Recognize and prevent burnout

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Recognize and prevent burnout
Recognize and prevent burnout
Anonim

Burnout is a relatively new disease/condition, but it affects more and more people. It is important not to confuse it with when you go to work in a moody way and don't even wish your colleagues and boss on your back - everyone easily falls into this mood. However, if you notice that almost nothing motivates you for a long time, you can't find joy in your work, and your productivity is also deteriorating, then there is really something wrong.

Burnout

“The term burnout comes from psychoanalyst Herbert J Freudenberger. The syndrome occurs in individuals who are chronically emotionally burdened and exposed to increased stress, who are physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted, which leads to hopelessness, lack of motivation, and loss of goals. The person's self-esteem decreases, and their negative attitude toward their environment increases, explains psychologist Veronika Ádám.

Enthusiasm does not always move at the same level, so if it declines temporarily, it is still acceptable. However, if greater and prolonged lack of motivation often occurs, combined with other symptoms, it may already be indicative.

Stages of Burnout

Stage of idealism and enthusiasm: In this case, work is joyful, one is full of goals, feels indispensable, positive and optimistic. He takes on a lot and even works overtime. The feeling of "I'm important" gives him additional energy for a while, which strengthens his self-confidence. However, after a while, your expectations of yourself become unrealistic and you constantly want to prove yourself. In addition to these, he is also overly afraid of failure, which can poison his days. Here, the person either notices that something is wrong, or continues this lifestyle, as a result of which physical symptoms may appear sooner or later.

Realistic phase: If someone enters this phase, they are still characterized by openness, they are still creative, but their enthusiasm is already decreasing.

Stagnation or disillusionment: Then the person does his work more and more routinely. His enthusiasm wanes, he keeps in touch with his colleagues only when absolutely necessary. Your performance may be significantly weakened as your field of vision becomes narrower.

Stage of frustration: In this stage, the person becomes more tense, irritable, and intolerant. Where it is more permissive, where it is more controlling, although this also depends on the position. Criticism is becoming more and more difficult for him, and he is annoyed by his tasks and colleagues. As his sense of success decreases, he devalues himself more and more, and may even question the meaning of his profession.

Phase of apathy: When the worker is in this phase, his motivation to work drops drastically, he becomes unmotivated and depressed. He will be overcome by fatigue, boredom and indifference, which will cause him to make mistakes after mistakes. In the past, he would have experienced this as a failure, but he doesn't really care anymore. You can become physically and mentally ill to the point that you are unable to perform your work and you can reach the point of complete burnout.

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The employer can also be to blame

There can be many reasons for burnout: stress, failure, conflicts, possibly fear of losing one's job, overwork, lack of recognition (or a convulsive effort to keep it), excessive responsibility, or oppression. When the person does not leave time for himself and his family, and does not recharge himself with positive experiences, does not relax, then the body becomes depleted and the nervous system becomes more sensitive. Of course, there can also be internal reasons, e.g. maximalism, excessive expectations of oneself, upbringing, parental patterns, etc. It is usually not attributable to just one cause. In addition to these, many people do not face the fact that burnout can be caused by the workplace or work organization, so prevention and intervention should be done from the individual as well as the employer's side.

„In the case of workplace intervention, the employer could do a lot with screening and solutions to improve well-being at work, as well as team-building training. There are institutions and companies where they take great care to maintain the comfort of their employees and avoid burnout. The boss must give his subordinate the opportunity to not just be a puppet, but to have a say in decisions, to feel that he is also controlling the process on some level. In addition to all this, it is important that the employer expects a normal work pace, explains the psychologist.

"If we have managed to get out of this depressing state either by ourselves or with the help of a professional, it is important not to return to the old ways, but to a better, more favorable way of life," suggests the specialist.

Tips to prevent burnout

  • let go of the guilt: according to the Huffington Post, if someone is driven by a constant desire to prove himself, then he may tend to devote almost all of his time to work. It is important to let go of your guilt about not working overtime and working at home, even in the evening hours, because everyone deserves a break.
  • dare to say no: Comedian Bill Cosby once said that he doesn't know what the key to success is, but the key to success is always wanting to answer to others. This is so true, because after a while it can make you really frustrated if you constantly want to please your colleagues and your boss. That's why if you feel like you can't do something because you don't have time, feel free to say no!
  • create a good morning: if the morning is bad, then most likely the whole day will be, so it's worth starting calmly instead of chaos and haste. If you have to, get up earlier so that getting ready doesn't turn into a nervous rush. Prepare your clothes the day before, put the children's belongings together, so you might even have time to run a little in the morning for extra energy!

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