Am I burnt out?

Most of us experience some form of work-related stress during the course of our careers. And most of the time, this is relatively healthy. However there is a distinct difference between healthy, activating stress and burnout. In some industries there are other experiences like vicarious trauma or compassion fatigue that share some similar presentations, however let’s focus on the more broadly known term burnout and discuss what it is, what to look out for and what we can do about preventing or reducing it.

The World Health Organization defines burnout as:
“ . . . A syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions – Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and reduced professional efficacy” (McNaught, 2020).

Burnout is a serious condition at end of the health and wellbeing spectrum that can be a long and hard journey to return from. Burnout has traditionally and typically been thought of and labelled as an individual’s inability to cope or as someone who isn’t looking after themselves well enough. This pathologising viewpoint fails to take into consideration the very large influence and context of the workplace within which the burnout is occurring. Taking this step back and looking at the whole picture and examining the system within which the person is working, is critical in understanding the problems, identifying who is responsible for interventions or change, and reduces the stigma of it simply being “the person’s fault”.

Worldwide, it is estimated that about 210 million of us suffer from burnout. Experts know that it is all too easy to start burning out without realising it. It is often thought of as a sneaky condition that you don’t realise its full extent until you are already burnt out. People often live with a false confidence that “it won’t happen to me”, “I love what I do and I look after myself well”, or “That’s only for weak workers who can’t hack it”. Well surprise friends, no-one is immune to the risk of burnout.

Burnout is not a dirty word and we need to reduce the fear and stigma that it is. It is real. If we take another step back, we can start to consider the productivity complex and the ever-increasing demands to dododo, produceproduceproduce, provideprovideprovide. Technology, accessibility, globalisation, and (yes we’re going there) even the patriarchal facets of our industrial systems all have an impact on these subtle and not so subtle demands and expectations.

What are the symptoms? How do I know if I’m burning out?
The following lists are based on WHO’s three categories: (1) depletion or exhaustion; (2) feelings of negativity or cynicism related to one’s job; and (3) reduced professional efficacy.

Symptoms of depletion or exhaustion

• Lack of motivation

• Irritability

• Fatigue

• Insomnia

• Memory issues

• Feeling hopeless

• Nervousness

• Headaches

• Irritability

• Change in appetite

• Trouble concentrating

• Cynicism

• Depression

• Increased illness

• Loss of energy

Symptoms of negativity or cynicism

• Isolation

• Lack of enjoyment

• Apathy

• Impatience

• Being critical

• Feeling persecuted, attacked, targeted

• Hopelessness

• Negative attitude

• Excessive use of sarcasm or dark humour

• Disillusionment with work

• Loss of job satisfaction

• Self-medication (including with illicit substances or alcohol)

• Dread of work, often avoidance, including increased days off

Symptoms of ineffectiveness

• Loss of productivity

• Poor performance

• Missing deadlines

• Habitual complaining

• Missing work goals (Gerencer, 2020)

What to look out for

• Has anyone close to you asked you to cut down on your work?

• In recent months have you become angry or resentful about your work or about colleagues or clients?

• Do you feel guilty that you are not spending enough time with your friends, family or even yourself?

• Do you find yourself becoming increasingly emotional, for example crying, getting angry, shouting, or feeling tense for no obvious reason (Musker, 2019)?

A “yes” response to any of these questions means it might be time to change your work habits or attitude. In addition, you may be on the road to burnout if:

• Every day is a bad day.

• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.

• You’re exhausted all the time.

• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.

• You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated (Smith, Segal, & Robinson, 2021)

Stress VS burnout
Ever since Herb Freudenberger coined the term (Freudenberger, 1974) to describe the kind of emotional shut-down that many health professionals were coming to acknowledge, the term “burnout” has come into ever-greater usage in common parlance; many use it interchangeably with the term “stress”, but they are different. Below are some clear differences in their characteristics to keep in mind when choosing which language to use:

Stress (Smith et al, 2021)

• A person is over-engaged.

• There is emotional overreaction.

• The sense of urgency creates hyperactivity.

• The individual has a loss of energy.

• Can lead to anxiety disorders.

• The damage is mostly physical.

Burnout

• A person is disengaged.

• Emotions are blunted.

• There is a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

• The person experiences a loss of motivation, ideals, and hope.

