Is my Job Leading to Burnout?

What does burnout mean to you?

Are you feeling stressed in your work role, noticing you’re not able to cope as well anymore or not coping as well as your colleagues seem to be?

I wonder if this could this be just a blip, or maybe it’s more indicative of a general decline in your wellbeing?

Burnout is a term that is often used when we’ve been overworking and not coping with life so well as a result.  But burnout is more serious than just running yourself ragged for only a limited time while trying to reach a special deadline, which most of us are familiar with!

Coming to terms with the reality of burnout, rather than carrying on regardless is a huge transition that many people face.

I’m writing this blog to outline some of the issues around burnout which may help you recognise your own risk to it and to address the issues before serious harm is caused to your health.

Understanding Burnout and its Impact 

Burnout is an increasingly common state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. In the UK, a significant portion of the workforce experiences burnout; recent surveys show that up to 52% of employees feel overworked, with many considering leaving their roles due to high stress levels. Burnout differs from stress in that stress can sometimes be motivating in the short term, while burnout represents a prolonged, exhaustive response to that stress, requiring long periods of time off work and a subsequent change in lifestyle for full recovery. Burnout is experienced on a continuum, starting with mild symptoms and will worsen towards full burnout, incapacitation and serious illnesses the longer it is unaddressed.

Types of Burnout 

Burnout manifests in different ways:

• Cognitive Overload: Mental exhaustion from constant problem-solving or multitasking.
• Compassion Fatigue: Often affects those in caregiving roles, leading to a decreased ability to empathise or care.
• Physical Exhaustion: Feeling drained and physically unable to engage in activities. This can result from a physically demanding job.
• Emotional Exhaustion: This can include feelings of emotional depletion, numbness, or irritability. Emotional overwhelm can be triggered by minor stressors and you may find it harder than usual to connect with others.
• Spiritual Burnout: This occurs when your work clashes with your values or sense of purpose. You may lack motivation, feel numb, become withdrawn, disillusioned, ethically conflicted, or question the meaning of your role or life.

Mental Health and Burnout 

Pre-existing mental health conditions can amplify the experience of burnout. Anxiety, depression, and self-worth challenges can all contribute to a faster burnout rate or make recovery more difficult. Neuro-divergent individuals are more likely to experience sensory, cognitive or emotional overwhelm under pressure, and cope differently with unexpected change in the workplace.

Workplace Factors

Here are some examples of contributors in the workplace:

• Increased workload: This could be after a promotion. Another common experience is expecting staff to take on more work and responsibility when a colleague leaves and is not replaced, without any extra financial reward. Employees are often expected to learn new systems and do courses to keep up with the latest technology, adding another layer of mental complexity.
• Lack of Supportive Management: When managers fail to provide clear communication, support, and encouragement, employees can feel confused, isolated and undervalued.
• Lack of Trust: Because of a fear that any sign of ‘weakness’ will be used against them, employees suffer in silence.
• Poorly designed workplace practices:  These can erode focus and motivation. For example allowing back-to-back online meetings with little time in-between, and using non-integrative software which requires the same data input into multiple applications.
• Problems in Hybrid Working Models: Blurring work-life boundaries with out of hours contact with work and increasing feelings of isolation or lack of team cohesion.
• Incongruent Workplace Culture: Leaders who don’t model healthy boundaries can create unrealistic, unsustainable expectations within the workplace.
• Employers not taking their duty of care for stress seriously: UK employers hold a legal duty of care to manage workplace stress, mandated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Employers are required to assess and address workplace stress risks to protect employee mental health, which includes identifying and mitigating burnout-related risks. Box ticking exercises like offering mindfulness classes and stress education won’t work if the workplace does not address systemic issues in workplace.

Prevention and Management

Use this check list to explore how to understand your own burnout risk and ways to address it

1. Recognize and Acknowledge Burnout Risk: The first step in overcoming burnout is working out how it manifests for you. Reflect on your job role, workload, how supported you feel at work and how your work affects you emotionally. What is your work-life balance like? Are you a perfectionist? Do you have imposter syndrome? Coming to terms with the reality of burnout, rather than carrying on regardless is a huge step. A therapist can help you explore what factors are contributing to burnout in a supportive way that will help you to feel validated rather than you feeling ‘at fault’.
2. Boundaries and Self-Worth: Learning to establish and enforce healthy boundaries can be transformative. Practice saying “no” to tasks beyond your scope, which helps prevent stress from over-commitment. This can be hard when you’re not used to pushing back, but it’s something you can learn. A therapist can help you tap into your self-worth and the importance of recognising your needs and self-care, and build the confidence to advocate for yourself and set healthy limits.
3. Overwhelm and Anxiety: See them as a cue that you need to take some time to reset. Learn that it’s okay to set a steady pace rather than rushing around at top speed. Practicing mindfulness, meditation, and self-compassion can help build resilience and also counteract energy-sapping rumination and negative thinking patterns that often increase risk of burnout. These practices can be helpful but will not be enough if your workplace is systemically harmful.
4. Outside Influences on Burnout: Don’t blame it all on your job! In my experience as a therapist it rarely is just your job. Financial pressures, caregiving responsibilities, lack of rest and strained relationships outside of work can all contribute. Recognizing and addressing these stressors can reduce the cumulative effect on your well-being.
5. Consider Your Job and Career Path: Is it right for you? If your work is too taxing or your employer unsupportive, change may be the only viable option to maintain your long-term health. Your health needs to be a priority.

Are you fearing burnout but feel your current job is the only option? 

In my work with clients I’ve noticed a lot of people are struggling but feel very stuck in their current job situation for many different reasons.

If you’re stuck in an unsuitable job role, you may be finding it hard to change because you lack the energy required to find a new role. It could be fear of the unknown, or a lack of confidence you’d be successful.

Sometimes other jobs seem inaccessible because you may have specific needs which limits jobs available to you.

For many, the idea of quitting their current job isn’t feasible for financial or practical reasons.

These barriers may feel insurmountable, but often they’re not. By seeking advice and support you may be better placed to consider your future and purposefully move towards it.

Even without leaving your job, you can take steps to lessen burnout’s impact.

Much of it will be about building your resilience by taking care of yourself in new ways, and advocating for your needs in the workplace asking for changes within your current situation to reduce your stress. Here are some other suggestions:

• Explore Alternative Work Options: Take a look at ways you may be able to take a sideways shift into another department, a different way of working such as from home or reduced hours, or a different manager who is not over-demanding or an uber-perfectionist. If you have a union, discuss your welfare concerns with them.
• Challenge the Myth of Indispensability: Feeling like you’re “the only one who can do this task” can increase burnout risk because you’re likely to take on too much. Sometimes people take personal responsibility that “the show must go on” when it’s not actually their sole concern, but belongs to management to figure out.  You can hand responsibility back by discussing with managers your limits, about redistributing responsibilities, increasing support, delegating tasks or changing work practices to more sustainable ones. Remember it’s an employer’s duty to manage risks of stress and to be ultimately accountable.
• Plan How You Would Cope in a Worst Case Scenario: Take away some of the pressure and worry of anticipating burnout by making a financial plan in advance in case you need time off work to recover. It can feel scary to not have reliable job income, but there are other possibilities. What are your work entitlements and what resources like debt advice, family, friends, charity support, welfare benefits, might you be able to tap in to? Knowing you will ‘get by’ whatever happens may help you feel more secure.
• Reassess if Staying in your Current Job Really is the Only Option: (it rarely is!) Sometimes we are attached to the higher level of income required for a particular lifestyle that a stressful job can give us, but that comes at the expense of our health. Without our health, we won’t enjoy anything. It’s not possible to run on empty for ever. Reducing income is a large shift in mind-set, but also could be a new exciting opportunity. Explore ways you can live more frugally that don’t put your health at risk. Many people have made the switch to lower financial expectations and are flourishing.

In Summary 

The risk of burnout is a threat to long-term health if left unrecognised and unmanaged. Understanding burnout, identifying your contributing factors, increasing resilience by taking self-care seriously by setting healthy boundaries, and exploring new possibilities can make a significant difference.

If you have any other suggestions to add, please leave a comment!

If you are struggling it can feel very isolating, it’s so important to seek support from trusted work colleagues, family, friends, medical professionals, so it’s not just you against the world on your own. You’ll see that other people are struggling too and learn how they coped. They may have piece of sage advice that helps you to see things in a different way and make change.

That’s the main thing I’d like you to take away from this blog; if you are struggling, start to talk about it with someone.

If You Need Support

If you feel that burnout is affecting your life significantly and you feel stuck, consider reaching out to me for a chat about how counselling can help. Together we can explore and navigate your unique situation.