Before COVID, many people dreamed of working from home. Then, during the pandemic, 71% of workers whose jobs allowed them to work remotely were forced to create a workplace at home. Even after jobs reopened, I work from home at least part of the time is still a reality for 59% of this cohort, according to Pew Research.
But I work from home this is not a walk in the park, as many imagine it to be. There are still deadlines to be met, quotas to fill and clients to please. Burnout happens at home too.
If you want to avoid burnout, you must first understand this. Read on to learn how to identify and manage burnout to get your physical, mental, and emotional well-being back on track.
What is burnout?
While not technically a medical diagnosis, burnout can affect your overall health and well-being. World Health Organization refers to burnout as an “occupational event” in ICD-11 (11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases).
The ICD-11 describes burnout as “the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
- Feeling of energy depletion or exhaustion;
- Increased mental distance from work or feelings of negativism or cynicism associated with work; as well as
- Decrease in professional efficiency”.
In short, burnout is when you are constantly stressed to the point where you feel tired, don’t care about your job, complain about your job, and your productivity suffers.
Now that you know what burnout is, here are the signs and symptoms a person may experience when they burn out.
Signs and symptoms of burnout
Burnout creeps up on you because it is the result of accumulated unresolved chronic stress. While the risk is higher for some occupations, anyone can experience burnout. Symptoms may resemble other serious mental health problems, such as depression. Here are the typical signs:
Fatigue
Burnout can lead to physical and emotional exhaustion. You may feel like you lack energy and want to sleep more than usual. But feeling tired all the time (more than usual) can also point to other health problems. So be sure to talk to your doctor if you feel tired for a long period of time.
Insomnia
If you have difficulty falling asleep or wake up frequently during the night, you may be experiencing a symptom of burnout. The inability to sleep due to overwhelming levels of stress is a common occurrence in burnout. Fear of working the next day can deprive you of much-needed sleep, making the problem worse.
Feeling negative
Another symptom of burnout is a cynical attitude towards the boss or employer and a negative attitude towards work. Pessimism is a characteristic that your colleague can blame you for. You may feel irritable and grumpy, which leads to isolation from others. Managers may notice indifference to work and a general bad attitude on the part of burned-out employees.
Lack of motivation
Loss of motivation and lack of interest in work is another indicator of professional burnout. Feeling hopeless and sad about the situation at work can lead to you being overworked. In addition, lack of motivation and feeling overwhelmed can lead to high levels of anxiety.
Poor health | physical illness
Burnout also takes a toll on your physical health. Possible physiological consequences of emotional burnout include headache, gastrointestinal problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. In addition, burnout can lead to general malaise, fatigue, frequent colds due to reduced immunity.
Decrease in labor productivity
Burnout affects your overall productivity and productivity. You may feel overworked and mentally exhausted. As a result, your manager may notice poor communication, reduced efficiency, and decreased quality of your work. In addition, mental exhaustion makes you feel dissatisfied with your job and career, making you dream of quitting.
How to recover from emotional burnout
Long-term stress leads to burnout, absenteeism and the desire to quit work. However, it is possible to recover from burnout. The first step is to acknowledge the problem. Once you understand that your symptoms are caused by stress at work, you can take steps to correct the situation. Here are some tips to get you started on the path to full recovery from burnout.
Identify your source of stress
There are many aspects of work that can cause you unnecessary stress. Understanding where your anxiety comes from is critical so that you can deal with it. Is your boss a micromanager? Is your workload too heavy? you invest more working hours during the year than usual? Or maybe it’s all of these things. Once you determine where the epicenter of your stress is, you can determine what conversations you need to nip it in the bud.
Manage your stress
Working on your stress reduction techniques is critical to recovering from burnout. To succeed in any work environment, you need to learn how to deal with work-related stress. Effective learning stress management techniques can help you in other aspects of your life. Here are various ways to manage stress that will help you recover from burnout.
