Workplace Burnout and its Impact on Your Health
You wake up in a start in the middle of the night sweating, heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through your body. Your mind is racing as you come to your senses and realize it was all a dream, or in this case, a nightmare. The context of the nightmare is unspeakable, you would welcome the nocturnal monsters and demons over what just haunted you. What was the context? You failed to submit the required reports and metrics on time and your supervisor just sent you a passive aggressive email checking in on your progress and if you needed additional assistance. The absolute horror.
Hyperbole aside, the impacts of a toxic workplace on your physical and mental health are not to be ignored or dismissed. In an article published by Mayo Clinic (2021) that explored workplace burnout, it was defined as a “state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.” This exhaustion is cumulative and compounds with the other stressors of life that include finances, relationships, and other physical and mental health issues.
The Risk Factors
You are no stranger to work place stress, but there are some risk factors that you should be aware of that will increase the risk of development or symptoms of workplace burnout. Those risk factors include:
· High operational tempo, unrelenting workload, and excessive hours
· Lack of control over work
· Supervisor being too little (apathetic) or too involved (micromanagement)
· Limited to no self-care
· Job only utilizes top-down communication style
This list is not exhaustive, and what someone feels is stressful might not be to another employee due to different levels of resilience and social supports. As we come out of the pandemic many of us have experienced long periods of isolation and loneliness that erodes our previous social support systems and promotes unhealthy behaviors to fill that void (i.e., online gambling, substance abuse.)
Impact on the Body and Mind
Do you feel exhausted and fatigued at the end of the day? Headaches? Indigestion or irritable bowels? These are good signs that you are already feeling the impact of workplace burnout and it is having a negative impact on your health. The excessive stress is correlated with chronic health issues that WGU (2019) explored including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and death before the age of 45.
Your psychological health is also in danger as workplace burnout increases the risk of developing depression, anxiety disorders, and irritability towards your coworkers and peers. You will notice cynicism bleeding out into your everyday interactions with family and friends as your internal resources are depleted from a toxic workplace. Productivity at work may begin to decline and you notice a loss of passion for projects you used to enjoy and get excited for.
One dimension that is not adequately explored with workplace burnout is how it coincides with compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring. With the stress and fatigue that comes along with workplace burnout the compassion fatigue, especially with helping professions, becomes notable and has deleterious impact on our human connections. If your heart and soul aren’t backing your efforts, you are essentially going through the motions until something finally has to give.
Solutions
The most obvious and effective strategy is to find a new job if you notice your burnout increasing to unhealthy levels; easier said than done. Searching for a job while you still have one is your best option to maintain financial stability while seeking an alternate position. There might be a time where you notice your quality of life is abysmal and burnout at critical levels that you have to resign to maintain your sanity. Remember, you are replaceable to your job but not to those that love you.
Other strategies to decrease or prevent workplace burnout explored at Corporate Wellness Magazine (2022), include:
· Redesigning the work environment
· Providing breaks and nap-times for employees
· Increasing employee participation in decision making and work planning
· Increasing time and resources for completing specific job tasks
Burnout and stress from your employment is a difficult challenge to overcome especially during a volatile economy, responsibilities at home, and the uncertainty of the future. Regardless of the obstacles in your path towards better employment, you should recall you have made it this far on your strength and resilience along with the support of those who care for you. If you feel you need something more to explore and process these difficulties please reach out to a therapist of your choice, you aren’t in this alone!