• Leads to detachment and depression.

• The damage is mainly emotional.

• Makes life seem like it is not worth living.

What causes burnout?
There are various and multiple reasons, however below are some of the main work-related causes.

Lack of control. Many workers have little control over decisions about workload, projects, roles etc, which can lead to burnout. You also may not feel you have sufficient resources (human, financial, other) that you need to do the job.

Unclear job expectations. You may feel uncomfortable if you are not sure what is expected, this was insufficiently discussed, communication between you and your supervisor is not clear or healthy, or there is not a supportive workplace culture in which you can ask.

Dysfunctional workplace dynamics. Is there a bully in your organisation, or do you feel undermined by colleagues? Does your supervisor micromanage you? Do you work in isolation or with bureaucracies and red-tape?

Extremes of activity. If you notice you start to group people or projects into “everyone’s”, “alls” or “nothings”, then this extreme perspective can be a sign. It can lead to rigid, black and white or polarising thinking which does not leave room for flexibility, variations or alternative options.

Lack of social support. If you work remotely or in isolation or even at home, this can be a risk factor, particularly if it is compounded by a lack of social support in your personal life also.

Work-life imbalance. When work takes up so much time and effort that there is not much of you left (either time- or energy-wise) after a day of work, you can’t spend sufficient time with family and friends to nurture important relationships. Burnout can come quickly (Mayo Clinic, 2021).

In many situations, these job-related causes of burnout are changed more easily at organisational levels, but saying this does not absolve each individual professional from taking responsibility to make things better for themselves where they can. In addition to these job-related factors, there are lifestyle and personality causes of burnout. 

Lifestyle factors include working too much, without enough time for socialising or relaxing; lack of close, supportive relationships; taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others; and not getting enough sleep.

Personality traits contributing to burnout are: perfectionistic tendencies, where nothing is ever good enough; a pessimistic view of yourself and the world; the need to be in control; reluctance to delegate to others; and having a high-achieving, Type A personality (Smith et al, 2021)

The Extra Covid Impact Layer.

In Australia, a 2020 survey found that four out of five white collar working people (many of whom were working from home) suffered burnout last year during the pandemic; this 77% is 6% above the global average. Australia is quite possibly the country in the world with the highest rate of burnout. As a result of the pandemic, 45% of Australians reported a decline in general mental wellbeing overall.

Some believe that the helping professions may be hit harder by burnout during Covid times (emergency service workers, paramedics, doctors, nurses, police, counsellors and other frontline workers) as they continually work in even more heightened high-stress conditions than pre-pandemic (Musker, 2019). Additionally the job changes of working from home, or the real risk of losing jobs overall, or the creative urgency to pivotpivotpivot, pushes people’s mental wellbeing and stress levels to higher levels. In order to continue helping others, if you are in these professions, you likely already know the importance of looking after yourself. This means truly modelling this so that you can continue to help others in your work.

If any of this topic resonates with you or someone you know, you might be interested in reading the next blog about what you can do.

• Barry, L. (2018). Survey finds more than a quarter of Aussies are stressed and anxious. Better Homes and Gardens. Retrieved on 1 February, 2021, from: Website.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2018). Sleep and sleep disorders. CDC. Retrieved on 1 February, 2021, from: Website.

• Freudenberger, H.J. (1974). “Staff burnout”. Journal of Social Issues. 30: 159–165. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1974.tb00706.x.

• Gerencer, T. (2020). Burnout: Prevention, treatment, and advice for employees and employers. Zety. Retrieved on 31 January, 2021, from: Website.

• Mayo Clinic. (2021). Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved on 31 January, 2021, from: Website.

• McNaught, S. (2020). Burnout statistics UK – job related. Micro Biz Mag. Retrieved on 30 January, 2021, from: Website.

• Musker, M. (2019). Workplace burnout is all too common. Here’s how to tell if you’re affected. ABC News: The Conversation. Retrieved on 30 January, 2021, from: Website.

• Smith, M., Segal, J., & Robinson, L. (2021). Burnout prevention and treatment. Help Guide. Retrieved on 31 January, 2021, from: Website.

• Tu, J. (2021). Four in five Australians faced burnout in 2020. Women’s Agenda. Retrieved on 30 January, 2021, from: Website.