What is Burnout?
Image by @epicuros on Unsplash
When my burnout started, I was pretending to be a tiger at the zoo. I remember the exact moment it happened. The thought hit me that this is what I was doing with my life, and I felt the wind get knocked out of my sails. Which was weird, because I loved my job. I loved those kids. And I was good at what I did. I’d had moments of boredom in the past. We all have. There are just some days when you’d rather do anything but play Candyland again. But those moments always passed once we moved on to the next thing.
This one didn’t go away. In fact, it stuck around for months. Fortunately, I knew what burnout was, and I was able to take care of myself. Unfortunately, the only “cure” was quitting my job and taking a year off from childcare.
Burnout isn’t a medical diagnosis, but it is a common experience. It’s an intense, chronic form of exhaustion that comes from workplace stress. For me, it felt like clinical depression, but heavier somehow.
Signs of Burnout
My experience with burnout is unusual. People don’t usually feel it happening all at once. Most of the time, it’s a gradual decline, which means that it’s important to catch the signs early. Here are some of those signs.
Mental, Emotional, and Physical Exhaustion
Again, burnout is a form of chronic exhaustion. People feel it on a mental, physical, and emotional level. It’s not the same as having one “off” day or even being a little more tired than usual for a week or two. But if you notice that you have a bit less energy each week, you may be heading for a point where you won’t have any energy left at all. Some signs to watch for include:
consistently getting tired earlier in the day
relying on caffeine more often than usual
having no energy left for yourself at the end of the day
feeling as if your days off aren’t enough to replenish yourself
Loss of Connection with Your Job
If you’re dealing with burnout, you may not feel connected to your job anymore. This might hit especially hard if your job is very human-centered, like teaching, nursing, or childcare. People often enter these jobs because they’re very passionate about the work, which means that a sudden loss of connection can hit pretty hard.
You may notice that you just don’t care as much as you used to. Instead of staying fully engaged, you might just “phone it in” and do the bare minimum to get through the day.
Loss of Performance at Work
When you disengage from work, you naturally lose some work performance. You might catch yourself making mistakes that you wouldn’t otherwise make. One reason for this, besides a loss of connection, is brain fog. As a result, you might forget details or get accused of making “careless mistakes.”
What Causes Burnout?
Burnout has a few causes, but they all boil down to the same thing: consistently being overloaded and undervalued.
Disconnected Expectations
One of the biggest causes of burnout is disconnected expectations. In other words, the job that’s expected of you is very different from your actual job description.
When I was nannying, I fell victim to something called “job creep.” Job creep is what happens when your work expectations grow over time until they become overwhelming. It happens to a lot of household workers, and it’s usually unintentional.
A nanny’s job is to take care of the kids. Any housekeeping, like wiping down a table after lunch, is directly related to the children. Now, I think it’s perfectly fine to ask your nanny to do a household task every once in a while. For example, if you have a load of laundry in the washing machine, it’s usually no big deal for the nanny to throw it in the dryer.
The key here is that this is a one-off task. With job creep, these one-off tasks become more regular. It often happens like this:
The nanny put the laundry in the dryer, so it shouldn’t be a big deal for them to put another load in the washing machine, right?
Since they didn’t mind washing that extra load of laundry, they probably wouldn’t mind drying that one, too.
Well, some of these clothes actually have to lie flat to dry. The nanny can take care of that.
The clothes from that first load of laundry get pretty wrinkled. Maybe we can ask the nanny to fold them instead of just putting them in the hamper.
While they’re at it, they might as well put the clothes away.
And the pattern keeps going until the nanny is just expected to do laundry. Again, it’s not usually on purpose. It happens so gradually that neither the nanny nor the boss realize it’s happening. And because it’s so gradual, the nanny’s salary does not grow to match the increased expectations.
The job description is to take care of the kids. The job expectations become much more than that. The nanny becomes exhausted, and the exhaustion leads to burnout.
Side note: This is exactly why stay-at-home parents need support and why one partner should never be expected to take on all the household chores. Burnout doesn’t just happen when you’re getting paid.
Unmanaged Workplace Stress
Unmanaged stress also creates burnout. Obviously, disconnected expectations can play a big part here, but there are other sources of stress. A toxic work environment, long hours, and job insecurity are just a few examples.
Falling behind on projects is another example. This one is especially difficult because burnout itself can cause you to fall behind. Then, falling behind creates even more stress, and the cycle continues.
Poor Work/Life Balance
Everyone needs a balance between work and leisure. No matter how passionate you may be about your work, you also need time for sleep, socializing, hobbies, and other things that have nothing to do with your job. When work starts creeping into your non-work spaces, not being able to “turn off” can cause burnout.
Undercompensation
A lack of fair pay also plays a role. If you’re underpaid for the work that you do, you have a higher risk of burnout.
Burnout is highest among professions like teaching, childcare, and social work. These are jobs that people go into because they’re passionate about the work. They’re also jobs that are consistently underpaid.
Desiring fair pay in these professions is almost taboo, because society tells us that you’re supposed to do these jobs only because you love them. Wanting enough money for rent and groceries is seen as a sign that you don’t love your work enough.
How to Protect Yourself from Burnout
The onus of avoiding burnout should not just be on the workers. Employers, managers, laws, and society at large need to do a better job at protecting people from burnout. Preventing exploitation is probably the best way to keep burnout from happening.
That said, we obviously have a long way to go. Until we reach that point, here are some things you might do to protect yourself.
Use ALL of Your Vacation Time
Your vacation time is there for a reason. In fact, it’s considered part of your compensation. So when you don’t take all of your vacation days, you might as well be accepting a pay cut.
Vacation days are also important for avoiding burnout. Every person needs rest. Working while exhausted only adds to your stress, but taking time away from work can help you clear your mind.
You can never “misuse” your PTO because it is YOUR PTO. So don’t second guess whether you need it badly enough to “justify” using it yet. The fact that it’s yours is enough of a justification.
Set Clear Boundaries between Home and Work
In too many workplaces, people lack boundaries and treat it like a badge of honor. People may stay at the office past five pm, take work calls during non-work hours, and similar things. This is very unhealthy and contributes to stress. A lack of boundaries prevents you from disengaging from work. Set very clear boundaries between work and home. You should only work during the hours when you’re paid to work, and have designated times, places, and situations when you don’t engage with your job.
Check Your Compensation
You can protect yourself from burnout by making sure that you’re compensated fairly. Look up the average pay for your job in your area. If your salary is below average, it may be time to ask for a raise. Likewise, find out about other people’s salaries at your workplace. When your compensation matches your output, you have a much better chance of avoiding burnout.
What to Do if You’re Experiencing Burnout
If you’re already experiencing burnout, the strategies above might help. However, they may not be enough for you to heal. If that’s the case, you might talk to a therapist about your options, make adjustments to your work, or even quit your job if you’re able and it’s necessary.