Preventing Burnout In The Workplace

Burnout can be quite a common issue and could be a major problem if you don’t understand the symptoms and if you don’t understand how to handle it. This is especially valid for IT professionals, in which the demand for results and the working hours can be more than other professions. Read on to understand methods to prevent burnout in the workplace.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a expression used to illustrate the feeling of low interest and long lasting exhaustion. It’s related to being stressed concerning your job, but it’s likely a bit past the day-to-day stress. If you imagine the stress stage as something such as “too much pressure to get things done”, then burnout will come later following that, as something like “have no interest at all in what I’m doing”.

It’s a bit more than simply having a bad day - it’s something that’s developed over a long time, probably years. It’s a primary reason why people shift careers - both entering and leaving IT. They could just feel like that have lost interest and had enough of a career in IT.

Signs Of Burnout

There are numerous ways to tell if you, or a coworker, is burnt out. A number of them are:
• Lack of motivation. Do you struggle to get out of bed everyday and get to work? Do you take time to actually get started at work?
• No interest in your work. While you’re at work, do you find it difficult to gain and retain interest in the tasks or work that you’re carrying out?
• No fulfillment from accomplishments. Any time you achieve something, or complete a big task, do you feel no sense of fulfillment or achievement?
• Loneliness. You could feel alone, whether in your workplace or private life. Whether this is really true or not is another thing.

Preventing Burnout

At this stage, you could feel as if you’re experiencing a kind of burnout, or possibly you’re on your way to a stage of burnout or disinterest in your job. Don’t worry - there are plenty of ways you can address this thought and prevent a feeling of burnout:

• Get enough sleep every night. It may seem obvious, but it is important to get enough sleep every night to make sure your mind and body are rested and restored and ready to take on the next day at work.
• Eat and drink healthily. Making sure you eat a balanced diet is a great way to reduce stress and eventually prevent burnout. Drinking plenty of water throughout your day is also a good idea.
• Try to split up your work and your personal life. A big part of the route to burnout in the workplace is combining your work with your home life. What this means is taking work home, contemplating work while you’re away, and working longer hours and weekends to get things done. While you may occasionally need to put in extra hours for a project or deadline, it ought to be the exception instead of the norm. Get into a habit of distancing the two aspects of your life.
• Reduce the hours you decide to work. Generally individuals who experience burnout are those that actually work over 40 hours per week. They might be working 50 or 60 or even more hours over an extended time period. This affects the balance between work and life and can cause burnout. As I previously mentioned, keeping the balance between the two is essential. Have a conversation with your boss to discover how you can lessen the hours you’re working. Even a little bit gradually can help over the long term.
• Reassess your work and career priorities. At times you'll want to have a think about the type of work you’re doing at your job, and how it affects your career priorities. If you’re doing additional work that doesn’t align with your long term goal, then ask yourself if it truly has to be done. If you’re attempting to do the work of two people, then consider if you’re capable of getting help with some of the work, or get rid of the work entirely. Sometimes the excess work you’re doing isn’t actually as important as it’s thought to be.
• Take a holiday. One of the greatest ways to prevent burnout in the workplace is to take a holiday break. Escape from your work pressures and take a vacation to another place. It could be a weekend away at the coast, or a flight overseas. It may be a short weekend away, or a two month trip to a number of countries. It’s up to your budget and time restraints, but this is an excellent way to refresh yourself, and will cause you to feel refreshed once you get back. I’ve taken a few holidays in my time and have noticed I feel far better when I get back than when I left!

I'm hoping these ideas and tips will allow you to recognize and avoid burnout before it affects you and your career - because what’s the objective of being employed in IT if you don’t enjoy it?