Burnout syndrome was first mentioned in 1974. This syndrome refers to low energy, depression, and extreme fatigue in the workplace. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Burnout is the result of prolonged and uncontrolled work stress.
What is Burnout Syndrome?
Burnout Syndrome (BOS) is a term that refers to exhaustion, fatigue and a complete loss of interest in work. This syndrome refers not only to the burnout of office workers but also to all other professions from teachers, doctors, construction workers and even housewives.
The term “burnout” was first mentioned in 1974 by the American psychologist – Herbert Freudenberger. However, it was not until the last decade or so that Burnout syndrome became common. Burnout means “burnt out”. Roughly understood, this term refers to the total exhaustion of both physical and mental energy for work.
Many people mistake Burnout for stress. However, stress is inevitable at work. Stress can produce positive or negative effects, while Burnout syndrome refers to the most negative physical and mental state in the workplace. According to the World Health Organization, Burnout is a syndrome caused by uncontrolled chronic work-related stress.
People who are suffering from Burnout syndrome have almost no energy or interest in their current job. It is accompanied by feelings of fatigue, exhaustion, obsession with work, and a range of physical symptoms. And of course in the “Burnout” state, work performance will decrease significantly.
Is Burnout Syndrome a Disease?
Burnout syndrome is not recognized as a disease, but rather as an “occupational phenomenon”. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) itself is confused in classifying this syndrome. On May 28, 2019, WHO classified Burnout syndrome as a medical condition. However, the very next day, the organization corrected that “Burnout” was just a professional phenomenon.
WHO also emphasized, “Burnout” is only used to refer to a state of exhaustion and negativity at work. It should not be used to describe similar conditions in other aspects such as life, emotions, etc. Although not yet recognized as a pathology, Burnout syndrome has been identified as a condition requiring intervention for care services. health care. Therefore, people who are facing this condition can see a doctor or a psychologist if necessary.
Recognizing Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome is a condition in which the body and mind become exhausted, depressed and fatigued due to prolonged stress. This syndrome has diverse manifestations, but usually there are 3 main manifestations: exhaustion of energy, alienation/obsession about work and finally, a marked decrease in work performance.
In general, Burnout syndrome has many similarities with work stress. However, this syndrome has more severe symptoms and is also difficult to recover as quickly as stress.
People with Burnout syndrome always feel extremely tired and depressed with their current job
Burnout syndrome usually presents as follows:
- The body is always in a state of fatigue, exhaustion and almost all energy
- Loss of interest and creativity in work
- Feeling depressed, even obsessed about the current job
- Always start a working day with extreme fatigue and boredom
- Appears negative thoughts, doubts about yourself as well as your current job
- Significant decrease in work performance due to loss of interest, creativity and poor concentration
In addition to the typical signs above, Burnout syndrome also has some other symptoms such as:
- Weakness, weight loss and fatigue
- Poor resistance
- Headache, dizziness
- Insomnia
- Change in eating habits, may eat more or lose appetite
- Loss of motivation at work
- Decreased job satisfaction, negative thoughts and always doubting your ability
- Less communication at work
- It takes longer to get the job done than before
- Being late to work or having to work very hard to be able to get to work on time
- Tends to isolate and separate from others
In fact, work-related conditions like stress or burnout have only really become common in the past two decades. This shows that the context of globalization has really affected the volume and pressure of work. Moreover, the great development of science and technology also makes work crept into all hours of the day. In the evening, many people still have to handle work through phones and computers.
Causes of Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome is defined by WHO as a condition that occurs as a result of uncontrolled chronic stress in the workplace. Therefore, jobs with too much pressure will have a high risk of leading to this syndrome. However, it is possible to control stress or not depends on each person’s tolerance threshold and emotional balance skills.
According to statistics, Burnout syndrome is seen mainly in people working in the medical field (doctors, nurses, nurses, …) and office workers. High workload, unstable working hours and constantly facing deadlines are the causes that cause the body to fall into a “burnout” state.
Work that takes up too much time will lead to stress and burnout
Factors that can lead to Burnout syndrome:
- Jobs that take up too much time: People in jobs that don’t have regular hours and work too much, such as paramedics, firefighters, etc., are more likely to develop Burnout syndrome. Spending a lot of time at work means no time to rest and recharge. Gradually, physical and mental health declines causing extreme fatigue, exhaustion and depression.
- Excessive workload: A lot of people confess that they can’t handle the work for 8 hours. Too much workload makes them have to work from home during rest time. This long-term condition will affect health, leading to chronic stress and more seriously, Burnout syndrome.
