How to Recognize Employee Burnout

According to a study of 1000 participants, around 77% of people experience employee burnout at their current workplace. Employee burnout is common and causes many physical, mental, and emotional problems. How can you tell if you are in burnout, and what can you do?

Employee Burnout Symptoms

Employee burnout can happen to anyone. You may enjoy your job, but due to employee shortages, new contracts, tighter deadlines, or management changes, the stress is unbearable. Combine workplace burnout with other problems at home, such as marital strife, behavioral issues in the children, financial worries, and illness. It can be too much for one person to handle alone.

The good news is that you are not alone. More people suffer from employee burnout than you realize. With a few adjustments at your job, your employer can ease the stress. But first, you need to recognize the symptoms of employee burnout.

Irritability or Anger

Frustration and impatience breed irritability and anger. Even the calmest employee can snipe at others under duress. When stress gets the better of you, it is harder to manage your emotions and your reactions. You may quickly become angry, throw things, or raise your voice when overwhelmed with work.

Uncontrolled anger can ruin work relationships and jeopardize your job. If your emotions are out of control, you will be unable to approach projects or work situations or manage workplace conflict.

Depression

When you feel stuck in a bad situation, it is normal to feel blue and dread living through it daily. Yet, employee burnout can make you feel like that. In addition, unhappiness and frustration can trigger depression in some people.

Depression leaves you exhausted. It is difficult to pull yourself out of bed in the morning, let alone go out with friends and family in the evenings. You isolate and withdraw from the hobbies you once enjoyed. Depression tricks you into believing this is all life offers: wake up, go to work, slave all day for a paycheck, go home, and start the next day again.

But there is more to life than a job. If depression has you questioning life, reach out to a counselor today. Work is important and should be meaningful and purposeful, but it is not more important than your family or health.

Complaining about Being Stressed Out

It is usual for people to grumble at work from time to time. Walk into any pharmacy in the middle of flu season, and you will probably overhear pharmacy technicians complaining about the overwhelming number of prescriptions to process. During the pandemic, waiting a long time to pick up groceries from curbside service was not uncommon because only a few employees tried to service almost a dozen cars.

Often, employers either do not notice or are used to hearing employees complain of stress. This may be one of the primary reasons many employers do not do enough to ease employee burnout symptoms. At home, do you notice your spouse’s complaints about work? Do you shrug them off as seasonal complaints or pay attention to their other employee burnout symptoms?

If you catch yourself complaining about being stressed out, try to slip away for a few minutes for a break. Pause and take a deep breath. You may need to flip the narrative in your mind to get through this situation or season at work.

Change in Sleep Patterns

A change in your sleep patterns could signify stress and depression. Employee burnout can cause you to sleep too much or wake up during the night unable to fall back to sleep due to thoughts of work.

Sleep deprivation can leave you groggy and irritable, making the next day even more challenging. Instead, try adopting a nighttime routine to relax and clear your mind. For example, stop checking email and social media a few hours before bedtime and engage in something pleasurable, like a hot bath or reading a good book.

Appetite Changes

Stress causes hormone reactions in the body that affect appetite. For example, you may become hungrier with the hormone ghrelin and consume more than your body needs or can burn off in a day. You may skip meals and hardly notice that your body needs fuel until you feel sluggish when you have an overabundance of leptin.

These appetite changes lead to rapid weight loss or weight gain. When your weight changes drastically in a short period, it can lower your immune system, raising your chances of getting sick. In addition, the longer you engage in disordered eating behaviors, the higher your risk of developing Type II diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, or eating disorders.

Decrease in the Quality of Work

One of the most noticeable burnout symptoms at work is a decrease in work quality and performance. Employees with burnout may skim over details and take shortcuts. As a result, they may only do half of their job. Are you missing the details in projects and work assignments? Are you rushing through to go home early?

The more burnout you become, the less likely you are to take personal responsibility when things go wrong. Instead, you may deny wrongdoing or blame others for your half-hearted attempt.

Instead of shifting the blame, let your supervisor know that you are struggling with the stress and may be experiencing burnout. In addition, your company’s Human Resources Department may offer programs to help de-stress and promote mental health.

Displaying Apathetic or Frazzled Behavior

While at work, do you feel frazzled? Do tiny details slip your mind? When stressed, your mind can feel foggy, making it difficult to recall information needed for your job. Making a to-do list and taking notes during meetings may help you remember.

On the other hand, instead of feeling frazzled, are you apathetic? Are you doing the bare minimum to get through the day? Apathy is not a good attitude to have in the workplace. Even under intense pressure, going the extra mile can set you apart from others in your department.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. – Colossians 3:23-24, NIV

If you just cannot pull yourself out of indifference, contact a counselor for suggestions on how to beat employee burnout.

Increasing Incidences of Calling Off Work

Employee burnout can cause physical symptoms, such as:

• Headache.
• Upset stomach.
• Heartburn.
• Fatigue.
• High blood pressure.
• Rapid heart rate.
• Shortness of breath.
• Panic attacks.

These are only a few of the physical symptoms of stress in the workplace. You are likely to call off work more often. In addition, you may experience unexplained aches and pains. Although you visit the doctor, your physician may not be able to determine an illness.

Taking control of employee burnout is imperative for your health. But, first, speak to your physician about your physical symptoms. The physical symptoms are treatable, but you must address the stress at work if you want to feel at peace.

Are you in employee burnout?

If you are currently in employee burnout, now is the time to act for your physical and mental health. Employee burnout has a far-reaching impact on other areas of your life, including personal relationships. Speak to your supervisor about reducing workplace burnout by addressing stressful responsibilities, time management issues, employee shortages, and ways to ease stress during the workday.

Contact our office today to schedule an appointment with a professional development counselor to reduce employee burnout. Your counselor can also offer suggestions for learning new skills, making yourself valuable in the marketplace, and finding purpose in your work.

We are commanded to work, but God wants us to be fulfilled in our work. Sometimes that takes a shift in perspective. Let us help.