- An exercise
- Play with pets
- Magazine
- Participate in entertainment
- Talk to a friend
- meditate
- Try yoga
- Spend time outside
- Listen to music or your favorite podcasts
- Do deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation.
- Get a massage
Take a vacation or vacation
If you have severe burnout, you may need to take a break to relax and focus. Schedule a vacation and feel free to use your accumulated paid vacation. If your employer allows it, a vacation might be just what you need to recover from burnout.
Talk to a therapist
Seeking help from a licensed therapist or counselor can help you recover from burnout. Professional services can help you reorganize your thoughts and get rid of negativity. Also, having a one-on-one conversation with someone who understands what you’re going through can give you the support you need to overcome burnout and relieve your symptoms.
Create a support system
In addition to receiving professional help, it is vital to have a solid support system of reliable friends, family or colleagues. This network can provide you with feedback to help you determine when your symptoms are getting worse based on your mood and energy levels. You can also find support groups in your local community to help you recover from burnout.
Looking for a new job
Sometimes there are too many stressors at work, making it almost impossible to overcome burnout. If your job doesn’t suit your personality, you may be under constant stress and unable to find relief even with stress reduction techniques. When this happens, another job may be the only option for reducing stress and alleviating psychosomatic disorders. Sometimes looking for a new job can mean a pay cut. However, you will have to decide what is more important: your physical health and mental state or current annual salary.
How to prevent burnout
Burnout is caused by stress in the workplace, which means that any stress reduction method will help you avoid burnout. Here are ways to prevent stress from building up while working from home or the office so you feel happier and healthier.
Examine your symptoms of stress
Everyone reacts to stress differently. Recognizing your individual response to pressure is key. Early detection is vital to cover up your stress before it gets out of control.
Use Workplace Survival Strategies
Stressful situations can arise in any work environment. Thus, stress management is a life skill that you must master in order to overcome everyday stressors in the workplace. Try one or all of these methods to reduce your stress levels throughout the day.
Don’t procrastinate, prioritize
Pay attention to the deadlines approaching, and get on with important tasks so that you don’t have to work under pressure later. Identify the times of the day when you are in your most poignant and productive mood and focus on the work that takes priority at that time.
Use a to-do list
When your workload gets out of hand, try making a list of things you need to get done, in order of importance. Complete each item before moving on to the next task, and be sure to cross it off the list. By seeing your achievements on paper, you will be motivated, and the work will go on as usual. Avoid distractions like reading emails and text messages to keep your work flow going.
Take a break
If you start to feel stressed, sometimes it’s best to take a short break to recover. Get up, take a walk, go outside, or have a snack or drink for a few minutes to avoid further pressure buildup. Even five minutes of a quick workout can help reset your mind and calm your emotions. more productive when you resume.
Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques are great for reducing stress in the workplace. There are many things you can do while sitting at your desk. Try deep breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization and meditation, aromatherapy, chair yoga, or massage. Find the relaxation techniques that you respond best to and use them to reduce work anxiety.
Know when to log out
Having a home office makes it easy to work long hours since you don’t have to commute at the end of the day. However, limiting your daily work hours to your employer’s requirements is critical to preventing burnout. If you tend to get immersed in work, set a timer that goes off when it’s time to finish the day. Log out and shut down your computer to avoid the temptation to continue working.
Improve work-life balance
A healthy work-life balance is critical to preventing burnout. Learning to say no to overtime or weekend work when you don’t have to is a good first step towards a balanced lifestyle. Say no making extra money can be tricky, especially when finances are tight. But spending time with friends and family instead of work can help reduce negative work attitudes and realize that there are other, more important things in life.
Eventually
Whether you work from home or head to the office, everyone is at risk of burnout. Understanding the causes of stress in your work environment is critical to preventing and recovering from burnout. Use your favorite coping strategies to keep your mind and body healthy to stay productive at work.
This article originally appeared on My Work From Home Money.
