Occupational Burnout: Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment

Knowing the symptoms of burnout, what we can do to prevent it along with the treatment for burnout is becoming more and more important. Companies and employees alike will need to pay more attention to it and look for practical ways to combat burnout.

Working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has exasperated the issue of burnout because it was so easy to work more and more hours, especially during the complete lock down phase. We did not take the needed breaks throughout the day that are beneficial, and we did not necessarily take care of our physical selves by eating well and exercising regularly.

Many of us developed unhealthy habits that may prove to be difficult to break in 2022 and beyond. It is to everyone’s benefit to pay close attention to the symptoms, how we can prevent it where possible and the treatment once we have the diagnosis.

Is burn out a form of depression?

Let’s first try to define burnout because it can mean different things in different situations. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the educational article “Depression: What is burnout?” the term “burnout” was coined in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions. Nowadays, the term is not only used for these helping professions, it is also used for the dark side of self-sacrifice. It can affect anyone, from stressed-out career-driven people and celebrities to overworked employees and homemakers.

Burnout is also considered to be a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It’s a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress. In many cases, burnout is related to one’s job. Burnout happens when you’re overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life’s incessant demands. It can also happen by constantly trying to solve the same problems over and over again to no avail.

Burnout keeps you from being productive. You lose energy and that makes you feel hopeless, cynical, and resentful. The effects of burnout can negatively impact you at home, work, and in your social life. Long- term burnout can make you more vulnerable to getting sick.

Experts do not agree on exactly what burnout is. That makes defining burnout difficult because it’s not exactly clear what burnout is and how it can be diagnosed. At the same time, it's also not possible to say how common it is.

Instead, “burnout” could be a form of job-related depression and is generally agreed to arise from “insurmountable, chronic workplace stress,” often as a result of a misalignment between an individual's personal disposition and the demands of their workplace. (See “Is Burnout Depression by Another Name?” in Phycological Science) 

Major reasons for burnout include but are not limited to:

• Unmanageable workloads
• Unfair treatment at work
• Confusing work responsibilities and priorities
• Lack of communication or support from managers
• Intense deadline pressure

For the purposes of this blog, we will focus on burnout as it relates to any job-related causes. This will allow us to focus on the areas that we know best. While I hope that the answers we find are able to provide to you will help in your current situation at work, it may also prove to be helpful in other areas of our lives

Signs and Symptoms of Burnout

Most people don't realize there are different types of burnout. We will focus on professional burnout as mentioned above. If we are paying attention to our bodies and what it is telling us, we can determine if we may be approaching or experiencing burnout in our jobs. This happens quite frequently and often it takes us by surprise.

Pay close attention to any changes in how you are thinking about and approaching your workday. Do you get up excited about the day or at least having positive thoughts? Or do you look forward to the day with misgivings or angst or avoidance?

Here is a simple list of questions to ask yourself:

• Have you become cynical or overly critical at work?
• Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started and keeping momentum?
• Have you become irritable, impatient or rude with co-workers, customers or clients?
• Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive even on a daily basis?
• Do you find it hard to concentrate?
• Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
• Do you feel discouragement about your job?
• Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
• Have your sleep habits changed, sleeping more or less?
• Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?

Positive answers to any of these questions could mean that you are close to burnout, or depending on the severity, actually experiencing some form of burnout.

Most of us have days when dragging ourselves out of bed requires absolute determination.  If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be burned out. It is a gradual process and does not happen overnight, but it can creep up on us.

If you pay attention and actively take action to reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll burn out. When suffering from burnout our behavior changes and again it is subtle and difficult to recognize quickly.

If you find yourself withdrawing from responsibilities, procrastinating or taking longer to get things done, then pay attention to these signs. When suffering from burnout, we may find ourselves isolating ourselves from others or using food, drugs or alcohol to cope. This may lead to us taking our frustrations out on others by lashing out or we may skip work or come in/leave early.

These are all behavioral signs of burnout, and we should pay close attention to these signs. Our mind and body are trying to tell us something so we should listen and take action.

