I’ve written a lot about self-care (here and here) but I’ve only marginally touched on what happens when you neglect to keep up with it.

What is burnout?

What comes up for you when you think about burnout? Perhaps you imagine a busy executive who collapses, mid-meeting, during their fifth consecutive 60 hour week. Or maybe you think of a nurse, barely able to stand as they near the end of an 18 hour shift. While it’s true that burnout encompasses these things, it’s also much broader and far-reaching than that.

According to dictionary.com, burnout is defined as “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.” Let’s break that down into its component parts:

“Physical or mental collapse…” – The image I see in my mind’s eye when I hear this is a deflating balloon, slowly running out of air. This balloon can be your body, getting sick, feeling weaker, or it can be your mind, running more slowly, making careless errors, leaving your keys in the refrigerator.

“…caused by overwork or stress.” – This acknowledges that while working a lot of hours can lead to burnout, it’s not the only factor involved. There are other types of stress – such as having a critical boss, or the cumulative experience of witnessing heartbreaking events on a daily basis – that can wear you down just as effectively.

What causes burnout?

There are many types of burnout. Following is a list, albeit not an exhaustive one, of some of the main causes:

  • Quantity of work – Even if you feel passionate about your job, if you’re working around the clock, across the calendar for prolonged periods of time, you’re going to start to feel the impact of that lack of balance.
  • Content of work – If you really hate what you’re doing – even if you’re only doing it 40 or even 20 hours a week, getting out of bed to head into the office can start to feel like a challenge.
  • Low morale – If you open the door to your workplace and the air in the office feels heavier than the air outside, that takes a toll. A difficult boss, high turnover, or the energy dearth of an unhappy office can contribute heftily to quick burnout.
  • High pressure – Sometimes I hear about workplaces that remind me of a line from the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse.” When everything is an emergency, your brain is in constant “put out fires” mode, and we simply aren’t wired to sustain that over long periods of time.
  • Company culture – Some companies have great cultures that encourage employees to thrive and innovate, but others make workers feel like they’re just cogs in a machine.  These latter cultures don’t place value on you having a healthy and well-rounded life, and can make you feel like your burnout is invalid or inconsequential.  If you start to feel burned out because you’re working 65 hour weeks, but Jimmy in the next office is working 75 hour weeks and still making it to the gym every day, you might ignore early signs that you’ve taken on more than you can sustain. When there’s no support for work/life balance, it’s easy to buy into a culture that doesn’t provide for that.
  • Compassion fatigue – If you have a profession that requires a large amount of empathy, such as a healthcare provider, first responder, family attorney, or nonprofit employee, you can get depleted quickly. When everything drips emotion, it’s not hard to be left with none to spare.
  • Non-work factors – Even if none of these other things are in place, if you are coping with high levels of home or family stress, you may find that you don’t have the usual drive to do your best at the office.

How do you know you’re burned out?

One way I’ve heard burnout described is sitting at your desk fantasizing about being in bed, but then lying in bed thinking about everything you have to do at work. I think this is evocative, but burnout looks a little bit different for everyone. Here are some indications of burnout:

  • Exhaustion: feeling tired all day
  • Insomnia: being unable to sleep at night
  • Physical illness: All that stress takes a physical toll.
  • Difficulty staying present or invested: Your mind wanders all day and you check Facebook 8 times an hour.
  • Anhedonia: not enjoying things that are usually pleasurable
  • Decreased work performance: due to distraction or being “checked out”
  • Decreased ability to cope: Things bother you more than they normally would.
  • Feelings of sadness: wishing your circumstances were different without the ability to identify the source of the sadness
  • Irritability/ anger: a “short fuse,” especially with people who don’t have any impact on your work life, such as a family member or the waiter at a restaurant
  • Lack of motivation: struggling to get started on a project; procrastinating
  • Self-medication: if “happy hour” is the only thing that can get your mind off your work
  • Fantasies about quitting your job: but also feeling trapped in it
  • Not taking care of your basic needs: a messy home, no clean laundry, not finding time for doctor’s appointments

When I was my most burned out at a past job, I started to wonder about my own traits and abilities. I thought about job searching, but I felt so depleted that it was hard to even think about doing it. “Maybe I’m just a lazy person who hates to work,” I mused, even though there was no previous evidence that this was the case. Those types of uncorroborated thoughts can be a huge indication that you’re burned out.

What can I do once I realize burnout is the issue?

1. Try a few different types of self-care and see if anything helps. (Here’s my list of 100 ways to practice self-care even if you’re very busy to get you started.) Pick one or two and try them.

2. If necessary and possible (and depending on your industry, it may not be possible), set boundaries at your workplace. Be assertive and let your boss know that you need to observe some limits, such as eating lunch away from your desk or not responding to emails after 9 PM, so that you can be at your best and perform well for the company’s benefit.

3. If this doesn’t work (or if your hands are tied), take a vacation. If you can’t afford to travel anywhere extravagant, just take some time off to do things you enjoy at home – a “staycation”. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, a bit of time away to rejuvenate can be transformative. When your vacation is over, evaluate how you feel.

4. If you’ve taken a vacation and you still feel burned out – exhausted, irritable, and hopeless – it may be time to consider making some more significant changes in your life: a different job or even a different career. If this is something you’re considering, call on your friends and family for support. A good therapist can also help.

Finally, it’s important to remember that burnout, if managed appropriately, is transient. When you’re in the thick of it, you may feel pretty hopeless and lose sight of the possibility that things can get better. You may internalize your fatigue as a sign that there’s something wrong with you. That’s usually not true – it just means that things are out of balance, and there are typically things that can be done to change that for the better.