According to research by Westfield Health, 46% of workers in the UK are at risk of burnout; and considering the risks this poses, it’s certainly a worrying statistic.
Burnout can have devastating consequences in the workplace, both for employees and their employers; and with the rise of remote working, this epidemic is showing no signs of slowing down.
From practising good sleep habits to seeking professional guidance and more, we’ll discuss our top tips for avoiding burnout in the workplace.
What is burnout?
According to Mayo Clinic, burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.
Burnout can take a long time to fully recover from, in fact, it’s sometimes even months before a person begins to feel like themselves again.
Set clear boundaries
Ensuring you regularly set and evaluate your own boundaries is key to preventing burnout. This will look different for everyone but could involve things like:
- Defining clear start and finish times for work
- Saying ‘no’ when you need to
- Taking regular breaks
- Never skipping meals
- Ensure exercise is part of your routine
By setting these boundaries, you’re prioritising your own health and well-being above anything, which in turn will make you much less likely to experience burnout. It’ll also help you recognise the signs of burnout before they become even more of a problem.
Establish your priorities
Although your to-do list may seem never-ending, it’s important to prioritise what actually needs doing first.
Think about it; is absolutely everything on your to-do list of equal importance? Probably not!
Learning to prioritise tasks across your workload means you’re not at risk of falling behind and making your mental health worse, but at the same time you’re utilising the energy you do have on worthwhile and meaningful tasks.
Know when to stop
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, work can simply feel too much to handle. If you recognise this early, you may be able to catch burnout before it fully takes hold. The key here is knowing when to stop.
And by ‘stop’ we mean really stop. Turn off your laptop, take some time off, catch up on some much-needed sleep and simply take the time to breathe.
Trust us, you’ll come back to work feeling energised, and ready to go, and will be even more productive longer-term.
Speak with a professional
If you’ve tried everything and feel like you’re getting closer and closer to burnout, then the best option may be to speak with a professional.
At Morley Chiropractic Clinic, we offer private 1-1 counselling sessions in Leeds where you will be listened to unconditionally, without judgement which can help you make better sense of your thoughts and feelings.
If you’d like to find out more about our counselling sessions, contact the team today.
