Do you know your burnout level or if you’re in danger of job burnout. The impact to job burnout can grow exponentially and burn you out well before you realize it. By knowing the signs and symptoms in advance of burnout, you can avoid or prevent further damage.

Stress vs. Burnout
While unrelenting stress can contribute to burnout, stress alone isn’t the same as burnout. To be able to tackle your misery head on, it’s important to be able to differentiate between the two to identify if you’re experiencing job burnout or just stress.

With stress, there is an overwhelming feeling and an inability to cope. Stress primarily deals with “too much” – too much piled on, too much to do, too much to handle. The effects of stress often lead to psychological and physical issues, such as heart problems and high blood pressure.

On the other hand, job burnout is about “not enough.” As a result of unrelenting stress, someone burned out feels empty, has little to no motivation, and simply doesn’t care. The effects of burnout translate to emotional issues, such as apathy and depression.

One important difference between job burnout and stress is that you’re usually aware of stressful situations, but job burnout can be present for weeks or months before you notice it. When experiencing workplace stress, you tend to care too much, but with burnout, there is a constant pessimistic attitude. This is usually how you can differentiate a few bad workdays from job burnout.

Causes of Professional Burnout
Constant stress isn’t the only attributing factor to job burnout. When you dealt with stress in school, friends were readily available and “the light at the end of the tunnel” (graduation) was always in sight. In the professional world, the next step is hard to visualize. Unrealistic goals – whether set by you or by others – and the inability to constantly achieve them can result in job burnout. Even if employees enjoy the work that they do, they’re at risk when they feel underappreciated and underpaid. Matters out of their control also cause professional burnout including – being pushed around by the office bully, undermined by co-workers, or micromanaged by your boss.

Though these factors can contribute to burnout, there’s no one combination. It’s different for everyone. However, there are some tried and true solutions for dealing with it. Don’t miss our next post to learn more.

Job burnout can be hard to handle. Not only is it emotionally exhausting, it can impact your health and performance as well. So, how do you know when it’s the real deal? Ask yourself the following questions to find out.

• Are you more cynical, negative, critical, or sarcastic at work?
• Do you have to drag yourself to work and have trouble starting once you get there?
• Do you lack the energy to stay consistently productive?
• Do you no longer feel satisfaction from your achievements or do you question the value of the tasks that you perform?
• Are you feeling under-compensated for your work?
• Are you disillusioned about your career?
• Are you constantly fatigued?
• Do you lose your temper easily?
• Are you thinking about a career change?
• Do you feel overwhelmed or stressed most of the time?
• Do you feel like you have little or no control over things at work or at home?
• Are you just “going through the motions” to get through your shift?

If you’ve answered yes to four or more of the questions, chances are, you’re bound for job burnout if you’re not already there. In our next blog, we’ll discuss tactics to avoid and deal with professional burnout.

The alarm rings again, and you fight to not hit snooze one more time. You’re dreading another day doing the same old thing at the same old job. Have you been finding it harder and harder to drag yourself out of bed and have the energy to go to work? At some point, most people – in every level of a company from a receptionist to a CEO or owner – find themselves victims of job burnout.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines burnout as “exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration.”

The term job burnout is described as an emotional burnout experienced in a job or career-path. Sufferers of job burnout can experience chronic anxiety, depression, prolonged stress, lack of motivation, and/or hopelessness – among other serious problems. It’s important to deal with job burnout not just because of your personal happiness, but for your career and financial future as well.

Are you headed for job burnout?  The next post can help you determine if you should be alarmed.