INFOGRAPHICWELL-BEING

How to Recognize Burnout—and Beat It

February 21, 2024
How to Recognize Burnout—and Beat It A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM The World Health Organization now recognizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon. 89% of employees say they've experienced burnout in the past year. Of those workers, 27% said they feel burned out “all of the time.” 54% of employees say they feel overworked 39% report being exhausted 41% are considering handing in their resignation 37% say their employer is asking too much of them HOW BURNOUT HARMS HEALTH What Burnout Brings with It Burnout is a problem on its own, but research suggests that it’s also associated with: -Obesity -Insomnia -Coronary heart disease -Anxiety Burnout and Unhealthy Eating In a study, working adults experiencing burnout and exhaustion were more vulnerable to uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and a higher intake of calories. Research suggests workplace weight-management programs should incorporate ways to assess the effects of exhaustion and workload on eating behaviors and exercise. THE SIGNS OF BURNOUT Stress and resilience expert Paula Davis was a real estate lawyer who burned out in her field, so she knows how it feels. She says to look out for the “big three” signs: Chronic physical and emotional exhaustion There is no specific length of time on this, but if you can look back over the last few months and see that you felt this way more often than not, you may be burning out. A sense of cynicism Everyone is bugging you; everyone rubs you the wrong way. You feel less empathy for others, including your colleagues, clients, or patients. A sense of ineffectiveness The first two lead to this. You can't see a path for yourself in this company or this field, no matter what you do. Other symptoms that may come up are: A lack of downtime You’re always “on” and you can’t separate yourself from your work. A lack of enthusiasm You can’t summon energy for things you used to be excited about. Outsize responses Someone makes a level-1 request of you and you have a level-15 reaction. Although people can hide many signs of burnout, this one is evident to the people around you. Physical problems You experience headaches, stomachaches, colds, and flu, especially if you don't normally get sick a lot. What you can do Davis emphasizes that burnout needs to be confronted by the organization as well as the individual. On an organizational level: Be transparent Be clear and open with employees about where things stand and what is expected of them. Ambiguity is a burnout accelerant, says Davis. Give feedback We all want to know where we stand, so give feedback frequently—much more than every year or every six months. Give recognition This can be a very informal note or conversation with a boss or a peer, but do point out when people do well. Grant autonomy Give employees a choice when you can. Can they work from home a few days a week? Come in at a different time? Skip a nonessential meeting? On a personal level: Remember your control Remind yourself where you have a measure of control—even if it’s just your reaction to someone—and take that action as soon as possible. Track small wins Write down each step you are taking to reach a goal, no matter how small, such as, “Made the first phone call to get that project started.” If you’re far gone If you feel you’re too exhausted to try these, talk to someone, be it a trusted mentor or boss, or a doctor or mental health professional. Tell the person exactly what’s going on and don’t gloss over it. The sooner you catch it, the more you can help yourself or find the support you need. OTHER STRATEGIES Get Your Sleep A good night’s sleep is critical to fighting stress and burnout. Sleep deprivation can lower problem-solving and thinking skills, memory, patience, and attention span. Mindfulness Matters Engaging in mindfulness practices, specifically meditation, resulted in significant reduction of burnout and improvement in resilience for teachers, according to one study. SOURCES American Psychological Association (2019), Give me a break: Psychologists explore the type and frequency of breaks we need to refuel our energy and enhance our well‑being. American Psychological Association (2021), Speaking of Psychology: Why we’re burned out and what to do about it. Cedars-Sinai (2020), Good Sleep in Times of Stress. Brandstätter, V. et al. (2016) Motivational Incongruence and Well-Being at the Workplace: Person-Job Fit, Job Burnout, and Physical Symptoms. Frontiers In Psychology. Davis-Laack, P.,(2020), “Is it Stress or is it Burnout?”, Stress & Resilience Institute. Gallup (2020), Employee Burnout, Causes and Cures. Koutsimani, P. & Montgomery, A., et al. (2019), The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology. Maven (2020), Parents at the Best Workplaces survey. Mayo Clinic (2021), Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. Microsoft (2021), World Trend Index. Padilla, H.M. & Wilson, M. et al. (2019), Health behavior among working adults: Workload and exhaustion are associated with nutrition and physical activity behaviors that lead to weight gain. Journal of Health Psychology. Sleep Foundation (2021), Stress and insomnia. Statista (2020), Popular Ways to Use Media to Manage Stress survey. University of Utah (2020), Battling Burnout. Valosek L, Wendt S, Link J, Abrams A, Hipps J, Grant J, Nidich R, Loiselle M and Nidich S (2021) Meditation Effective in Reducing Teacher Burnout and Improving Resilience: A Randomized Controlled Study. Front. Educ. 6:627923. Visier (2021), The Burnout Epidemic Report 2021. World Health Organization (2019), Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases.

For the text version of this infographic, read on.

