How to Deal with Burnout in Your Career

With the challenges of COVID-19 and other circumstances over the past few years, more employees than ever have been reporting burnout and voluntarily leaving their jobs. If you’re starting to feel out, you likely feel mentally and emotionally drained, restless, stressed, and overwhelmed by work and your career. Burnout happens to everyone at one point or another, so here are a few tips to help you to deal with burnout in your career.

Identify the Source

First of all, try to identify the source of your burnout feelings. If you have a lot of stressors at work that are making you feel overwhelmed and burnt out, it might be difficult to nail down one specific source. However, identifying the source(s) of your burnout feelings can help you to know how to handle them. Try to examine situations when you feel extra drained and overwhelmed during the workday. What part of your day causes you the most stress and distress? When do you struggle to feel motivated? When you identify the source of your burnout, you’ll be able to resolve the issue with time. For example, if your source of burnout is the pressure you feel from your supervisor and the negative leadership they provide, transferring to another area could help your situation. You could also talk to your boss about your supervisor’s behavior to improve the situation. 

Reduce Career Stress

Next, try to reduce the stress that you feel about your career by having a balanced life outside of work. When work starts to feel overwhelming, your daily schedule will start to get out of balance, making you feel overwhelmed and stressed all the time, not only when you’re at work. Focus on lifestyle changes that can help you to feel less stressed and more in control. For example, try to schedule downtime in your day for your hobbies. Meet up with your family or friends regularly to preserve those healthy relationships. A healthy diet and exercise can help reduce stress

Communicate About Your Burnout

Finally, make sure that you’re talking about your burnout to coworkers or supervisors that could help you with your feelings. Expressing your feelings of burnout will help you to know how to handle them better. It can also feel validating when they share their feelings about their struggles and difficulties and recognize the truth in their experiences. Make sure, to be honest, open, and vulnerable about your burnout with an individual that you trust. Communicating about your feelings can help you to know how to overcome them and find productivity again if you truly want to stay with your company. 

 

So, if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed with your job or career lately, remember that burnout happens to everyone. Just because you’re feeling burnt out doesn’t mean that something is wrong with you. It is, however, an indication from your mind and body that something needs to change in your lifestyle and work situation to help you to find happiness, motivation, and peace again. Make sure to implement these tips to recover from your burnout in time, but remember to be patient with yourself.

 

Check out this article on how to expand your company’s talent pool!