A Self-Help Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Job Burnout
Published Time:
2016-06-14
“Occupational burnout,” also known as “professional exhaustion,” is a psychological exhaustion caused by work. It's a feeling of physical and mental fatigue and depletion of energy experienced by office workers under the pressure of work. This is different from physical fatigue and tiredness, but stems from mental fatigue. How to overcome this occupational burnout? How to rediscover the passion for work? How to meet new challenges and opportunities in the best condition?
Characteristics of occupational burnout
A person engaged in a certain profession for a long time, in the day-to-day repetition of mechanical work, will gradually produce a feeling of fatigue, weariness, and even boredom, and it is difficult to get excited or energetic in the work, only relying on inertia to work. Therefore, Christine Masler, a famous Canadian psychologist, calls sufferers of occupational burnout "corporate sleepers." According to surveys, the time it takes for people to experience occupational burnout is getting shorter and shorter, with some people even starting to feel bored with their work after only six to eight months.
Occupational burnout most commonly manifests in three symptoms:
1. Loss of enthusiasm for work, irritability, anger, hopelessness about the future, and indifference to people and things around them.
2. Negative work attitude, increasingly impatient and unsympathetic towards those being served or contacted, such as teachers being tired of teaching and unreasonably punishing students, or medical staff being tired of their work and having a bad attitude towards patients, etc.
3. Decreased self-evaluation of the meaning and value of their work, often arriving late and leaving early, and even starting to consider changing jobs or careers.
Where does the feeling of burnout come from?
Where does the feeling of occupational burnout come from? Actually, there are clues:
1. What are the high-risk occupational groups prone to occupational burnout?
According to experts, teachers, medical workers, and other related professionals are high-risk groups for occupational burnout. In these helping professions, when helpers deplete their internal resources without replenishment, burnout occurs. However, work with too little pressure and a lack of challenges can also lead to occupational burnout because individuals' abilities are not utilized, and they cannot gain a sense of accomplishment.
2. Have you found the right job?
Because newly graduated college students, in order to quickly find a job, will cast their nets everywhere without aim, and finally enter the workplace without thinking about what kind of work they actually like, often only after working for a while do they realize that they have chosen the wrong career. This serious occupational mismatch, if prolonged, will inevitably lead to occupational burnout.
3. Is your personality prone to burnout?
Low self-esteem, perfectionism, Type A personality, and external locus of control are all easily susceptible to occupational burnout. A Type A personality is a "workaholic" personality, prone to tension, irritability, and strong ambition. From the outside, they seem to have a lot of energy, like a long-lasting battery that never stops, but in reality, their physical and mental condition is over-expended, easily leading to physical and mental burnout.
4. Imbalance from work content or workplace environment.
Excessive workload, lack of work autonomy, unsatisfactory salary and benefits, poor interpersonal relationships in the workplace, a strong feeling of unfair treatment by the organization, or disagreement with the company's philosophy can all indirectly lead to occupational burnout.
Finding a cure for burnout
Many office workers often deliberately ignore occupational burnout, thinking that it will heal itself like a cold. In fact, without finding the real cause, it will often make oneself more and more unhappy, and seriously, it may fall into an inescapable depression. The following methods are good ways to solve occupational burnout:
1. Change your perspective and think in multiple ways: Learn to appreciate yourself and treat yourself well. When encountering setbacks, be good at thinking in multiple ways, "Misfortune may be an unexpected blessing." Comfort yourself in time, and never overly deny yourself.
2. Take a vacation and take a breather: If it's because you've been working too long and lack rest, take a vacation quickly. As long as you can temporarily clear your mind, you can recharge and replenish your energy for the next battle.
3. Further your studies in a timely manner and strengthen your abilities: Occupational burnout is often a kind of "ability panic," so you must constantly recharge yourself to adapt to the pressure of the social environment.
4. Exercise regularly: An excellent way to relieve stress. Exercise can increase serotonin in the body, not only helping with sleep but also easily inducing a good mood. Exercise follows the "333" principle: 3 days a week, 30 minutes a day, with a heart rate of 130 beats, such as brisk walking and swimming.
5. Find an interpersonal network: In addition to colleagues, people need other people to talk to, otherwise, they are easily trapped in the same thinking pattern, and once there is pressure, it is difficult to relieve it.
6. Speak out your difficulties: When encountering difficulties in work, life, or relationships, speak out. The listener may not be able to help you solve the problem, but this is the most immediate and effective way to vent your emotions. Many depression patients do not dare to talk to others when they encounter difficulties, and they silently do things by themselves, eventually becoming depressed.
7. Positive thinking: Treat work difficulties as challenges, don't underestimate yourself, and encourage yourself more. Ask for help if you don't understand, or seek external help. Only by actually solving difficulties will you not accumulate pressure. The work performance produced by the two moods of "Come on, I can definitely do it" and "Oh, I just hope I won't be scolded by the boss" is definitely different. Positive thinking is not an innate instinct, but can be cultivated through practice.
8. Sense of humor: Don't take the jokes of your boss, supervisor, and colleagues too seriously. Workplace harmony needs a sense of humor.
Previous Page
Recommended News
Email: marcos.yuan@wangao.com.cn
Address: No. 688, Dinghai Road, Haimen City, Jiangsu Province
Mobile Version QR Code
Whatsapp Account
Copyright © 2025 Jiangsu Wangao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.