If you think you may be experiencing burnout at work you’ve come to the right place. I feel like we get in such a routine of things that work becomes our all-consuming focus.
Before we know it, we’re on a downward spiral of exhaustion and potentially questionable life choices.
Unfortunately, I bet more of you can related to this than not. Hopefully this list will help make you aware of the signs so you can start taking action to prevent caused from working too much.
So, here’s what I’ve found…
1 – Exhaustion/Fatigue
Not at all shocking. I’m sure we all have experienced both from over-working ourselves. Try to schedule some time off even if it’s just a half day here and there!
Take your time off and do mentally and physically rejuvenating things like taking a nap or spending some restful time outdoors. Stepping out of your typical routine can be rejuvenating enough on its own.
Be mindful to “shake things up” whenever you can.
2 – Significantly less motivation
Obviously, you’ll be much less motivated to do anything if you’re exhausted, but what about if you’re not?
You might think you’re just feeling lazy or bored, but chances are, you’re close to, or experiencing burnout at work. The first time this happened to me I forced myself to work harder and while that might work temporarily, it will just expedite your inevitable burnout.
I’m not saying that when you don’t feel like working you shouldn’t but be honest with yourself. How long has it been since you felt like there was more to life than spreadsheets and deadlines?
Your lack of motivation could very well be due to the fact that you need a change of scenery.
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3 – Negative attitude
If you find yourself complaining the whole way to the office and every little task that pops up is just “the worst thing ever” it’s time for a break.
Take note if this happens to you. Having a bad day is one thing, having a relatively normal week but everything seems to bring you down means you should probably put in for some much-needed PTO.
Schedule yourself a massage and stop blaming Terry from payroll (who never makes a fresh pot of coffee after he takes the last bit for himself) for your life’s problems.
I use little annoyances like that as my own personal indicator of when I need some self-care and it works out great for me. Give it a try!
4 – Lack of job satisfaction
Okay, surprise projects and empty coffee pots aside, do you feel like you hate your job?
If you’ve passed the point of feeling exhausted all the time, it’s easy to start building resentment toward the same job you were once excited about. It’s kind of like if you spend too much time around your significant other and the smallest things start to make you resent them. You just need a change of scenery and some rest.
Also, work on not letting yourself get too much “in your head” about things. Remember that you have the responsibility to choose how you want to react to things.
It’s a tough practice at first but reminding yourself that you’re in control of your life is very empowering and can help you navigate scenarios such as burnout at work.
5 – Headaches
I remember a time where I would expect to have multiple headaches per week. I thought I just wasn’t sleeping the best, not drinking enough water or whatever.
Nope. I was experiencing burnout from work. The best remedy is more R&R. Get away from that computer as much as possible and let yourself reconnect.
Jobs are important but they’re not supposed to be that consuming (at least in my opinion). And they absolutely shouldn’t make you choose between it and your health.
If you want to read more about burnout, I’ll link my post on “How to Recover from Burnout” HERE and down below for you!
6 – Your Communication Skills Could Suffer
When you’re experiencing burnout at work, your communication skills will likely be lacking. You could feel overwhelmed by the burnout and out of frustration and be blunt with those around you.
Or you’ll forget to mention things and you could come across like you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s important to be open to let people know that you’ve been feeling overwhelmed.
People don’t know about what’s going on in your head unless you tell them. Who knows, you might be able to delegate some work to someone who doesn’t have as much as you do.
Being able to work at a sustainable pace and not feel like you’re drowning in work will help you as you’re dealing with your burnout.
7 – Paranoid behavior
Are you obsessing over the thought that your boss probably thinks you’re slacking so she won’t think you can handle important tasks and then she won’t consider you for a promotion and OMG I BET I’M GOING TO GET FIRED!?
If you’ve worked yourself to the point of burnout out, it’s very unlikely that you are on the chopping block to get fired. And even less likely if your boss deserves to be in the role that they’re in – they see you.
I cannot stress this enough – your boss should encourage your health and wellness because without that you can’t function. Besides, you owe it to yourself to be the quality employee you know you are so taking proper care of yourself is essential.
Never assume that your boss wants you to work yourself to the point of burnout at work (unless you’re into that kind of demanding role in which case this article probably isn’t of interest to you).
8. Lack of Efficiency
If you’ve gotten to the point where your workload is starting to suffer, your boss will most likely notice (if they’re a good boss). Be open about what you’re experiencing.
They would much rather you tell them that you need a break than to be left in the dark wondering if you’re going to screw them over on the upcoming deadline. Plus, for all they know, you hate your job and are about to quit – they don’t know!
9 – Increased Errors
An increase in errors is guaranteed unless you’re a superhuman. The errors you may experience range from simple spelling errors to forgetting to do a task that you were supposed to finish last week.
This all ties in with feeling overwhelmed, lacking in efficiency, and just plain old being too tired to function properly.
To make matters worse, we also tend to lie to ourselves with burnout starts to creep in.
I’m working on the balance of working all the time, self-care and being honest with myself about when I need a break for self-care and when self-care means I sit down and work when I don’t feel like it. Honesty with yourself is so important.
If you know watching 3 hours of “The Office” tonight is only going to set you even further behind, but you do it anyway, that’s not self-care.
When properly practiced, self-care can help you avoid burnout because you’ll rest and pamper yourself when you truly need it, and you’ll work (even when you don’t feel like it) to avoid work the stress of work piling up.
I hope you found this helpful in some way. As always feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you found useful!
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Click the link above, or check it out HERE
