The term work burnout (tiredness at work) is something that is increasingly found among workers. In some industries, even this phenomenon has become something that is considered normal, due to the high demands on tasks and work. Whereas prolonged work burnout can not only have a bad impact on employees, but also for the company. If many of the employees in a company experience work burnout, then, they will generally be more likely to become stressed, be less productive, and even result in high turnover rates. This of course can hamper the company's operations and increase unnecessary costs. Therefore, it is important to identify the symptoms of work burnout as soon as possible and take the necessary steps.
What is Work Burnout?
The World Health Organization defines work burnout as a workplace phenomenon characterized by feelings of fatigue, a negative view of work, and a decreased ability to complete work efficiently.
1. Feelings of tiredness (exhaustion), is the main symptom of burnout, which consists of physical, cognitive, and mental fatigue, which prevents a person from working effectively and feeling positive about what they are doing.
2. A negative view of work (cynicism), is another symptom in which employees lose interest in work and psychologically distance themselves from work. Instead of feeling involved with a project, coworker, or client, employees see it as something negative and want to stay away from it.
3, Decreased ability to be able to complete work efficiently (inefficiency) is a person's feeling of being incompetent, unproductive, or underachieving. Symptoms of burnout are generally characterized by worries and doubts that someone will not be able to complete a job well.
Despite having some similar symptoms, burnout itself is not the same as stress. Stress can cause employees to be too involved (over engagement) with their work environment. In some situations, stress can encourage employees to become anxious, causing them to exhibit hyperactive behavior that emphasizes urgency, thus making them stand out from others. Burnout, itself occurs due to continuous stress. When an employee experiences burnout, he or she is no longer too involved with work, but becomes disengagement and becomes unproductive.
Some other symptoms of burnout include:
1. Difficulty sleeping (Insomnia) and tired easily
Difficulty sleeping and persistent nightmares are one of the early symptoms of burnout. This is because prolonged stress can disrupt the hormone system that regulates sleep patterns. Even though a person can sleep for several hours, but, not infrequently, when he wakes up, he still feels tired and looks less energetic in carrying out his daily life at work. In addition, they also often experience headaches and stomach pains for a long time.
2. Changes in diet
A person who experiences burnout can experience changes in their diet, either becoming more eating or losing their appetite. When employees are too busy or think too much about work, they may eat less or, on the other hand, consume more food or drink to help them feel calmer.
3. Often feel anxious and frustrated
Feelings of anxiety and frustration are psychological symptoms that appear along with feelings of burnout. In general, employees who experience burnout feel uncomfortable with their thoughts and feelings, so they find it difficult to concentrate and are more emotionally sensitive. In this case, they become more easily annoyed with others, show negative attitudes towards work and coworkers, be cynical about life and work, and feel unsure about their ability to get the job done.
4. Decreased productivity
Some of the symptoms that are also the impact of burnout are decreased productivity in the work environment. When employees experience burnout, they are more likely to have difficulty meeting deadlines, procrastinate, make mistakes, show less commitment to their roles in the team, and even appear less concerned with the results and work processes. Not even infrequently, they finally decide to resign from their current workplace.
Things You Can Do to Overcome Work Burnout
There are several ways that can be done to overcome work burnout
1. Pay attention to the symptoms of burnout in employees
A decrease in the quality of work results and processes in general can be an indication of early symptoms of burnout in employees. Pay attention if employees continuously do not show satisfactory work results, or express negative views of work, because they could be experiencing burnout symptoms.
2. Invite employees to discuss their physical and psychological conditions
If an employee appears to be experiencing burnout symptoms, take a personal approach to find out their physical and psychological condition and discuss what can be done to deal with it, such as making an agreement not to discuss work outside of working hours. Even if they do not show symptoms of burnout, it never hurts to occasionally ask about their physical and psychological condition to make sure they can perform at their best. Show concern and support to employees regarding their well-being.
3. Give employees the opportunity to reduce stress
Burnout is basically derived from the accumulation of stress in the workplace, so providing an opportunity to relieve stress will be able to help employees deal with burnout. Providing timeouts or giving leave permission to employees, or even simply holding sessions to listen to employee complaints, will be able to help employees reduce stress, which in turn will have an impact on reducing burnout.