A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM

The World Health Organization now recognizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon.

89% of employees say they've experienced burnout in the past year. Of those workers, 27% said they feel burned out “all of the time.”

54% of employees say they feel overworked

39% report being exhausted

41% are considering handing in their resignation

37% say their employer is asking too much of them

HOW BURNOUT HARMS HEALTH

What Burnout Brings with It

Burnout is a problem on its own, but research suggests that it’s also associated with:

-Obesity

-Insomnia

-Coronary heart disease

-Anxiety

Burnout and Unhealthy Eating

In a study, working adults experiencing burnout and exhaustion were more vulnerable to uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and a higher intake of calories.

Research suggests workplace weight-management programs should incorporate ways to assess the effects of exhaustion and workload on eating behaviors and exercise.

THE SIGNS OF BURNOUT

Stress and resilience expert Paula Davis was a real estate lawyer who burned out in her field, so she knows how it feels. She says to look out for the “big three” signs:

Chronic physical and emotional exhaustion

There is no specific length of time on this, but if you can look back over the last few months and see that you felt this way more often than not, you may be burning out.

A sense of cynicism

Everyone is bugging you; everyone rubs you the wrong way. You feel less empathy for others, including your colleagues, clients, or patients.

A sense of ineffectiveness

The first two lead to this. You can't see a path for yourself in this company or this field, no matter what you do.

Other symptoms that may come up are:

A lack of downtime

You’re always “on” and you can’t separate yourself from your work.

A lack of enthusiasm

You can’t summon energy for things you used to be excited about.

Outsize responses

Someone makes a level-1 request of you and you have a level-15 reaction. Although people can hide many signs of burnout, this one is evident to the people around you.

Physical problems

You experience headaches, stomachaches, colds, and flu, especially if you don't normally get sick a lot.

What you can do

Davis emphasizes that burnout needs to be confronted by the organization as well as the individual.

On an organizational level:

Be transparent

Be clear and open with employees about where things stand and what is expected of them. Ambiguity is a burnout accelerant, says Davis.

Give feedback

We all want to know where we stand, so give feedback frequently—much more than every year or every six months.

Give recognition

This can be a very informal note or conversation with a boss or a peer, but do point out when people do well.

Grant autonomy

Give employees a choice when you can. Can they work from home a few days a week? Come in at a different time? Skip a nonessential meeting?

On a personal level:

Remember your control

Remind yourself where you have a measure of control—even if it’s just your reaction to someone—and take that action as soon as possible.

Track small wins

Write down each step you are taking to reach a goal, no matter how small, such as, “Made the first phone call to get that project started.”

If you’re far gone

If you feel you’re too exhausted to try these, talk to someone, be it a trusted mentor or boss, or a doctor or mental health professional. Tell the person exactly what’s going on and don’t gloss over it. The sooner you catch it, the more you can help yourself or find the support you need.

OTHER STRATEGIES

Get Your Sleep

A good night’s sleep is critical to fighting stress and burnout. Sleep deprivation can lower problem-solving and thinking skills, memory, patience, and attention span.

Mindfulness Matters

Engaging in mindfulness practices, specifically meditation, resulted in significant reduction of burnout and improvement in resilience for teachers, according to one study.

SOURCES

American Psychological Association (2019), Give me a break: Psychologists explore the type and frequency of breaks we need to refuel our energy and enhance our well‑being.

American Psychological Association (2021), Speaking of Psychology: Why we’re burned out and what to do about it.

Cedars-Sinai (2020), Good Sleep in Times of Stress.

Brandstätter, V. et al. (2016) Motivational Incongruence and Well-Being at the Workplace: Person-Job Fit, Job Burnout, and Physical Symptoms. Frontiers In Psychology.

Davis-Laack, P.,(2020), “Is it Stress or is it Burnout?”, Stress & Resilience Institute.

Gallup (2020), Employee Burnout, Causes and Cures.

Koutsimani, P. & Montgomery, A., et al. (2019), The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.

Maven (2020), Parents at the Best Workplaces survey.

Mayo Clinic (2021), Job burnout: How to spot it and take action.

Microsoft (2021), World Trend Index.

Padilla, H.M. & Wilson, M. et al. (2019), Health behavior among working adults: Workload and exhaustion are associated with nutrition and physical activity behaviors that lead to weight gain. Journal of Health Psychology.

Sleep Foundation (2021), Stress and insomnia.

Statista (2020), Popular Ways to Use Media to Manage Stress survey.

University of Utah (2020), Battling Burnout.

Valosek L, Wendt S, Link J, Abrams A, Hipps J, Grant J, Nidich R, Loiselle M and Nidich S (2021) Meditation Effective in Reducing Teacher Burnout and Improving Resilience: A Randomized Controlled Study. Front. Educ. 6:627923.

Visier (2021), The Burnout Epidemic Report 2021.

World Health Organization (2019), Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases.