Business burnout is not an excuse. It’s a legitimate condition that the World Health Organization has classified as an “occupational phenomenon.”
If you’re feeling completely exhausted and unmotivated to the point of tears, you may be suffering from business burnout
- What Is Business Burnout
- How to Treat Business Burnout
- How to Prevent Business Burnout
What Is Business Burnout
Business burnout is a condition caused by being under extreme stress due to work conditions for an extended time.
Many people don’t believe business burnout exists. They think that people who say they are burned out are just making excuses because they don’t want to do anything.
Business burnout is real. People experience it, and it can lead to dire circumstances, such as job loss, marriage dissolution, and more.
The Effects of Business Burnout
Business burnout costs companies money because people who suffer from it are unable to perform at their highest ability. This means they may not be able to complete projects on time or close sales deals as well as they would if they were not burned out.
The effects of business burnout are not only reserved for work tasks, it can overflow into the person’s personal life. People who suffer from burnout may end up suffering from addiction or have relationship troubles that could lead to marriage dissolution.
Once people get to the point of losing their job, self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol, or getting a divorce, it’s too late. The burnout has done damage, and sometimes, it’s irreversible.
To prevent the effects of business burnout from ruining a person’s life, it’s important to recognize the signs of it.
The Signs of Business Burnout
When people from business burnout, they often:
- Sleep longer than they usually do.
- Have a change in eating habits, leading to weight loss or weight gain.
- Decrease their work hours because they are distracted by other tasks and activities happening around them.
- Cannot move forward with their goals.
- Do not perform their tasks to their highest ability.
- Have a difficult time dealing with stress, no matter how mild it is, and overreact to it.
- Experience mood swings regularly.
- Hear from loved ones that they haven’t been acting like themselves.
- Start to feel ill more often, such as having an increase in headache frequency, stomachache, and even colds or the flu.
- Begin having relationship problems with family members and friends.
- Start drinking more alcohol or using drugs to cope with their feelings.
People who experience the above symptoms should immediately act on the situation to avoid any further damage to their life.
How to Treat Business Burnout
The sooner people treat business burnout, the easier and quicker it will resolve. The following are ways in which people can alleviate feelings of burnout:
- Take a vacation. Time away from work can reset people’s stress levels, making it easier to deal with problems at work.
- Seek a career therapist or counselor who can help you employ some strategies to lower the stress you’re experiencing at work.
- Delegate your work duties to others, so you’re not so overwhelmed by everything you need to do.
- Stop saying yes to everyone for everything, so you don’t feel so overwhelmed.
- Practice mindfulness and mindfulness to change your perspective about what you’re dealing with at work.
- Exercise regularly as this can help relieve stress, relax the brain, and boost energy.
- Don’t be so hard on yourself. Do as much as you can for as long as you need to do it, and you may end up getting your old self back.
- Make an appointment with your physician. The way you feel could be caused by a medical condition, so it’s a good idea to make sure that is not the case.
The above ways to treat business burnout can greatly help you get back on track. It can take some time for them to work. Just keep in mind that you didn’t become burned out in a day, so you won’t feel better in a day.
How to Prevent Business Burnout
You can prevent business burnout the same way you treat it.
- Take a regular vacation. They aren’t just for fun. They are therapeutic and healthy for you.
- Speak to a professional if you’re regularly dealing with stress. It can feel good to vent and have someone listen.
- Don’t take on more than you can do mentally, physically, and emotionally. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone.
- Exercise and eat healthy foods to support the nutritional demands of your body.
- Be good to yourself.
- Arrange a checkup with your physician annually.
Now that you know about business burnout, share it with others who may be susceptible to it. You may be able to save them from having to deal with this condition and its effects.