last long? Of course not…
Switching between tasks
Multitasking also leads to emotional exhaustion. Often, people are responsible for several projects at work. Switching from one task to another is difficult and energy-consuming. Some say: "I multitask!" It sounds proud, but each switch exhausts, reduces productivity, and, as a result, burnout occurs.
At the same time, the simplest tasks and routine do not save you from it. They make you think about time wasted, about the meaning of life and push you to other existential reflections.
Toxic environment
One of the reasons for professional burnout is a toxic team. Emotions affect psychological and physical condition. If at work everyone who is not lazy violates personal boundaries, provokes anger, causes shame, fear and guilt, then you need to run away from there.
Nothing depends on you
The result of the actions performed is important for any employee. The situation when you have to carry out orders that contradict logic and morality is demoralizing. Businessmen who fail to achieve the desired victories also burn out. In both cases, futile efforts suppress the emotional mood.
Signs of professional burnout
According to the WHO, there are three signs of emotional burnout:
- Motivational and physical exhaustion.
- Psychological block on performing professional duties, prevalence of negativity.
- Low performance.
In a state of professional burnout, the human body fights for its own survival. It is normal when it does not want to work, when it experiences negativity and skepticism towards new assignments. And until the body regains its strength, nothing will change.
How to Enjoy Your Work
First, it is important to determine whether it is burnout or the need for rest. The best indicator is vacation. If after a couple of days a person starts thinking about how he wants to change the course of this or that process, how he needs to tell his boss about a new idea, etc., then this is fatigue. But when at the end of a vacation a person feels bad because work awaits him again, this is burnout.
It is also important to remember that physical illnesses, such as hormonal imbalances, can be the cause of poor health. It is important to find the cause and understand it.
Balance your life
Happiness is built on balance. If there is too much or too little somewhere, everything collapses. For example, you can divide life into four components.
- Body – sleep, nutrition, sex, sports, well-being.
- Activities – work, study, achievements, household chores.
- Communication – regular contacts with family, relatives, friends, colleagues.
- Meaning – dreams, beliefs, values, religion.
Then a diamond-shaped chart is constructed, where each angle is one of the components. Next, determine how much attention is paid to them. Ideally, they should be divided into 25%. Difficulties arise in the case of a skew that requires correction.
Don't deprive yourself of support
Professional burnout is observed in people who do not have the opportunity to share responsibility with others. These are new employees who are afraid to ask for help from experienced colleagues. They figure out everything themselves, losing colossal energy.
These are managers who do not consult with their superiors, are not part of a professional community, and do not communicate with mentors. Support in work is very important.
Borders
Anxious and responsible managers believe that without them everything will collapse. And if so, then there can be no talk of any vacation. You need to always be in touch, break away and go to the office at any moment. These people never relax. Hence the burnout and health problems. Correctly set boundaries will help to correct the situation: be in touch only during working hours, trust your colleagues and delegate some of their work to them.
Slow down
Give up multitasking. Analyze how much time is spent on writing a report, on lunch, socializing, helping colleagues, etc. If there is not enough time here, forget about the extra workload.
Delegate
Don't neglect the benefits of digitalization and IT technologies. There are many programs that can free up your working time. And don't be afraid to delegate some of the work to people who will only enjoy it.
