Am I burnt out?: Burnout Definition, Warning Signs, Risk Factors, & Tools for Recovery
Are you plagued by the Sunday scaries?
Is it hard for you to get out of bed and start work in the morning?
When you get home from work, do you feel drained?
You’re not alone.
77% of US full-time professionals have experienced employee burnout at their current job at least once, and more than half of employees report experiencing negative impacts of work-related stress within the last month.
While burnout is often a result of larger systemic and cultural issues, it is possible to empower yourself to recognize the warning signs of burnout, cope with its symptoms, and heal from its impacts. The first step is understanding what it is and who it affects.
What is burnout?
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) defines burnout as the result of “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. Burnout is not a diagnosable mental health condition, but it is a problem that can have a significant impact on your mental and physical health.
What is chronic stress?
To understand burnout, you first have to understand chronic stress.
Your body is constantly scanning for threats to your physical and emotional well-being and when it finds one, it activates a “stress response” to help you cope. You may have heard of this as “fight-or-flight” or even the “sympathetic nervous system response.” These are all terms for your body’s stress response, and when your body mounts a stress response, it floods your system with hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.
That stress response continues until your body completes the stress cycle and reaches a sense of safety. Then, it can shift back into a relaxed recovery state.
Chronic stress occurs when your body is unable to shift back into that recovery state. This can happen when the stressors you’re facing are persistent or long-lasting, or because you haven’t completed the stress cycle and created a feeling of internal safety.
To explain it another way—when your body notices any threat, it sets off a biological alarm system to help you respond in the best way it knows how. Once your body knows it’s safe again, it turns the alarm system off. Chronic stress is like living in a house with the alarms going off, and not having the code to reset the system.
How can chronic stress show up at work?
Burnout is a specific response to work-related chronic stress.
External stressors at work can include things like:
receiving an email from a demanding client
experiencing discrimination or microaggressions
hearing a rumor that layoffs are coming
conflict with a colleague
a negative performance review
Internal stressors at work can include things like:
imagining your mind going blank during a presentation
questioning whether you really deserved a promotion
imposter syndrome or feeling unqualified
worrying about telling your boss you’re going on maternity leave
When you face stressors at work over and over again and aren’t able to shift your body back into a recovery state, you are at a high risk for burnout.
Common burnout signs and symptoms
Burnout is defined by 3 groups of symptoms: exhaustion, feelings of negativity or cynicism, and decreased effectiveness at work.
Signs of Burnout: Exhaustion
You feel tired, drained, or exhausted during or after work
You don’t have enough energy to be productive at work or enjoy time after work
You’ve been oversleeping, sleeping in, or snoozing your alarm until the last second
Signs of Burnout: Feelings of negativity or cynicism
When you think about work, most of your thoughts are negative
You’ve been irritable and impatient with your colleagues or clients
You feel apathetic towards your achievements at work
You feel hopeless that anything can improve at your job and have given up trying
At work, you daydream about going on a vacation or suddenly quitting
Signs of Burnout: Decreased effectiveness at work
You have trouble gettings started on work
The quality of your work has declined
You’ve been missing deadlines at work
You’ve been skipping work, coming in late, or leaving early
Who is most at risk for burnout?
Working conditions that increase risk of burnout
Some working conditions have a higher risk for burnout than others, including:
Having too heavy of a workload. Understaffing, taking on too much work, unrealistic expectations or working under bad managers can lead to a workload that isn’t sustainable.
Not having enough support at work. Some jobs are going to be stressful no matter what—for example, working as a clinician in an emergency room. Feeling supported by your team and leadership can buffer against the effects of stress at work.
Not having enough time off of work. Working long hours, checking email outside of work, and having poor boundaries between work and home can block your opportunity to recharge and recover from work-related stressors.
Not having enough autonomy at work. Not having any control over when you work or how you work, and not having a say in decisions that impact you at work can cause undue stress and strain.
Not seeing progress or being recognized for your work. Your brain is constantly calculating whether or not the effort you’re putting in is “worth it.” When you feel like you aren’t making progress, it can lead to increased frustration and stress.
