It can be hard to recognise when you’re burnt out, so we’ve put together some simple tips to identify and overcome burnout in the workplace.
The Human Resources Director magazine found that about 44% of Australians suffered from burnout in the first quarter of 2022.
The World Health Organization defines burnout as ‘a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed’. But it’s much more than this. It can involve feeling exhausted, irritable, withdrawing from work and reduced productivity at work.
Types of burnout:
Frenetic Burnout: People who become overworked and exhausted because they’re highly committed to their work. Are you someone who feels like a super ambitious go-getter? This might be you, then.
Under-challenged Burnout: The opposite to frenetic, this is where someone feels engaged with their role to begin with, but overtime becomes uninterested and lacks development or growth opportunities. Do you find your work mundane and monotonous?
Worn-out Burnout: People who feel disengaged to the level that they disregard the responsibilities of their role. This often occurs after prolonged periods of feeling undervalued and unrecognised.
What to do if you’re feeling burnt out
If you think you have:
Frenetic Burnout: Establish clearer boundaries at work and add mindfulness to each day – this could be as simple as always making sure you take a decent lunch break away from your desk, or trying one of our 4 ways to de-stress at work.
Under-challenged Burnout: Try job crafting, which is essentially changing the way one feels about work to make them feel more engaged. Here are three tasks to try:
Task crafting: change the type, scope and number of tasks
Relationship crafting: alter who you interact with throughout the workday
Cognitive crafting: changing the way tasks and work is interpreted to make it feel more meaningful
Worn-out Burnout: First, try and identify why you’re feeling worn-out. Do you need more, less or different responsibilities? Has it been way too long since you’ve been on leave and you just need a holiday? Speak with your Manager or HR about solutions to get you back on track and feeling good at work again.
If you’re starting to feel burnt out, take steps now to prevent yourself becoming completely burnt out – whether it be one of our simple steps above, or consider speaking to a professional. And, if you think a colleague may be experiencing burnout, check in with them and see if there’s anything you can do to help.