- Toxic Work Environment: Many people feel stressed and “burnout” due to a toxic work environment. Co-workers are unprofessional, competitive, scrutinizing, etc., making many people feel tired and depressed every time they come to work. Because of the toxic environment, it is also difficult to receive support from people around. Gradually the body will fall into a state of depression and energy depletion.
- Being treated unfairly: At work, many people are treated unfairly and have to deal with more workload than those around them. Too much work plus mental fatigue and stress if not controlled will lead to Burnout syndrome.
- Other causes: In addition to the above causes, Burnout syndrome can also occur due to lack of support from superiors, unclear job duties leading to frequent need to deal with inappropriate tasks. suit your ability, do a job you don’t like, …
In fact, in the same situation, only some people fall into a “burnout” state and others only experience transient stress. Experts say that, in addition to the effects of work, personality traits and stress tolerance are also factors that lead to Burnout syndrome.
Consequences of Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome has not been recognized as an official health problem but is classified as an “occupational phenomenon”. However, the effects of this syndrome have been recognized by WHO and mentioned in many documents.
The state of physical and mental exhaustion of energy causes many people to lose focus, lack interest and creativity in work. In addition, emotional discomfort and negativity also make work difficult. Most people who fall into a “burnout” state take longer to complete the work and the productivity is significantly reduced.
In the Burnout state, both mentally and physically are severely affected
In addition, the “Burnout” state also reduces the need to communicate, not wanting to chat and socialize. People in this state only communicate when necessary and tend to isolate themselves from everyone around them.
Chronic stress in the workplace can lead to Burnout syndrome and this syndrome can be a condition for the development of psychological problems such as anxiety disorders, depression, etc. In addition, this syndrome also increases increased physical problems such as migraines, chronic headaches, insomnia, vestibular disorders, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Overall, Burnout syndrome causes significant effects on health as well as work performance and quality of life. Overcoming this syndrome is the way for you to regain interest and joy in work.
How to Overcome Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome has not been recognized as a disease, so no medical treatment will be applied. However, you can completely overcome this syndrome through some of the following measures:
1. Take time to rest
The body needs to be “recharged” after a stressful working period. If you continuously work with high intensity for a long time, you will inevitably be in a state of energy exhaustion. To improve burnout and fatigue, take time to rest and take care of yourself.
When determining that you are suffering from Burnout syndrome, you should discuss with your superiors to reduce the workload at work. In addition, you can also apply for a few days off to rest and restore energy.
To stay motivated at work for a long time, it is necessary to balance work and rest time. Limit working more than 8-9 hours/day, ensure at least 1 hour rest and sleep 7 hours/day. When you balance the rest time, your body will always be full of energy and overcome the state of exhaustion and depression.
2. Equip with relaxation techniques
The root cause of Burnout syndrome is uncontrolled stress. To get out of the “Burnout” state, you should equip yourself with relaxation techniques. These measures will help relieve stress, soothe negative emotions and recharge the body with abundant energy.
If you practice relaxation techniques every day, you can manage stress and prevent chronic stress from developing into Burnout. Through these measures, you can maintain your physical and mental health in top shape.
Exercising every day is a simple way to help you overcome the state of energy exhaustion caused by work
Relaxation measures to improve Burnout syndrome:
- Daily exercise is the most effective way to relax. When exercising, the muscles are relaxed, blood circulation increases, thereby bringing a feeling of comfort and comfort. In addition, when exercising, the brain will produce endorphins – neurotransmitters that bring feelings of comfort, joy and optimism. If your work is too busy, you should spend at least 20 minutes a day to exercise.
- Breathing deeply for 5 to 10 minutes can help you manage stress, anxiety, and depression. You can breathe deeply during work to recharge yourself or practice breathing in the evening to release all the troubles of the day.
- Make time for personal interests instead of just focusing on work. Favorite activities such as painting, knitting, cooking, taking care of plants, pets, etc. will bring joy to you after a stressful working day. Joy in the little things will help you learn how to balance negative emotions at work.
- You can spend the weekend to massage, drink herbal tea, wash your hair, … to reduce stress and eliminate depression at work.
Even if the work is not too stressful, you should still apply the above relaxation measures. These measures help protect mental health and increase stress tolerance. Therefore, people with a healthy lifestyle often deal with stress more easily than people with a lack of science.
3. Build healthy relationships in the workplace
At work, you can’t work alone, you must have a connection with people around. To work more smoothly, it is advisable to build healthy relationships. Try to be sociable and talk a lot with colleagues so that everyone tries and cooperates to complete the work in the best way.
