If Your Job Is Draining The Life Out Of You, These 6 Burnout Triggers Might Be Why
Peopleimages.com - YuriArcurs | CanvaIf your job is draining the life out of you, you're not imagining it, and you're definitely not alone. Burnout at work builds slowly, shaped by everyday stress, unrealistic expectations, and a work environment that asks more than it gives back.
Most burnout isn't from being bad at your job or not trying hard enough. Usually, it's about deeper workplace issues that unravel you over time. Research shows there are a handful of common triggers that show up again and again, and once you recognize them, it becomes a lot easier to understand why you feel so exhausted, detached, or stuck.
If your job is draining the life out of you, these 6 burnout triggers might be why:
1. You're dealing with constant work overload
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It’s more than job cuts, with similar productivity expectations. More intense work demands more time and is more complex, creating exhaustion from overload that undermines effectiveness, health, and well-being.
Learn how to say "no" politely. Have a conversation with your boss to express your concern that quality will falter if quantity increases. Your boss may also be overworked and unaware that they sent too much your way.
Dr. Christina Maslach, the UC Berkeley psychologist who wrote a book on burnout, says that although many focus on how much they're doing, it's that doing too much for too long leaves no room to recover. This is when the damage really sets in.
2. You have little to no control over your work
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This is another way work contributes to burnout. Employees need some measure of autonomy in their jobs, and micromanagement is not the solution. As Maslach and Leiter state, staff members interpret micromanagement as a lack of trust, depriving them of the chance to use their professional judgment.
Find a low-risk project at work and own it. Your goal is to build trust with your boss, allowing for a window of less micromanagement from them. If taking control of a project at work is not possible, find a place where you can lead in other areas of your life.
Maybe you can teach one of your children’s sports teams or teach a class in one of your areas of passion and expertise. A Swedish study of 8,500 workers found that employees with more control over how they did their jobs were healthier, less depressed, and out sick less often.
3. You feel underpaid, undervalued, or both
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This includes both extrinsic (money, prestige, and security) and intrinsic (doing work you enjoy with respected colleagues and building expertise) rewards. The combined loss of both contributes to disengagement.
If your job lacks fulfillment, you might find both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in activities outside of work. The APA's "Work in America" survey found that workers experiencing burnout from overwork and undervaluation also reported a loss of interest, motivation, and energy in both their work and personal lives.
Many would-be entrepreneurs are prompted to start something when they feel disengaged at work. Not only could this new activity bring a sense of reward and extra income if things work out well, but you could also eventually replace it with your current job.
4. Your workplace lacks real connection or support
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At some point in your working life, you've experienced that Sunday afternoon dread that comes with the realization that the weekend is almost over, and it’s soon back to the grind. When the company's profit takes precedence over the people aspect, the community is undermined.
The sense of belonging dissipates, and it becomes a matter of individual survival. The U.S. Surgeon General's workplace report highlights community and connection as one of the most essential ingredients for worker health. This is because when positive relationships at work break down, so does a sense of belonging, and burnout tends to fill that gap quickly.
One of the biggest contributors to that sense of anxiety is tension among co-workers, especially the boss. Your best bet is to do your work and avoid getting caught up in any negative drama. If your company has a robust human resources department, ask if they could bring in someone to get to the root of the problem by interviewing individuals and then working as a team to discover a better way to collaborate.
5. Things feel unfair or inconsistent at work
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When trust, openness, and respect are present in the workplace, staff members perceive it to be a fair environment. In this situation, the organization acts fairly and values every individual. These components are needed to maintain an employee's engagement at work.
Their absence contributes directly to burnout. Research shows that when employees experience injustice in the workplace, their odds of suffering a major illness increase by 35 percent, which means a fair environment is a health issue.
Refuse to give energy to what feels like an unfair workplace. Strive to be honest, respectful, and trustworthy in all your interactions at work. By sticking with it, you may start a movement to turn things around.
6. Your job clashes with your personal values
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Employees are conflicted when the prevailing organizational culture sends the message that they don't need to conduct business according to the pious-sounding values framed on the wall. Do an honest-to-goodness inventory of your company's actual values versus your own. Are you finding that you compromise one or more of your values to continue receiving a paycheck?
That's not tenable in the long run. Unless the company changes how it operates, you will need to look elsewhere to avoid ending up on the road to burnout. You can protect yourself from burnout.
All the causes of burnout result from the work culture. Executive coach Michele Molitor explains that working somewhere that chips away at your values actively wears down your self-worth, making burnout happen faster and harder than it would in a healthier environment.
Add to that the stresses of suddenly being forced to work from home and everything that came with the horrible script that played out, you could understandably feel quite helpless. Even if next year turns out to be the sequel to last year, take steps to protect your well-being and avoid the specter of burnout that lurks in every unhealthy workplace.
Brent Roy, PCC, CMC, is a certified career, communications effectiveness, and personal development coach.
