Job burnout: How to spot it and take action - Mayo Clinic

Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and ... COVID-19:Advice,updatesandvaccineoptions FindoutaboutCOVID-19,COVID-19vaccines,andMayoClinicpatientandvisitorupdates. Skiptositenavigation SkiptoContent ThiscontentdoesnothaveanEnglishversion. ThiscontentdoesnothaveanArabicversion. 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"Burnout"isn'tamedicaldiagnosis.Someexpertsthinkthatotherconditions,suchasdepression,arebehindburnout.Researcherspointoutthatindividualfactors,suchaspersonalitytraitsandfamilylife,influencewhoexperiencesjobburnout. Whateverthecause,jobburnoutcanaffectyourphysicalandmentalhealth.Considerhowtoknowifyou'vegotjobburnoutandwhatyoucandoaboutit. Jobburnoutsymptoms Askyourself: Haveyoubecomecynicalorcriticalatwork? Doyoudragyourselftoworkandhavetroublegettingstarted? Haveyoubecomeirritableorimpatientwithco-workers,customersorclients? Doyoulacktheenergytobeconsistentlyproductive? Doyoufindithardtoconcentrate? Doyoulacksatisfactionfromyourachievements? Doyoufeeldisillusionedaboutyourjob? Areyouusingfood,drugsoralcoholtofeelbetterortosimplynotfeel? Haveyoursleephabitschanged? Areyoutroubledbyunexplainedheadaches,stomachorbowelproblems,orotherphysicalcomplaints? Ifyouansweredyestoanyofthesequestions,youmightbeexperiencingjobburnout.Considertalkingtoadoctororamentalhealthproviderbecausethesesymptomscanalsoberelatedtohealthconditions,suchasdepression. Possiblecausesofjobburnout Jobburnoutcanresultfromvariousfactors,including: Lackofcontrol.Aninabilitytoinfluencedecisionsthataffectyourjob—suchasyourschedule,assignmentsorworkload—couldleadtojobburnout.Socouldalackoftheresourcesyouneedtodoyourwork. Unclearjobexpectations.Ifyou'reunclearaboutthedegreeofauthorityyouhaveorwhatyoursupervisororothersexpectfromyou,you'renotlikelytofeelcomfortableatwork. Dysfunctionalworkplacedynamics.Perhapsyouworkwithanofficebully,oryoufeelunderminedbycolleaguesoryourbossmicromanagesyourwork.Thiscancontributetojobstress. Extremesofactivity.Whenajobismonotonousorchaotic,youneedconstantenergytoremainfocused—whichcanleadtofatigueandjobburnout. Lackofsocialsupport.Ifyoufeelisolatedatworkandinyourpersonallife,youmightfeelmorestressed. Work-lifeimbalance.Ifyourworktakesupsomuchofyourtimeandeffortthatyoudon'thavetheenergytospendtimewithyourfamilyandfriends,youmightburnoutquickly. Jobburnoutriskfactors Thefollowingfactorsmaycontributetojobburnout: Youhaveaheavyworkloadandworklonghours Youstrugglewithwork-lifebalance Youworkinahelpingprofession,suchashealthcare Youfeelyouhavelittleornocontroloveryourwork Consequencesofjobburnout Ignoredorunaddressedjobburnoutcanhavesignificantconsequences,including: Excessivestress Fatigue Insomnia Sadness,angerorirritability Alcoholorsubstancemisuse Heartdisease Highbloodpressure Type2diabetes Vulnerabilitytoillnesses Handlingjobburnout Trytotakeaction.Togetstarted: Evaluateyouroptions.Discussspecificconcernswithyoursupervisor.Maybeyoucanworktogethertochangeexpectationsorreachcompromisesorsolutions.Trytosetgoalsforwhatmustgetdoneandwhatcanwait. Seeksupport.Whetheryoureachouttoco-workers,friendsorlovedones,supportandcollaborationmighthelpyoucope.Ifyouhaveaccesstoanemployeeassistanceprogram,takeadvantageofrelevantservices. Tryarelaxingactivity.Exploreprogramsthatcanhelpwithstresssuchasyoga,meditationortaichi. Getsomeexercise.Regularphysicalactivitycanhelpyoutobetterdealwithstress.Itcanalsotakeyourmindoffwork. Getsomesleep.Sleeprestoreswell-beingandhelpsprotectyourhealth. Mindfulness.Mindfulnessistheactoffocusingonyourbreathflowandbeingintenselyawareofwhatyou'resensingandfeelingateverymoment,withoutinterpretationorjudgment.Inajobsetting,thispracticeinvolvesfacingsituationswithopennessandpatience,andwithoutjudgment. Keepanopenmindasyouconsidertheoptions.Trynottoletademandingorunrewardingjobundermineyourhealth.   Thereisaproblemwith informationsubmittedforthisrequest.Review/updatethe informationhighlightedbelowandresubmittheform. GetthelatesthealthinformationfromMayoClinic’sexperts. 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Sorrysomethingwentwrongwithyoursubscription Please,tryagaininacoupleofminutes Retry ShareTweet June05,2021 Showreferences Depression:Whatisburnout?InformedHealthOnline.https://www.informedhealth.org/what-is-burnout.html.AccessedMay13,2021. WestCP,etal.Interventionstopreventandreducephysicianburnout:Asystematicreviewandmeta-analysis.TheLancet.2016;doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31279-X. BianchiR,etal.Isittimetoconsiderthe"burnoutsyndrome"adistinctillness?FrontiersinPublicHealth.2015;doi:10.3389/fpubh.2015.00158. BianchiR,etal.Burnoutanddepression:Causalattributionsandconstructoverlap.JournalofHealthPsychology.2018;doi:10.1177/1359105317740415. 5thingsyoushouldknowaboutstress.NationalInstituteofMentalHealth.https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/.AccessedMay13,2021. KrygerMH,etal.,eds.Sleep,occupationalstress,andburnout.In:PrinciplesandPracticeofSleepMedicine.6thed.ElsevierSaunders;2017.https://www.clincalkey.com.AccessedMay13,2021. BystritskyA.Complementaryandalternativetreatmentsforanxietysymptomsanddisorders:Physical,cognitive,andspiritualinterventions.https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search.AccessedMay13,2021. GilmartinH,etal.Briefmindfulnesspracticesforhealthcareproviders:Asystematicliteraturereview.AmericanJournalofMedicine.2017;doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2017.05.041. SwensonS,ShanafeltT.MayoClinicStrategiestoReduceBurnout:12ActionstoCreatetheIdealWorkplace.OxfordUniversityPress;2020. BianchiR,etal.Isburnoutprimarilylinkedtowork-situatedfactors?Arelativeweightanalyticstudy.FrontiersinPsychology.2021;doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.623912. 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