In addition, you should also be frank with your boss if the workload is too much or if you are treated unfairly. In the case of not being satisfactorily resolved, the decision to resign should be considered. Because an environment that is too toxic and unfair superiors will be difficult to help you develop yourself.
4. Share with those around you
When faced with physical and mental exhaustion at work, it is better to share it with friends and relatives instead of facing it alone. Sharing with others will help you feel more comfortable, remove emotions and negative thoughts.
Should share negative feelings and thoughts with everyone instead of keeping it to yourself
The advice of friends and relatives will also help you be motivated to overcome Burnout and regain interest and creativity in work. Modern life makes career requirements significantly increase. Therefore, any profession has to face pressure and a large amount of work. Therefore, you should not be too worried when falling into this state.
Openly sharing with people will help you balance your emotions. In addition, the experience of overcoming “Burnout” of those around will also help you easily regain your spirit.
5. Work with a plan, clear goals
Many people suffer from Burnout syndrome due to unsatisfactory work, frequent mistakes and mistakes. This can happen due to unplanned work. Many people have the habit of solving work indiscriminately, not systematically, leading to omissions and delay in deadlines.
Working with a clear plan will help you solve work quickly and accurately. From there, you will have more time to take care of yourself and your family. In addition, you should also have a clear goal at work to be motivated to strive.
6. Improve your expertise
Many people face obstacles in their work due to limited capacity. Therefore, to complete the assigned tasks often takes a lot of time. This makes you always have to work more than 8 hours / day and often make mistakes.
To overcome Burnout syndrome, you should improve your expertise. Start by seeking help from colleagues and superiors. However, you need to have a progressive and proactive spirit, and should not depend entirely on those around you.
If necessary, you can take courses to improve your expertise and equip yourself with the necessary skills. As your expertise improves, you will find it easier to handle assigned tasks and work more efficiently.
7. Maintain a healthy lifestyle
In addition to the above measures, you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle while experiencing Burnout syndrome. In fact, when falling into a state of depleted energy, few people maintain a scientific lifestyle. Most people choose to use caffeine, smoke cigarettes and use alcohol to relieve their mood. However, these habits increase the level of stress, fatigue and make the rest of the energy completely depleted.
A healthy lifestyle will help you to stabilize your mood and have a good health to get the job done. In addition, a scientific lifestyle also helps to increase tolerance to stress and reduce the risk of psychological problems such as depression, anxiety disorders, etc.
A healthy lifestyle will help you stabilize your mind and overcome Burnout quickly
How to build a healthy lifestyle for people with Burnout syndrome:
- The most important factor is to make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep per day. Sleep quality is closely linked to physical and mental health. Lack of sleep, insomnia, … will cause stress levels to increase and “burn” all the energy in the body. So, when in “Burnout” state, you need to get enough sleep to recharge for physical and mental health.
- A balanced diet also helps a lot in improving mood and recharging the body. When stressed, most people choose fast food and canned food. However, unhealthy eating habits can make Burnout syndrome worse. Instead, you should eat healthy, add more green vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, fish, … to improve health.
- Limit alcohol, tobacco and stay away from stimulants.
- You should exercise regularly to improve physical fitness and relieve stress. If you don’t have much time, you should take a 5-minute walk after 2 hours of work. Thus, on average 8 hours of work/day, you have exercised for 20 minutes. Maintaining this habit long-term will help you improve your health, reduce negative emotions and physical symptoms associated with Burnout syndrome.
8. See a psychologist
In fact, not everyone can overcome Burnout syndrome on their own. This syndrome is not serious enough to be diagnosed as a disease, so many people do not pay attention to it. However, the state of exhaustion and low energy will silently destroy your life and leave long-term consequences. So, if you can’t balance yourself, you should see a psychologist.
A psychologist will help you identify the causes of stress and reflect on negative issues at work. Besides, the expert will help you have the right perception of the benefits that your current job brings. Through psychological counseling, you will choose the right solution for yourself and equip yourself with stress-relieving skills.
In the case of “Burnout” related to a toxic environment and conflict with colleagues, a professional will help you learn how to deal with unfavorable situations at work. Finding a psychologist is essential. So don’t hesitate to seek help if you are feeling the energy in your body is slowly draining over time.
Burnout syndrome is a problem that most adults face. However, many people do not have the skills to recognize and overcome this syndrome. As a result, rates of depression and anxiety disorders increase and are accompanied by a host of physical health problems. Hopefully, through the above article, readers have gained an understanding of the “Burnout” state and can easily overcome it when encountered.