The Mayo Clinic, in it’s article entitled “Job burnout: How to spot it and take action” says that “Ignored or unaddressed job burnout can have significant consequences, including:

• Excessive stress
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Sadness, anger or irritability
• Alcohol or substance misuse
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Vulnerability to illnesses”

How do you overcome burn out?

The best way to handle job burnout is to take action! First evaluate your options and determine the best steps to reduce whatever it is that’s causing the burnout. Usually, we get overloaded at work and there seems to be no answers for how to get that under control. The expectations seem overwhelming and paralyzing.

Speak to your manager or project lead about re-prioritizing your workload. You should explain that there is just no way to get it all done based on the current priorities and that you need their help in keeping the priorities in the right direction.

Here is a simple list of questions to ask yourself:

• Have you become cynical or overly critical at work?
• Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started and keeping momentum?
• Have you become irritable, impatient or rude with co-workers, customers or clients?
• Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive even on a daily basis?
• Do you find it hard to concentrate?
• Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
• Do you feel discouragement about your job?
• Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
• Have your sleep habits changed, sleeping more or less?
• Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical complaints?

Positive answers to any of these questions could mean that you are close to burnout, or depending on the severity, actually experiencing some form of burnout.

Most of us have days when dragging ourselves out of bed requires absolute determination.  If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be burned out. It is a gradual process and does not happen overnight, but it can creep up on us.

If you pay attention and actively take action to reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll burn out. When suffering from burnout our behavior changes and again it is subtle and difficult to recognize quickly.

If you find yourself withdrawing from responsibilities, procrastinating or taking longer to get things done, then pay attention to these signs. When suffering from burnout, we may find ourselves isolating ourselves from others or using food, drugs or alcohol to cope. This may lead to us taking our frustrations out on others by lashing out or we may skip work or come in/leave early.

These are all behavioral signs of burnout, and we should pay close attention to these signs. Our mind and body are trying to tell us something so we should listen and take action.

The Mayo Clinic, in it’s article entitled “Job burnout: How to spot it and take action” says that “Ignored or unaddressed job burnout can have significant consequences, including:

• Excessive stress
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Sadness, anger or irritability
• Alcohol or substance misuse
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Vulnerability to illnesses”

How do you overcome burn out?

The best way to handle job burnout is to take action! First evaluate your options and determine the best steps to reduce whatever it is that’s causing the burnout. Usually, we get overloaded at work and there seems to be no answers for how to get that under control. The expectations seem overwhelming and paralyzing.

Speak to your manager or project lead about re-prioritizing your workload. You should explain that there is just no way to get it all done based on the current priorities and that you need their help in keeping the priorities in the right direction.

What does burnout do to your brain?

When discussing burnout and the related stress it's the type of stress that matters: acute or chronic.

In moments of acute stress – such as an argument or looming deadline – we have a ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction, raising our cortisol and adrenaline levels, and increasing blood pressure, breathing rate, heart rate and muscle tension. Chronic stress happens when these moments of acute stress become prolonged, or we're subject to ongoing psychological demands (like money worries or extreme working hours).

We can recover from acute stress rapidly because the body begins to regulate cortisol and adrenaline production. We return to pre-stress levels soon after a moment of pressure. It's when we get into the territory of chronic stress that we can risk burnout. When this happens, the body starts to struggle to produce cortisol at all. This is one of the causes of sleeplessness that we mentioned earlier.

Screen Fatigue

Also called computer vision syndrome, screen fatigue is an everyday danger for many of us; not only do we spend many hours looking at a computer or laptop screen, we relax by watching TV or using our smartphones. It’s caused by the repetitive motion our eyes make as we read across the screen we’re using, as our eyes focus and refocus on what we’re seeing on the screen.

It’s incredibly important we take regular breaks from anything with a screen - whether that’s to catch up with a spouse or family member, have a coffee break, or go for a walk outside. We spend far too much of our time staring at a screen and it simply wears us out.