Professions with higher than average burnout rates
The American Psychological Association and Frontiers in Public Health have published research indicating that some professions are at a higher risk for burnout than others, particularly:
Teachers
Nurses
Physicians
Social workers
Firefighters
First responders
Manual laborers
Customer service professionals
Salespeople
Entertainment industry professionals
Demographic factors also play a role in burnout
Gender: Women report higher levels of burnout than men, a phenomenon that was particularly noticeable during the height of the COVID pandemic, when women had to juggle increased childcare responsibilities while maintaining “business as usual” at work. Women also frequently carry a higher “mental load” than men, which can increase stressors outside of work.
Generation: Compared to other generations, Gen Z and Millennials report higher levels of burnout. Researchers are still trying to determine why, however, according to the BBC some theories include wage stagnation accompanied with increased cost of living, increased screen time, experiencing multiple periods of economic instability, and pandemic-related stressors. As the youngest working generation, Gen Z employees are also likely to have the least autonomy in their careers.
Overall, burnout shows up when things are out of balance.
Ask yourself:
Do I feel like I’m spending more time working than living?
Do I feel like I’m putting a lot of effort in at work, but not making any progress?
Have the stresses of my job started to exceed the resources I have to handle them?
If you answered yes to one of those questions, then you may be at risk for burnout.
I think I’m experiencing burnout…what should I do?
Do you recognize yourself in the lists of symptoms above? Noticing that you’re struggling is the first step to feeling better.
The next step is learning what you can do to help yourself.
Learn to complete the stress cycle. Find a way you can complete the stress cycle and shift your body back into a relaxed recovery state. Some research-supported strategies for doing this are exercising, deep breathing, laughing, safe physical affection, crying, singing, and engaging in creative expression.
Set boundaries at work. Identify ways that work may be creeping into your life and set firm boundaries to keep it at bay. Is your work email on your personal phone? Consider removing it. When’s the last time you took PTO or a sick day? Schedule some soon. Do you think about work after you clock out? Schedule enjoyable activities after hours to keep yourself from ruminating on your job. Bonus if those activities help you complete the stress cycle.
Identify what you’re in control of at work. List all of the stressors that come up for you at work and sort them into two categories: things you are in control of and things you aren’t in control of. For the stressors you are in control of—work to problem solve, delegate, or systematize them to minimize their impact. For the stressors you are in control of, ask yourself—can I accept that these things are a part of my job? How much are these things impacting my mental health? Would these stressors still be present in another workplace? Which brings us to the next step…
Determine whether you should stay at your current job. Weigh the pros and cons of staying at your current job, and the pros and cons of leaving your current job.
If you decide to stay: reframe what it means to be successful at work. Define what you’re in control of at work, and let go of the things you aren’t in control of. Within the things you are in control of, choose the things that are relevant to you and set SMART goals around them (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based).
If you decide to leave: begin to create an exit strategy. I never recommend quitting a job without having other employment already lined up. Depending on your field and the economy, an average job search can take up to 6 months! Assess whether there are opportunities to transfer teams or roles within your existing organization. Reflect on what the next steps in your career may look like. Reach out to a career coach to help you explore your options and find the right fit.
Getting support can help you overcome burnout
Humans aren’t meant to do life or work alone, and asking for support is a normal part of life. Therapy can provide the support you need to build a toolkit to keep chronic stress at bay, set healthy boundaries at work, solve your work problems, and decide what the best next steps are in your career.
It is possible for you to get the support you’ve been lacking, recover from chronic stress, and get back to living the life you want.
Ready to get started? I’m a mental health and career counselor who specializes in working with high-achieving professionals who struggle with anxiety, depression, burnout, and career concerns. I’m passionate about providing people with the support and tools they need to build healthy, happy, sustainable careers. Click here to book a free consultation call with me today.
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About the Author
Hi! I’m Dominique Dove. I’m a Licensed Therapist, Certified Career Counselor, and the owner of Dove Counseling and Consulting, LLC, a private practice based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I provide therapy and career coaching to high achieving professionals who are struggling with anxiety, depression, burnout, and career concerns. I would be honored to help you build a career that helps you thrive both professionally and personally. Want to work together? Click here to learn more about my services or to book a free consultation call.