Signs you’re burned out at work

We are all aware of some of the symptoms of stress and nervous exhaustion. It is not always, however, so easy to see oneself from the outside, and to understand that, for example, the anger that has suddenly begun to bubble up inside also has something to do with the situation at work.

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to:

• physical and emotional exhaustion
• cynicism and detachment
• feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment

How do you spot burnout?

Signs of physical and emotional exhaustion

• Chronic fatigue. In the early stages, you may feel a lack energy and feel tired most days. In the latter stages, you feel physically and emotionally exhausted, drained, and depleted.
• Insomnia. In the early stages, you may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep one or two nights a week. In the latter stages, insomnia may turn into a persistent, nightly ordeal.
• Forgetfulness. Lack of focus and mild forgetfulness are early signs. Later, the problems may get to the point where you can't get your work done and everything begins to pile up.
• Physical symptoms. Physical symptoms may include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal pain, dizziness, fainting, and/or headaches.
• Increased illness. Because your body is depleted, your immune system becomes weakened, making you more vulnerable to infections.
• Anxiety. Early on, you may experience mild symptoms of tension, worry, and edginess. As you move closer to burnout, the anxiety may become so serious that it interferes in your ability to work productively and may cause problems in your personal life.
• Depression. In the early stages, you may feel mildly sad, occasionally hopeless, and you may experience feelings of guilt and worthlessness as a result. At its worst, you may feel trapped, severely depressed, and think the world would be better off without you.
• Anger. At first, this may present as interpersonal tension and irritability. In the latter stages, this may turn into angry outbursts and serious arguments at home and in the workplace.

Signs of Cynicism and Detachment

• Loss of enjoyment. At first, this may seem very mild, such as not wanting to go to work or being eager to leave. Without intervention, loss of enjoyment may extend to all areas of your life, including the time you spend with family and friends. At work, you may try to avoid projects and figure out ways to escape work all together.
• Pessimism. At first, this may present itself as negative self-talk and/or moving from a glass half-full to a glass half-empty attitude. At its worst, this may move beyond how you feel about yourself and extend to trust issues with coworkers and family members and a feeling that you can't count on anyone.
• Isolation. In the early stages, this may seem like mild resistance to socialising. In the latter stages, you may become angry when someone speaks to you, or you may come in early or leave late to avoid interactions.
• Detachment. Detachment is a general sense of feeling disconnected from others or from your environment. It can take the form of the isolative behaviours described above, and result in removing yourself emotionally and physically from your job and other responsibilities.

Signs of Ineffectiveness and Lack of Accomplishment

• Feelings of apathy and hopelessness. This is similar to what is described in the depression and pessimism sections of this article.
• Increased irritability. Irritability often stems from feeling ineffective, unimportant, useless, and an increasing sense that you're not able to do things as efficiently or effectively as you once did.
• Lack of productivity and poor performance. Despite long hours, chronic stress prevents you from being as productive as you once were, which often results in incomplete projects and an ever-growing to-do list.

If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, this should be a wake-up call that you may be on a dangerous path. Take some time to honestly assess the amount of stress in your life and find ways to reduce it before it's too late. Burnout isn't like the flu; it doesn't go away after a few weeks unless you make some changes in your life. And as hard as that may seem, it's the smartest thing to do because making a few little changes now will keep you in the race with a lot of gas to get you across the finish line.