How to Avoid and Combat Burnout

Every job has its stressors, but when work feels particularly overwhelming, it’s important to pay attention and make sure you’re taking care of your mental health. You could be on the brink of a burnout. This post breaks down burnout, including how to identify the signs and symptoms of burnout to help you combat it or avoid it, and an analysis of its three components: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy.?

By Brandi Fowler

When you’re working nonstop and not taking time for yourself, a dreaded case of burnout can creep up before you know it.?

Perhaps you’ve gone months without taking a day off, have a high-stress job, or are in the middle of an intense project. No matter the situation, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s important to pay attention and not keep powering through it.

Burnout can reduce your productivity significantly or cause you to shut down, and if you’re experiencing it you’re not alone.?

“In May 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon,” Jacinta Jiménez, Psy.D, and author of The Burnout Fix said. And it has become more prevalent. Burnout is at an all-time high across professions following the pandemic, the American Psychological Association said.

So, what is burnout exactly? According to the APA , it is “physical, emotional or mental exhaustion accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance and negative attitudes towards oneself and others.”

To get the lowdown on the best ways to avoid burnout before it starts and combat it, I chatted with Jiménez , known as “Dr. J” to friends, and Diaris Alexander , Anti-Burnout Strategist and Executive Consultant at Inwellth , who provided helpful tips.?

How to Identify the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout

For starters, knowing how to identify the signs and symptoms of burnout is key.

“You may be surprised to learn that burnout isn’t simply a consequence of overworking to the point of exhaustion,” Jiménez said. “While overwork and exhaustion are part of what can happen with burnout, it is not the whole picture.”?

Burnout consists of three interrelated components: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy.

Exhaustion can occur when you feel physically or mentally run down. “People experiencing exhaustion might say things such as ‘I feel completely used up by the end of the work day’ or ‘I don’t think I have the energy to face another day on the job,’” Jiménez said.?

Meanwhile, cynicism “manifests as low levels of job engagement.”?

“An employee feeling cynicism may say things like, ‘I just want to do my job and not be bothered’ or ‘I am unsure whether my job truly contributes to anything meaningful,’” Jiménez added.?

Inefficacy can show up as a lack of productivity and feelings of incompetence. “Workers experiencing inefficacy may report things such as ‘I can’t seem to make progress with my job anymore,’” she said.?

How Self-Awareness and Proactiveness can Help Fight Burnout Blues

Keeping an eye on burnout signs and symptoms is essential to prevent it before it starts, as is talking about it when you experience it.

“Start with self-awareness and contribute to an intentionally anti-burnout culture,” Alexander, an anti-burnout strategist, said. “While it feels very personal when you’re going through burnout, it actually is inextricably linked to team-level and organizational dynamics. Do your part and make sure it’s not just left up to HR or management.”

You can do that by communicating more effectively about your burnout-related experiences. Alexander and Jiménez both suggested having conversations in the workplace about the key contributing factors to burnout: Workload, Perceived Lack of Control, Rewards/Recognition, Community, Fairness, and Values Misalignment.

So, if you’re having any issues within those spaces, make sure to speak up. Here’s the breakdown of all six:

Work overload: The presence of high job demands and inadequate resources to complete the job.

Perceived lack of control: Feeling like you’re not given the appropriate level of responsibility or access to the tools needed to do your job well.

Rewards and recognition: The lack of social, intrinsic, and/or financial acknowledgment for work efforts.?

Breakdown in community: High levels of workplace conflict and low levels of interpersonal trust.

Lack of fairness: Unfairness in areas such as inequities in workload or pay, inappropriate handling of promotions or evaluations, and poor dispute-resolution practices.

Values misalignment: When personal values and goals aren’t in sync with those of the organization.

It’s not always easy to talk about mental health issues at work, so if you’re having trouble communicating your perspective and boundaries, Alexander suggested hiring a coach to help you develop more confidence to do so. “Developing self-advocacy skills and confidence is well worth the effort,” she said.

In addition to those suggestions, Jiménez said employees and leaders at work should actively monitor for burnout, adding, “the sooner you can detect burnout, the more opportunity you have to course-correct early on.”

How to Combat Burnout If You Experience It

If you’re experiencing burnout, go through the three key components (exhaustion, loss of enthusiasm, and inefficacy), and identify and address your needs.?

Beating Exhaustion: Keep in mind that “physical health and well-being often starts with rest, hydration and nutrition,” Alexander said. So, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, drinking water throughout the day, and eating as healthy as possible. Building space in your day for activities that energize you is also a good idea.?

Lance Burnett, Founder and CEO of WARN International Limited , also wrote about the importance of rest to combat burnout in a LinkedIn post called Avoiding Burnout .?

“What is the number one strategy for recovering from burnout? Rest, without a doubt,” he wrote. “Taking a week off completely free of all connection with work allows our brain to rest, process what is going on, and recover. A brain needs time to sit as still as possible, just like any other injury would.”

Overcoming cynicism and loss of enthusiasm: “Dream big and match relevant support and/or coaching to your goals,” Alexander said. Creating a playlist of inspiring media can be helpful too.

Tackling inefficacy: “Build support and systems for quality management and tracking, codify common tasks, focus on energy management, and time-block your most important and impactful tasks,” Alexander added.?

In addition to those suggestions, Jiménez suggested setting aside a weekly 15-20 minute hold on your calendar every Friday to check in with yourself about how you’re doing with the three burnout components. “You may even want to rate how much you’re experiencing exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy on a scale,” she said.

Building Out a Strategy to Attack Burnout is Key

Take your effort to combat burnout further by putting behaviors in place to help you de-stress and decompress throughout the day.

“The key is to look for small, realistic, and feasible behaviors that offer replenishment, and proactively intersperse them throughout your schedule for the week,” Jiménez said. “These are what I refer to as ‘micro’ (5- to 15-minute) efforts that help you to either psychologically detach from work, relax, or replenish you.”

Some examples include integrating moments of calm into your day, like meditation or a quick walk. She also suggested spending time in nature or viewing pictures of nature, which can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol and practicing coherent breathing.?

“For maximizing relaxation, try coherent breathing, which consists of slowing your breathing,” she added. “Get down to five or six full breaths per minute, with equal-length inhalations and exhalations. That can help relieve stress too.”

(Editing by Todd Dybas )