Burnout at Work? No, Thanks!

You feel tired, in a bad mood, without motivation to do anything, and unable to meet any demand. Do you feel identified? You may be suffering then the Burnout syndrome.

This has been described by the Science Direct as “prolonged occupational stress that can lead to emotional and physical depletion and ultimately to the development of maladaptive behaviors (e.g., cynicism, depersonalization, hostility, detachment).”

But, what are the main causes leading to burnout?

1. You overwhelm: Your workload is too much, too complex, or too urgent.

2. You are sensitive: sometimes you miss recognition for the good job. An insufficient reward may make you feel you underestimated. According to the Psychology Today magazine, simple gestures as an email saying “thank you, good job!” it’s already much appreciated by your team and helps prevent this syndrome.

3. Unfairness: There is a culture of favoritism and people are treated differently.
4. Lack of communication: If you don’t understand why you do what you do at work, you may miss a purpose, an objective. This incomprehension can lead to a lack of believe in what you do, that makes more difficult to cope with difficulties at your work life. The cognitive dissonance created by doing something that you don’t believe in may increase the risk of suffering burnout.

Ok, and how can I work on it, and overcome this syndrome and help others?

First of all, you need to reframe the way you look at work. Just by having a work nowadays, we are very lucky.

Once we have reminded this, one can always apply some of the following tips, and help other to do so.

1. Test the real limits: Who says you cannot go on a real vacation? (No email, no phone) Or that you cannot ask for a deadline extension? Or quitting that committee so much time-consuming? Try them! Maybe you get surprised with the flexibility around you :).

2. Establish priorities: Have a meeting with your manager to set up the most urgent projects, those that need to be tackled in the first place. You will be able to focus your attention at one thing every time.

3. Find value in what you do: Think how it helps other people, or the aspects you appreciate of your job (colleagues, experience, salary…)

4. Find balance in your life: when you finish your work life, focus on what you appreciate and makes you feel good: family, sport, friends…

5. Establish a healthy lifestyle: Learn to say “no”, take breaks from technology (don’t check your phone!), sleep enough, develop your creative side, take care of relationships (spend time with that friend you love so much) and prioritise exercise! Surprisingly, you will end up tired but full of energy.

Of course, Nextinit is a cool way to improve communication at work, helping everybody to find value and reasons for their job. What is more, thanks to Nextinit everybody will have the chance to innovate and propose new ways of handling burnout syndrome. What are you waiting for? Now, you can try it for free!!