general well being
Put Your Mind at Ease
So you’ve just had a great little holiday. You have a demanding job and carry the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. Even though your time off was fun and relaxing, do you dread going back to the office? Wish you had a few more days to yourself? That’s called ‘burnout’.
In this crazy and fast paced business world we find ourselves in today, managers, professionals, staff and self employed business owners are under tremendous pressure and stress to deliver more in less time with fewer resources. We all face conflicting demands, long working hours, and constant change in an unforgiving business environment that keeps getting tougher, busier and faster.
Companies are finding it hard to hold onto valuable team members as staff are becoming stressed, over worked, and then quit. And on the flip side, Employers are putting so much pressure on their staff, because of the current economic climate, that the former is inevitable.
Due to these 9 to 5 pressures, we spend less time with our friends and families, we lose the passion we once had for our work, and have little work-life balance. Leading to this thing we refer to ‘burnout’.
So what are the symptoms?
Depleted Physical Energy
Prolonged stress can be physically draining, causing you to feel tired. You may no longer have the energy you once did and getting out of bed to face another day of the same, becomes more difficult.
Emotional Exhaustion
You feel moody, impatient, curiously sad, or become frustrated more easily than you ordinarily would. You might feel like you can’t cope with life as smoothly as you once did.
Lowered Immunity to Illness
When stress levels are high for a prolonged amount of time, your immune system suffers. People who are suffering from burnout usually get the message from their body that something needs to change, and that message comes in the form of increases susceptibility to colds, the flu, and other minor illnesses.
Less Investment in Interpersonal Relationships
Withdrawing from interpersonal relationships is another possible sign of burnout. You may feel like you have less to give, or less interest in having fun, or just have less patience with people. But for whatever reason, people experiencing burnout can usually see the effects in their relationships.
Increasingly Pessimistic Attitude
Is it harder to get excited about life, harder to expect the best, harder to let things go making it altogether harder to see the glass ‘half full’? Because optimism is a great buffer for stress, those suffering from burnout find it harder to bounce back than they normally would, resulting in a negative attitude. No one likes a sourpuss!
Increased Absenteeism and Inefficiency at Work
When experiencing burnout, its harder to get out of bed and face another day. You tend to be less effective overall and take more sick days. This could also be due to increased illness resulting from lowered immunity.
It makes sense for workers to take some time off before they’re feeling the full thrown effects, and why it makes sense for employers to refrain from running their workers into the ground!
What’s the solution?
For starters, it can be helpful just to know that the fatigue, helplessness and the physical symptoms you're experiencing are not all in your mind. They are not signs of weakness - they are part of a larger problem that you can take steps to solve:
Sing
Being extroverted doesn’t necessarily mean you have to embarrass yourself in public. If entering a room in song and dance doesn’t resonate with you, you can always belt out a tune in the confines of your own home. SO crank up the radio and tech Aretha Franklin how to hold a high note.
Disagree
Believe it or not, disagreeing and telling people what you really think (in the nicest possible way) will help build feelings of liberation and confidence within yours soul.
Ask
If you’re feeling the symptoms, ask for help! Talk to your manager about how you’re feeling and ask them for some advice or support. Being a little more removed from the situation, they may present some fabulous solutions. It will also give them invaluable insight into your headspace, and perhaps they will give you a little more room to breathe.
Laugh!
Next time someone tells you a funny story don’t just smile – laugh, giggle, chuckle. Loudly! Some studies suggest that laughing helps reduce the damaging effects of stress hormones in the body. When you laugh, you elevate your mood and just feel better in general.
Speak up
Ask questions in meetings, share your opinions, or start a conversation with a co-worker about the plot of the movie or new TV show you saw over the weekend. Being a little more chatty will help distract you from stressful thoughts, making parts of your day enjoyable so when you get home, its not all miserable.
Climb a mountain
Compete in a marathon, walk a mile, go for a long bike ride. Taking on any sort of challenging physical feat is a bold, assertive move that will boost your happiness and send feel good brain chemicals pouring into your bloodstream. Any kind of physical activity will do this, so join a gym, a sporting team and get active!
Personalise your work space
Making your work area feel homey and less clinical shouts to the world, “this is my space”. Choosing interesting and engaging objects for your desk and surrounding yourself in things you love will help create an environment you actually want to be in… a home away from home. And a great conversation starter.
The key is to take charge of your life. Realize that you have chosen your path in life up until now, and that you can choose to change direction any time you wish. No one likes a nasty, negative co-worker and the only person who can get you out of this rut it you so take the first step to regaining control of your life today.