The majority of employees have experienced a lack of motivation, stress, disengagement, productivity problems, and fatigue at work. Since these negative feelings are so common, how can an employee know if what they’re experiencing are regular highs and lows or some more serious problems? After all, they’re affecting their personal and professional lives. If you’ve ever felt this way, chances are you, like more than 80% of employees are experiencing what’s commonly known as burnout. The state is usually defined as emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive amounts of stress for a long time. Now that you know what burnout is, you can continue reading to learn how to prevent it and restore your inner peace.
Be Bold
Burnout usually happens when you start to lose control. Since you have to tackle a variety of tasks in the workplace, things can easily get out of hand. You might not be able to finish a project on time which can be stressful especially if it’s an important one. When you notice the first signs of burnout, you should be bold. It means making informed decisions that will help you regain control over projects or anything else that’s bothering you. As you adopt a bold approach to your decision-making process, it’s like you get an adrenaline rush. Feeling energized, you get the motivation you need to control projects or life events instead of letting them control you.
Organize Workload
Most people feel overwhelmed when they face heavy workloads. If heavy workloads and information overload become a habit, burnout as a consequence is inevitable. Since workplaces have become technologically dependent, you should take advantage of as many tools as you can. The one tool you definitely need to use is a communication one, for example, Blink. Not only does having an effective communication tool allow you to give and receive information but also to keep all your work organized. This also means you should delegate as many responsibilities as you can. There’s no reason why you should handle most tasks if you have a skilful team in the workplace.
Develop Interests
People without hobbies or interests outside work experience burnout more often than people nurturing different interests. It’s because you tend to focus on only one area, the area that triggers burnout, such as work-related situations. When you have other interests in life, you can maintain your mental health and preserve inner peace because those activities fulfil you. Instead of dedicating your life to work, try to develop interests and enrich other life areas such as family, friends, travels, sports, etc. It can be any area or activity you enjoy doing. What’s important is to find time every week to develop interests and nurture other life areas apart from work.
Exercise More
When your mind is in turmoil which happens often in stressful work environments, it reflects on your physical and emotional health too. But, regular exercise prevents you from developing a range of health issues, such as diabetes, stroke, depression, anxiety disorders, even some types of cancer. More importantly, working out a few times a week reduces tension, stress, and helps you get rid of all the negative energy you might be feeling. With so many benefits, squeezing a workout session into your busy schedule is essential. You can work out before or after work. Some offices even encourage employees to take part in stretching exercises or Yoga during work. If you have a chance to participate, why not do it to prevent burnout and maintain your health?
Avoid Social Media
Many people aren’t aware of the fact that social media can add up to the stress or negative emotions you’re feeling. Social media posts and sensationalistic information can make you feel even worse about yourself, your self-confidence, or even your purpose in life. When the doubts start creeping in, the burnout symptoms will only worsen. You don’t have to get off the grid completely. There are still some benefits of using social media. What you can do is limit your information intake and avoid believing everything you see or read is true. By not letting bad news get to you, you’re strengthening your coping mechanisms. This means you’re becoming more resilient which can prevent burnout from happening in the future.
Follow the 20% Rule
No matter what kind of job you’re doing, sometimes your days are filled with tedious, repetitive, and energy-consuming tasks. In this case, finding purpose and satisfaction in your job could be particularly challenging. When you feel your job has meaning, you immediately feel satisfied with your work and yourself. Otherwise, your odds of experiencing burnout significantly increase. To prevent this from happening, you can follow the 20% rule. The rule says you should spend 20% of your time at the workplace every day doing meaningful and purposeful work. When you think about it, 20% isn’t that much, so every person can engage in an activity that motivates them and makes them happy about their job.
Conclusion
At some point, all employees have experienced demotivation, exhaustion, mental health problems, or simply put — burnout. Apart from knowing what it is, you should also know how to prevent it and restore your health once you experience it. That’s what our pieces of advice are for. Now you can make them a part of your routine to avoid burnout.