An insight into how burnout affects workers' mental health in the workplace by Gladys Chombo

BURNOUT IN THE WORKPLACE AND TECHNICALITIES ON HOW TO COME THROUGH IT

Burnout is a situation whereby one has stayed with physical, mental, and emotional fatigue for a very long time. This is to the point they now feel so empty, drained, they lack motivation to work and having feelings of hopelessness.

ORIGIN OF BURNOUT

Burnout in the workplace can be contributed by different circumstances. The following are some of them:

1.     Working too Hard: 

When employees are overworked by being given work that they cannot handle within certain timelines, it can lead to burnout.

2.     Lack of Involvement:

When an employee feels like he/she doesn’t have say in their work can contribute to burnout. Example, making decisions or contributing to the tasks allocated to them.

3.     No clear guidelines on Expectations: 

An employee can feel overwhelmed by the fact that he/she is working with unclear expectations. This can lead one to get very anxious, stress levels will rise, frustration will set in because one feels inadequate.

4.     Ungratefulness:

When one feels like they are not being appreciated with whatever they do. In other words, their efforts are not being acknowledged at all. This can lead to one feeling disconnected and burnt out.

5.     Lacking Balance: 

When an employee falls to strike a balance between work and Personal life work demands is too much hence no personal time. This can lead to burnout as one feels like they don’t have no time for Self-care.

6.     Risk of unemployment:

Fear of being jobless or fear of unknown not knowing what the future holds in terms of job can contribute greatly to burnout.

7.     Unhealthy Competition: 

When the workplace becomes toxic, this can be experienced by Interpersonal conflicts, having difficult relationships with colleagues or supervisors, these can all contribute to burnout.

These are some of the possible genesis of burnout in the workplace. It is good for employers to take into consideration the causes and try to take action to reduce them. Hence have healthy employees, and therefore increase productivity.

HOW TO DETECT BURNOUT

It is good for employee to always be on the lookout for the signs, and immediately act when they start crawling in. This is before the situation causes havoc and pandemonium.

Some of the signs include:

1.     Lack of Energy: 

Continuous fatigue and feeling very tired, both Physically and Emotionally.

2.     Under performance: 

Failing to achieve the required performance standards as they used to before and a decline in productivity.

3.     Mistrust and disengagement: 

Becoming uncooperative and having negative attitude towards work and feeling detached from colleagues.

4.     Unmotivated: 

Lack of drive towards work tasks that used to be enjoyable before.

5.     Physical Indications: 

Frequent unexplained Headaches, muscle tension, stomach-aches or other physical ailments that could be stress related.

6.     Distraction: 

Inability to concentrate and get involved in work. This may cause one to make errors and decrease in Productivity.

WAYS OF DEALING WITH BURNOUT

The following are ways one can take into consideration to try and deal with burnout when the signs appear.

1.     Talking to Supervisor:

 Expressing how one is feeling with Supervisor or Human Resources department. They Could be able to provide support or make some arrangements to help one cope.

2.     Seeking Psychotherapy:

 Having Sessions with mental health professional, like a therapist or counselor, who can help one deal with negative feelings and irrational thoughts hence help the employee come up with coping strategies.

3.     Prioritizing Personal Wellness: 

Looking for relaxation activities to help one recharge, such as yoga, exercise, or spending quality time with loved ones.

4.     Setting boundaries: 

This is a form of Self-care where one can create clear guidelines/limits of responsibilities or assignments that may lead to feelings of burnout.

5.     Leave of absence: 

Taking a break from work to focus on your health both physical and mental health. E.g. Taking Leave to go for vacation to go and unwind.

It is crucial to manage burnout promptly to avoid long-term negative effects on both work and personal life. It is good for an individual to seek help early, the earlier one seeks help the better for the employee, colleagues, family and employer too.

CONCLUSION

Employers must be aware of these warning signs variables and take action to protect the employees. They need to come up with ‘SMART’ strategies to help the employees and create a conducive working environment which will accommodate everyone. The results will be enhanced mental health and healthy employees. Hence increase in productivity and save the company money over the long-term.

On that note, as I conclude my article I'm left with the thought of why not come up with ways to Prevent the burnout from happening in the first place. This is because the effects are too expensive and disastrous

REFERENCES

Alarcon , G. M. ( 2011 ). A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources and attitudes . Journal of Vocational Behavior , 79 , 549 – 562 .

Maslach , C. , Schaufeli , W. B. , & Leiter , M. P. ( 2001 ). Job burnout . Annual Review of Psychology , 52 , 397 – 422 .