Work burnout symptoms can be subtle or extreme, depending on how severe the case is. Typical telltale signs include mild depression, fatigue, trouble staying focused, trouble staying motivated, irritability, sluggishness, and more. Symptoms of extreme work burnout can be so severe that a person falls into a deep clinical depression, their immune system gets badly weakened, or they simply cannot get out of bed in the morning. Work burnout is common and usually affects everyone at some point in their career. At its core, it is general mind and body fatigue caused by work itself or personal problems. Thankfully, whatever the cause of work burnout is, there are many steps that a person can take to prevent it from lasting long or occurring at all.
The Top 5 Tips for Preventing Burnout at Work:
1. Keep Your Body Fit – Scientists and researchers that have extensively studied work burnout claim that the number one cause is poor physical health. These same researchers found that physically fit people suffer from work burnout 80 percent less than individuals that could be classified as being moderately to severely out of shape.
2. Avoid Excess Sugar and Caffeine – Another important study that was recently published concluded that regular excess sugar and caffeine consumption is related to a 14 percent higher risk rate for work burnout. Sugar and caffeine crashes can cause a person’s energy levels and motivation to plummet.
3. Pick The Right Profession – Studies have proven that work burnout affects 93 percent of people that classify their jobs as being terrible. People that thoroughly enjoy their profession, however, are 90 percent less likely to suffer from any form of major work burnout.
4. Get Proper Sleep – Sleep deprivation has been classified as one of the leading causes of work burnout. Jobs that require employees to work long hours and sleep less have 75 percent higher work burnout rates company-wide. On the contrary, jobs more conducive to employees getting proper sleep see far less work burnout rates.
5. Learn to Say No – Another common cause of work burnout is taking on too much responsibility. Every employee should maintain healthy boundaries in order to avoid taking on too much responsibility. While taking on additional projects can impress a supervisor, it can also backfire badly if it causes a person to get burnout and fatigued.