thterwerwaerwar awerwaerwaerawerWe’ve all been there. You get a job that you really wanted, and you put everything you have into it. Working late starts to increase. You obsess over every little detail. Naturally, you volunteer for projects you don’t really have time to do. You want everything to be perfect. You want to make a difference.
But what happens when the job that you worked so hard for starts affecting you in negative ways? How do you know if you’re just in a rut or if you’re experiencing job burn out?
Here are seven signs that it may be time to step back and take a break:
1.Your Job Becomes Annoying
If you find yourself annoyed by a job you use to love, you may be facing job burnout. Meetings, deadlines, and even your co-workers may become hard to bear. You might even feel trapped and unappreciated in your current position
2. Exhaustion
Are you tired all the time and catch yourself napping after work more often than you use to? You may oversleep and arrive late to work due to overwhelming exhaustion. Therefore, this is a clear sign that you’re pushing yourself too hard.
3. Lack of Enthusiasm
Do you find yourself not wanting to do activities you use to enjoy? For instance, it’s a possibility that you’re even avoiding friends and family because you don’t want to make excuses about why you’d rather hang out at home than go out on a Friday night.
4. You’re Irritable
If you’re unhappy with your work life, it can begin affecting your personal life too. For example, you may find yourself being short-tempered and responding in a less than polite way to your friends and family.
5. Cognitive Problems
Do you find it hard to concentrate? Feeling unfocused and dissociated from life can be a side effect of working too hard. In short, burnout can have you making mistakes at work, you may become forgetful, and miss that 9 a.m. meeting.
6. Neglecting Yourself
With burn out, you may neglect yourself in favor of dedicating yourself to your job. For instance. you may skip lunch to work on that important project and meet the deadline, or you may comfort yourself with food. Self-medicating with drugs and alcohol is also a danger. Unwinding with an occasional glass of wine is fine, but overindulging is a problem. You may notice that you’re not doing the self-care habits. In addition, you may suddenly be putting off the very things that help you recharge and be your best.
7. Your Health is Declining
Pushing yourself too hard can have a negative affect on your health, and this is probably the most serious sign that you’re experiencing burn out. For example, ways that burn out can affect your health are:
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain
- Trouble sleeping
- Frequent colds
- Depression
- Feelings of Apathy
How Do I Fight Burn Out?
If you think you’re experiencing burn out, then you need to dial it back at work. Above all, don’t take on extra projects that you know will stress you out. Take your breaks: having a few minutes to unwind and center yourself can release the tension that had built up throughout the day.
It’s also important to have a support system. Your family and friends are there for you, so don’t feel guilty about confiding in them if you’re having a hard time.
Take care of yourself. Getting an adequate amount of rest is vital when attempting to overcome job burn out. For instance, make sure to take regular days off to do what you enjoy, and, if you’re stressed out, don’t overindulge in activities that are not sustainable and actually deplete you.
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