Making a change

Despite the grip that burnout has over so many of us, recovery is possible. While there’s no quick fix to burnout, there are many ways to alleviate stress levels and return to a healthier state of being.

Here are five tips on recovering from burnout that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine.

Track your stress levels and identify your stressors

If have a smartphone, stress trackers are a great way to monitor your anxiety. Trackers also help you to understand more about your personal stress patterns and behaviors. It is important to know what your stress triggers are because that will allow you to avoid or reduce interactions with them. Pay attention to incidents, people or situations that trigger stress and avoid them as much as possible.

Seek professional help from a coach or therapist

There’s no shame in seeking help from a trained psychologist or coach. It is really important that you have someone that you trust to talk about what’s going on. A coach or therapist will be an impartial third party that can and should help you peel back the onion to completely understand what’s going on and why you are tolerating the stress levels and pressure.

Being able to discuss your struggles with burnout in a safe environment will help to alleviate stress. Don’t be afraid to lean on others for support, whether those relationships are personal or professional.

Get enough exercise

One of the best ways to work off stress is with a good physical workout. You should have a regular exercise routine that you really like, otherwise you will not stick to it. So whether it’s taking a run around the neighborhood, walking the dog or going to the gym, it is very important that you have a regular exercise routine.

Moving your body will release the tension it holds while producing feel-good hormones like endorphins. Virtual workouts like online yoga help relieve stress without you even leaving the house. There are many ways to get into a regular routine, so don’t wait.

Do things that you enjoy

Having fun is a good place to start if you want to know how to recover from mental exhaustion. How long has it been since you did something fun or had a good laugh? If you commit to things that make you happy your stress levels will calibrate. Having fun at work and at home is a great way to relieve some stress. Remembering to laugh at yourself when you say or do something silly is also important. It takes away the pressure to be perfect!

Set boundaries

This is one of the most common things that people neglect or overlook and that is setting boundaries. It is difficult to say no when being asked to take on extra work. Learning how to set boundaries at work and in relationships can help reduce the chances of burnout significantly.

Start with caring for yourself first. This is an important part of setting boundaries and the one step a lot of people want to leave out. If you don’t care for yourself, it sends a message that you are not worthy! This message is heard in your own mind first and then you project to others that you are not worthy. So start today to take care of you, your priorities and your fun, FIRST!

In Summary

Stress is an unavoidable part of life. Everyone must learn to cope with it in order to survive. The key to developing a healthy relationship with work is to invest in daily acts of self-care. We have mentioned only a few things that you can try so be creative and do something different.

By looking at burnout honestly, you can focus on your well-being in a way that makes sense for your personal values, ideals, and capacities. We know this may be easier said than done.

Burnout is no fun and it can be very difficult to recognize in ourselves. If we look at our situation through clear eyes we can recover from burnout and use it to create a more successful life than we ever imagined.

About Connie

My greatest joy is helping clients become people who lead. My mission is to help people grow into the strong, successful people that I know they can be.  My passion is building great talent while building authentic and long-lasting relationships! I also love using my experience as both a corporate executive and an entrepreneur to provide actionable feedback that helps people reach new heights no matter if that is working in the corporate world or as an entrepreneur or as a stay-at-home parent! I start right where you are and we grow from there!

Growing up in a small town, I often found myself wondering if there were more to the world than this. After being given opportunities to lead, I genuinely felt like I was in my element for the first time in my life. I decided it was time to break free of my limitations and become the person I knew I was meant to be—confident to build a career that I had always imagined.

I have had a career signature of being asked by senior corporate leaders such as Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Rick Wagoner to assume advisor-consultant roles with clients and executive teams. I was recruited by The Walt Disney Company to coach executives and worked jointly with their leadership to create career development plans for Disney’s Enterprise IT group.

As a recognized leader and mentor, I hold more than 20 years’ experience building relationships, developing teams, and coaching associates to success.

You can contact me via email at [email protected].