5 signs you’re suffering from burnout in the workplace

and 5 tips to turn it around

Burnout is a whole other level of workplace stress. Pile on the anxiety, the strain of working your 9-5, and add a touch of sense of not accomplishing enough and a lack of motivation to even try.

But what exactly is burn out?

“Exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration”. Specifically post-quarantine, statistics are showing a jump in burnout amongst all age groups, with millennials being the most affected.

53% of millennials were already feeling burnt out pre-pandemic

Whatever the cause, feeling burnt out with your job can leave you feeling depleted, overworked, discouraged.

Here are 5 signs that you’re burning out:

1. You dread starting your work day

   Sure, not everyone absolutely loves waking up and going to work everyday, but there’s a difference between, “man, a vacation would be nice” and “my day is already bad because I have to do my job.” When it comes to the point where the thought of doing work is putting us in a bad mood and already preparing for a bad day, you’re most likely feeling burnt out by the job.

2. Your performance is suffering

   When we have a negative attitude towards work, it’s hard to find the drive to perform our duties properly and help our team do the same. I don’t know about you, but when I’ve been burnt out, I tend to find any work meeting to be a waste of time, putting in minimal effort with tasks, and not seeing the worth in the work that I’m doing for the company.

3. You physically feel unwell

   The stress of not properly doing your tasks for work and just getting by in work meetings when you haven’t been pulling your weight can cause a lot of strain not just on your performance but on your mental health as well. Headaches, indigestion, fatigue, and chronic colds can all be brought on by the stress of feeling burnt out from work.

4. Lack of concentration

   Even on the days where you’re feeling ready to put in a strong 8 hours for the job, it can be hard to stay on task and a lot easier to focus on things like social media, celebrity gossip columns, and thinking about what you’re going to eat for lunch. But it can stretch beyond work duties - it can be hard to keep your focus on day-to-day tasks and remembering to pick up dog food on the way home.

5. Not taking care of yourself

   A lot of people who suffer from the stress, fatigue, and other symptoms of feeling burnt out tend to turn to self-medicating. Anywhere from eating too much, eating too little, drinking, smoking, sleeping pills, drinking more caffeine, all self-soothing actions that lead to greater health issues and their mental health takes an even bigger hit.

So, how can we soothe our burnout without impacting our health more than it’s already been suffering?

1. Take relaxation seriously

   Make sure to take advantage of the multitude of free resources for meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises. YouTube offers many free videos, but our favourite is the Calm app; great for individual use or a business account that’s great for managers who’d like to prioritize mental health in the workplace.

2. Hone in on your non-work life

   I don’t just mean making time for laundry, vacuuming, or finally getting around to emptying the dishwasher. I mean cultivating a rich non-work life with your favourite hobbies and pastimes; painting, photography, hiking, biking, cooking with friends, and making time to discover hobbies that you have yet to try.

3. Electronic detox

   A lot of our work means we interact with our screens for most of the day; typing up documents on our computer and keeping in touch with coworkers through our phones. It’s important to give ourselves some time away from the blue light! Put your phone in another room, silence your notifications, and take some time to yourself.

4. Get enough sleep

   This one goes hand in hand with my previous tip - put your phone away and any other distractions and get the 8 hours that your body needs to function properly the next day. TikTok can wait until tomorrow (something I’ve had to remind myself of more than once), you can answer that text message when you wake up, and that new game you downloaded isn’t going anywhere.

5. Change your diet

   This is what our company employees thrive on - nutrition! Richer Health is adamant on the importance of fueling our bodies with the right food and helping everyone to understand how our diet impacts our productivity, our happiness, and our job performance.

With 31% of boomers feeling burnt out, jumping up 7% since COVID-19 and a 14% jump in Gen-Xers feeling burnt out post-pandemic (54%).