What is professional burnout, what are its symptoms and how to overcome it?
In this article, we will discuss professional burnout, its symptoms, coping strategies, and how Voiset can help.
In 2019, the World Health Organization added burnout to the official list of diseases. With professional burnout, a person feels exhaustion on several levels at once - physical, psychological, and emotional. If this exhaustion becomes chronic, it can cause changes in the nervous system and brain, leading to depression.
Typically, professional burnout occurs when there are high demands, strict deadlines, and a lack of rest. If you've been struggling to make yourself work for more than a month (or can't make yourself work anymore) - you may be burned out.
What are the first signs of burnout?
There is no such thing as everything being just fine, and then suddenly you wake up in the morning and realize that you are burned out. Professional burnout starts with a feeling of fatigue and stress related to work, which increases day by day. Then there is a feeling of psychological discomfort, a certain helplessness, sometimes even despair and rejection. In the next phase of exhaustion, a person will simply not be able to perform work tasks and it will not be possible to motivate him.
Four stages of professional burnout
Professional burnout occurs less often in those who initially are not particularly burned out at work. Therefore, pay attention to the first stage: if it is not present, it will be difficult to burn out at work.
The first stage of burnout
"I can do anything!". At this stage, a person's eyes are burning, and he directs all his energy to a new project. He feels excited, eager to do this project/go to work. Come to think of it, sleep, thought, routines and breaks - do they even matter compared to being able to do what you love to do?
The second stage of burnout
"Maybe I'm tired." At this stage a specialist feels some decrease of enthusiasm and inner tension. At the same time the desire to work does not diminish, but the strength seems to be less. It becomes difficult to sleep for 4 hours a day, and it becomes boring to do routine work. If you listen to yourself at this stage and restore the mode of the body, you can stop the process of burnout. Emotional exhaustion at this point in time is relatively easy to correct, as well as physical and psychological.
The third stage of burnout
"I'm exhausted." At this stage you suddenly realize you're becoming forgetful, but it's not much of a concern. It's harder for you to do the work; from the last effort, you try to sit down and force yourself, but it just doesn't work. As a result - deadlines are disrupted, conflicts only grow, and the general feeling of hopelessness and the fact that something inside as if broken, does not add optimism at all.
The fourth stage is
"Emotional burnout." Hello, cynicism, disregard for tasks, and leadership. Relationships within the team are getting worse, and motivation is nil. Often at this stage, the very professional, who has always been dressed with a needle, stops giving his appearance any importance. At the same time, he does not always understand what is happening to him and how to fix it.
Preventing burnout in the workplace
Studies of professional burnout show that one of the most significant causes of this disease can be considered management within the organization (See the research here). Burnout often occurs in companies where there is no coordination between departments and staff, no understanding of project goals, excessive demands are placed on employees and their achievements are not recognized.
Part of the responsibility for professional burnout lies on the person himself, not only on the management of the organization. A person's personal qualities are extremely important: the higher ambitions and desire to become a star in the team, the higher the risk of burnout. By the way, those who do not know how to say "no" to colleagues and take on other people's work often burn out. The strategy of self-assertion through work is not always a winning strategy in the prospects of life. Being a convenient, unreliable employee who is ready for any rework and substitutions is an attitude that increases the risk of burnout at work.
More often professional burnout is experienced by people for whom the whole life is built around work. Those who continue to deal with professional tasks all day and night without dividing their time into personal and work time.
A simple and sensible way to prevent professional burnout is to use Voiset.
How does Voiset help prevent burnout in the workplace?
1. Gives the employee a clear idea of the tasks that need to be accomplished. This allows them to channel all their enthusiasm to where it will produce the necessary results. The absence of task confusion and the ability to prioritize tasks is an important factor in reducing stress in the workplace;
2. The success of an employee is reflected in the fulfillment of specific tasks. On a daily basis, management can see what tasks each employee is working on and track their fulfillment. This gives an opportunity to note the productivity of each employee, as well as to draw conclusions in advance about possible burnout. If an employee who has always completed tasks on time or even ahead of schedule suddenly starts delaying the delivery of projects, you can take proactive measures, such as temporarily reducing his or her workload;
3. Proper distribution of the workload. There is not just a certain task that someone has to perform, but a specific person responsible for EVERY task. And artificial intelligence will analyze the schedules of all employees and distribute tasks based on workload. This way, there will be no overrun, where one employee has the whole day packed and the other has practically a day off. And, by the way, this solution partly saves "helpers": it is easier for them to say "no" when they see their schedule, knowing that everyone's workload is the same;
4. Work-life balance. Voiset is a planner that is used for all areas of life - personal and professional. If your life has a place not only for your career, but also for other hobbies, if it has a work-life balance, you are much less likely to burn out at work.
How exactly does Voiset enable you to create and maintain a work-life balance?
1. Keeps track of the number of tasks you have to do during the day. If it is in your nature to be willing and ready to take on great responsibility and achieve great success in your professional life, Voiset can ... slow you down. Because if you run at top speed all the time, at some point you will get tired, slow down, then burn out and stop. In order not to burn out at work, it is important to keep the feeling of "I could have worked more; it's a pity that it's already five in the evening, but tomorrow morning, I can continue!". By the way, there is no exact answer to the question, "How long it takes to recover from burnout." Some need a few months, some need a few years, and some find themselves forced to change their field of activity. So it's easier to slow down, don't you agree?
2. For AI-powered Voiset, your personal life is as important as your professional life. You prioritize your tasks, and Voiset organizes them by day. At times when you think going to the gym isn't as important, Voiset will remind you that it's Tuesday, which is your workout day. Staying up late? Voiset will remind you that it's time to go to bed. We all need a smart assistant to keep our work-life balance even during deadlines;
3. Voiset hears you. When we "switch" between areas of life, we create space for new ideas to emerge. If you have an important idea during your morning jog, you can dictate it to Voiset without stopping. It will record your voice, recognize your speech and then create a task from it!
In this article, we have detailed exactly how to schedule with Voiset and the importance of scheduling. Remember that it is easier to prevent burnout than to recover from it afterwards. Voiset will be your smart assistant, helping you in your personal life and professional growth. If you start to go to some extreme, it will coordinate your path.
