3 Keys to Managing Career Burnout
Copyright 2005 Ann Ronan
I recently gave a presentation on this topic at an Annual
Conference of Human Resource Professionals. The room was full!
So I thought the information might be timely for some of you.
What is burnout? What are the symptoms and causes? And if you're
experiencing it, what can you do?
The dictionary states that burnout is "exhaustion of physical or
emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of
prolonged stress or frustration." I put usually in italics
because even when you love your work like I do, you can overdo
and find yourself burned out.
Symptoms of burn out can be physical, behavioral and spiritual.
Here are some signs that you're heading for burn out:
* fatigue * muscle tension * headaches * insomnia * not keeping
commitments * lack of effectiveness * irritability * anxiety *
sense of emptiness-nothing left to give * lack of joy * not able
to laugh
Causes of burnout can come from within ourselves or from our
organizations. Some common causes are high expectations of
ourselves, denial of our basic needs like food and sleep, poor
time management skills, inability to set boundaries or to say no.
Organizational causes can be a culture of competitiveness, or
one in which being constantly busy and overworked is prized with
email and phone calls taken along on "vacations." Insufficient
training in new job roles or cramped, noisy environments can
also contribute to burnout.
Here are 3 ways to manage burnout: change the stressful
situation, reduce your vulnerability to stress and/or change the
way you react to stress that cannot be changed:
1. Change the stressful situation if you can. If there are some
high stress aspects of your job, see if you can rotate this task
with others. Limit the number of hours you are under stress.
Spend some time on career/life planning. Set your priorities and
live by them.
2. You can reduce your vulnerability to stress by taking care of
your physical self with good nutrition, exercise and enough
sleep. Avoid nicotine and don't overdo caffeine and alcohol.
Surround yourself with supportive people, work with a coach who
will listen to you deeply and help you to create a good balance
of work and other aspects of your life.
3. Finally, change the way you react to stress. You can do this
by modifying your self-talk and self-criticism. Learn techniques
to calm yourself - a few deep breaths can bring you right back
to a centered place, able to face whatever stress is in front of
you. Become a self-care expert and have some fun.