As a high achiever at heart, you always feel the need to give your best shot at whatever work you do. Even if you wanted to prevent burnout in the workplace, you wouldn’t know when to quit and know no limits to your resilience. You are used to being the best. Does this sound like you? Read on, as I have some tips on how to detect and prevent burnout.
In the highly competitive world we live in, it’s only normal you want to hone your abilities and raise to the top. You strive to be the best in your studies and later at work. You believe in a fair world in which your hard work and personal achievements are directly linked to your career progression and quality of life improvement.
While I agree this is a phenomenal perspective of the world, it comes with some downsides that you should keep in mind. Being competitive and having earned a decent track record puts ever-increasing pressure on you over life. I believe in always trying to keep improving and becoming a better version of yourself in terms of efficiency and efficacy. Remember, however, that not all situations or environments you get into are controllable by you. There are some tell-tale signs of burnout when you should consider focusing your energy on more productive endeavors without feeling that you are a quitter.
Why should you be wasting time with an uphill battle you can’t control and which will actually take your health away?
There are limits to your work endurance, and they are directly tied to your health. You risk having burnout in the workplace when certain behaviors are followed for long enough. I call these burnout traps. They work as catalysts that accelerate the stress downward spiral into a burned-out state or a nervous breakdown.
Over the years I’ve compiled a list of the most categorical traps to help detect burnout.
Prevent burnout before it’s too late
Burnout Trap nr. 1: Lack of Decision Control
You’re in a position where you are accountable for the results, but you ultimately don’t have the final decision.
Burnout Trap nr. 2: Ethical Values Conflict
You’re forced to go against values you deeply believe in, like honesty, in order to do your work.
Burnout Trap nr. 3: Lack of Managerial Support
Your company may be supportive of your ideas and actions, but in the tough times, especially when money is involved, the decision-makers pull the rug from under your feet, and you fall flat on your face.
Burnout Trap nr. 4: Lack of Managerial Trust and Integrity
Even though, after being requested to do so, you thoroughly researched and presented a feasible solution to management, your suggestion is turned down in the blink of an eye due to “cost concerns”. A few weeks later, management shows up with a brand new luxury sportscar. You feel you’re wasting your time and your life, and your motivation dips.
Burnout Trap nr. 5: Sense of Impossibility
Every day you think to yourself: “These deadlines are impossible”. But before you finish thinking that, more impossible deadlines are handed over to you – and these are even more urgent than the most urgent you had before. You try as hard as you can to convince yourself that these objectives are somehow possible to achieve – even by some miracle. And no matter how much you explain the situation to management, the answer is always the same: “Well, just prioritize”, showing a blatant disregard for your health or work-life balance.
While it may seem feasible to manage some of these traps, the longer you try to do it and the more traps you need to manage at the same time, the higher the probability your health will be negatively affected, especially if you have a perfectionist personality. Burnout can have devastating effects on your life, both at work and outside of it. It’s just not worth the risk. Make a plan and change to a different lane to protect your health.
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