Hard work is necessary to achieve your goals in your life. However, things can become difficult when toxic hustle culture takes over your life. Sometimes you work so hard it feels like your living to work, rather than working to live. Having goals and working toward them is important for your long term success. However, even with all these goals in mind, there are some things that you need to be on the lookout for. One of them is burnout, especially burnout at the workplace.
According to the world health organization report of 2019, cases of burnout in the workplace are gradually increasing. However, with proper planning, you can avoid the chances of burnout.
Causes
According to a survey by Gallup, the your work environment highly influences the mental state of a person. Chances of burnout can increase if your work environment is suitable related to your goals. Having the right systems in place to protect yourself before you become burnt out can be the difference between success and failure. A few things you can do to protect yourself and your team…
1. Helplessness
When you are overwhelmed with work and don’t make time for self care and hobbies you may end up in a state of helplessness. Scheduling some time for yourself whether it’s before work, after work, or even on a break midday, will lead to less stress.
2. Uncertainty
Being unsure about deadlines and office tasks can also burn out a person. When there are unclear expectations for your team, people end up in a state of constant emergency. Stressful states like this can be easily avoided by setting out plans and deadlines.
3. Unhealthy Expectations
A highly efficient workplace can sometimes feel like a well oiled machine. That being said, the machine needs to be taken care of. Without maintenance of that machine, parts are going to start breaking. This leads to stress on other parts because they are going to be carrying the load of the broken pieces. Treating employees or yourself like a machine can be efficient as long as you’re taking care of the pieces.
5. Negativity
You may feel like an employee isn’t doing enough to meet your expectations. This could lead to comments that come off as demotivational. Be sure to motivate and praise your staff in a genuine way that will maintain the positivity in the workplace. Also, make sure this person has the tools to do the job to the best of their ability. Proper training and assessment is important to keeping expectations aligned and negativity out of communications.
6. Lack of Recognition
Recognition is a valuable tool for any manager. Each person is going to have a different expectation of what recognition means. While some employees may want to be highlighted in a meeting for completing a difficult task to completion, other may need a one on one meeting where you show your appreciation. As a good manager, your going to need to figure out what works for your people, and then deliver that recognition tactfully.
Worthlessness is a powerful emotion. Making sure everyone knows they’re and important part of the team can bring up everyone at once. Keeping yourself in a positive state as well as everyone on the team will help you meet the goal set out at the beginning of your project.
Treatment
If you notice signs of burnout, try these treatments to lessen the harmful effects of burnout.
1. Rest
Take good rest for almost one to two weeks until you don’t feel good. Spend some time with yourself without thinking about all the worldly responsibilities.
Taking a vacation is a great way to reset your mind and body. Spending time away from your business can also give you a different perspective on some of those top level decisions that sometimes get pushed off as we execute on a day to day basis. Spending time with friends, family, and even alone will leave you feeling recharged and excited about coming back and taking care of things like you do well.
2. Celebration
Instead of self-criticism, be easier on yourself. Manage everything wisely and maintain a list of your goals. Reading it daily can also decrease the chances of burnout.
We can be hard on ourselves and others. Taking time to celebrate your accomplishments and the accomplishments of your team has a way of making everyone feel better. Off site team building activities are good to build comradery with between employees. Or just taking a spa day as a well deserved job well done can be exactly what you need to stay focused on the job at hand.
3. Communication
Try communicating your needs with the your coworkers. Keeping it within can lead to frustrations and burnout. Talking with people about your needs can help in fighting the causes of burnout.
Many times burnout can be a result of things that were covered above like lack of recognition and an unhealthy work environment. Taking time to communicate with others in your workplace could turn a sketchy situation in to a simple conversation. Maintaining relationships through open and honest communication is of the utmost importance when avoiding burnout!
4. Balance
Don’t take issues in the workplace home with you. Make your home a healthy place where you can rest and relax, recharging to the next day.
We hear a lot about work life balance. It seems to be more elusive than the 4 hour workweek. In reality we need to stay on top of our responsibilities the best we can. If you cam take inventory of what matters most in your personal life and make those a priority you can be happy at home.
One tool we use to make the most out of our time at work is the 80/20 principal. This theory says that you get 80% of the consequences from 20% of the causes. This theory can be applied to many aspects of life and work but in this case, you could say that 80% of the outcomes you want from your work are developed from 20% of the work. So if you are able to boil down your workday to what really matters most, then you can focus on those 20% tasks to get the job finished quickly and efficiently. In theory, leaving the rest of your time to focus on those important people and hobbies when you aren’t at work.
