With the advancement of technology and science, life in the 21st century has become highly demanding and exhausting, especially in careers. Increasing workload and intensity of activities have led to various issues, among which professional burnout is the most prominent.
Professional burnout is a psychological state of emotional exhaustion characterized by a loss of interest and enthusiasm for professional activities. 91% of respondents to the Deloitte survey say uncontrolled stress or disappointment adversely affects their work quality. Therefore, it is not just a popular term but a modern-day illness.
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Causes of professional burnout
Professional burnout results from various factors, leading to emotional and mental exhaustion. Our list covers the most common causes of burnout to help us understand this condition’s roots.
Excessive workload and poor work conditions
Unbalanced working conditions usually cause work stress. Every specialist encounters these at some point in their career:
- Inadequate deadlines and overtime
- High expectations from management
- Insufficient resources to achieve KPIs
- Poorly equipped workspaces
- Overly noisy or distractive environment
With the work tasks piling in these conditions, pressure and high workload will eventually lead to burnout. The workers become demotivated, irritable, and unable to focus. The quality of their work suffers, and they start missing deadlines, causing further stress and anxiety.
Compromised motivation methods
Some supervisors only believe in fear-based motivation and consider it impractical to encourage employees positively. However, the fear can create stress and anxiety and decrease productivity and creativity, as employees may focus more on avoiding negative consequences than on producing quality work.
Often, management uses a system of fines for specific behavior. This way, they try to instill their vision of “discipline” in the team, promoting features such as punctuality.
Of course, an employee will do everything to avoid fines or punishment. But they will be constantly stressed, and besides, financial incentives can backfire. After a while, the only thought in the tired brain will be: “How much does it cost to sleep longer? I’ll pay.”
Conflicts in the workplace and devaluation by the manager
It’s not uncommon for people to experience quarrels, sarcastic comments, and “jokes” that are hurtful and inappropriate. When this happens at work, where people spend significant time, it can be incredibly exhausting and emotionally taxing.
Devaluation by managers can also lead to a toxic work environment. It can take many forms, from belittling an employee in front of others to failing to acknowledge their contributions to not providing appropriate training and development opportunities. When employees feel their manager does not respect them, they may think their work is pointless and lose interest in their job.
Routine and monotonous tasks
Employees who perform the same tasks repeatedly without any variation or opportunity for growth may feel that their work falls beyond purpose and challenge, leading to boredom and disengagement. It is imperative in creative and innovative industries, where workers highly value developing their skills and personality.
The lack of diversity and perspective in mundane tasks can cause employees to lose interest in their work and seek opportunities elsewhere.
Identifying the causes of professional burnout is crucial for preventing and treating the negative consequences. Note that managers can be prone to burnout as well.
How to know you have professional burnout?
One day you wake up and decide you are “sick.” No one can check that, right? You no longer derive pleasure from work; motivation is at zero. It is a signal! If you think like this, most likely, you suffer from burnout.
Other common symptoms of burnout include:
Emotional exhaustion
It’s a state where you feel overwhelmed, lose energy and interest in tasks, feel dissatisfaction with your profession, and feel empty.
Feelings of helplessness
Do you feel helpless when facing problems or difficulties at work? Did you start to think that your work is meaningless and won’t yield the desired result? It is a red flag.
Development of cynicism and detachment from work
Have you noticed sarcastic remarks and devaluation of the importance of your assigned tasks? Do you look at everything from the sidelines as if it’s not your problem? Conscious or unconscious avoidance of corporate events and activities also falls into this category.
Reduced effectiveness
If the process and result don’t motivate you, you complete tasks hastily, turn in just-good-enough results, and avoid contributions to collective work.
Please do not ignore these symptoms, as they can lead to even more severe physical conditions.
Physical symptoms of the burnout
If you notice any symptoms in this list, they may indicate that you can no longer work physically. Your body is exhausted and signaling to you that something needs to change.
- Outbursts of anger and irritability
- Headaches and migraines
- Muscle and joint pain
- Weakened immunity
- Sleep disturbances
- Insomnia
- Increased or decreased appetite
- Heightened sensitivity to light and sound
Don’t deceive yourself; taking a break and seeking help from a specialist is better. They will advise you on the best solutions in your case and tell you how you can take care of yourself.
How to prevent burnout?
Pay attention to your psychological and physical condition. The key to staying calm and collected is finding a work-life balance to preserve your health and achieve success in your career.
The actionable steps you can take to prevent burnout are the following:
- Taking regular breaks at work and sticking to a healthy lifestyle can help reduce stress and restore energy.
- Support from family and social networks can help reduce loneliness and improve mood.
- Developing personal boundaries can help avoid excessive workload and balance work and personal life.
- Talking to your management about motivation and recognition of your work and voicing your feelings in an open dialogue will help you get a sense of perspective and avoid feeling stifled.
- Improving working conditions and colleague relationships will help you improve productivity and find new meaning in your work.
If fixing the relationships with management and teammates is impossible, you need to weigh whether you should change your workplace. In a toxic atmosphere, it is hard to remain mentally healthy.
Takeaway
Professional burnout is a severe problem that harms many people’s physical and mental health. If your condition starts impacting the quality of your life, it is okay to seek help from a specialist. A qualified psychologist will help you determine the best course of action, and you will find a way out of the burnout and into a balanced emotional state.
Remember, you are not alone. You can always seek support from family or people on social media who are in the same situation. We believe in you!
At Glorium Technologies, we closely monitor the employees’ satisfaction levels with work conditions and projects. As software development can be very demanding, we do our best to guarantee that every worker feels seen and heard and that their needs and emotions are recognized and valued.