4. Revisit the structure / workload and culture in the organization or work team
Burnout is often caused by work demands that are too high, or a work system that is not well organized, resulting in unnecessary workloads. Burnout itself is not always caused by a workload that is too high (overload burnout), but it is possible for someone to experience burnout due to lack of challenges (under-challenged burnout) or when employees feel unable to professionally complete their work (neglect burnout).
Symptoms of burnout are something that needs to be identified immediately to avoid employees losing their motivation and productivity. Knowing the factors that can make employees motivated and vice versa will be very helpful to understand the potential for burnout. Therefore, early assessment of the potential, competence, and capabilities of employees can be important to be able to help take the right steps and strategies to minimize the risk of burnout for employees.
Written by Herjuno Tisnoaji - Resident Assessor of prasmul-eli
The term work burnout (tiredness at work) is something that is increasingly found among workers. In some industries, even this phenomenon has become something that is considered normal, due to the high demands on tasks and work. Whereas prolonged work burnout can not only have a bad impact on employees, but also for the company. If many of the employees in a company experience work burnout, then, they will generally be more likely to become stressed, be less productive, and even result in high turnover rates. This of course can hamper the company's operations and increase unnecessary costs. Therefore, it is important to identify the symptoms of work burnout as soon as possible and take the necessary steps.
What is Work Burnout?
The World Health Organization defines work burnout as a workplace phenomenon characterized by feelings of fatigue, a negative view of work, and a decreased ability to complete work efficiently.
1. Feelings of tiredness (exhaustion), is the main symptom of burnout, which consists of physical, cognitive, and mental fatigue, which prevents a person from working effectively and feeling positive about what they are doing.
2. A negative view of work (cynicism), is another symptom in which employees lose interest in work and psychologically distance themselves from work. Instead of feeling involved with a project, coworker, or client, employees see it as something negative and want to stay away from it.
3, Decreased ability to be able to complete work efficiently (inefficiency) is a person's feeling of being incompetent, unproductive, or underachieving. Symptoms of burnout are generally characterized by worries and doubts that someone will not be able to complete a job well.
Despite having some similar symptoms, burnout itself is not the same as stress. Stress can cause employees to be too involved (over engagement) with their work environment. In some situations, stress can encourage employees to become anxious, causing them to exhibit hyperactive behavior that emphasizes urgency, thus making them stand out from others. Burnout, itself occurs due to continuous stress. When an employee experiences burnout, he or she is no longer too involved with work, but becomes disengagement and becomes unproductive.
Some other symptoms of burnout include:
1. Difficulty sleeping (Insomnia) and tired easily
Difficulty sleeping and persistent nightmares are one of the early symptoms of burnout. This is because prolonged stress can disrupt the hormone system that regulates sleep patterns. Even though a person can sleep for several hours, but, not infrequently, when he wakes up, he still feels tired and looks less energetic in carrying out his daily life at work. In addition, they also often experience headaches and stomach pains for a long time.
2. Changes in diet
A person who experiences burnout can experience changes in their diet, either becoming more eating or losing their appetite. When employees are too busy or think too much about work, they may eat less or, on the other hand, consume more food or drink to help them feel calmer.
3. Often feel anxious and frustrated
Feelings of anxiety and frustration are psychological symptoms that appear along with feelings of burnout. In general, employees who experience burnout feel uncomfortable with their thoughts and feelings, so they find it difficult to concentrate and are more emotionally sensitive. In this case, they become more easily annoyed with others, show negative attitudes towards work and coworkers, be cynical about life and work, and feel unsure about their ability to get the job done.
4. Decreased productivity
Some of the symptoms that are also the impact of burnout are decreased productivity in the work environment. When employees experience burnout, they are more likely to have difficulty meeting deadlines, procrastinate, make mistakes, show less commitment to their roles in the team, and even appear less concerned with the results and work processes. Not even infrequently, they finally decide to resign from their current workplace.
Things You Can Do to Overcome Work Burnout
There are several ways that can be done to overcome work burnout
1. Pay attention to the symptoms of burnout in employees
A decrease in the quality of work results and processes in general can be an indication of early symptoms of burnout in employees. Pay attention if employees continuously do not show satisfactory work results, or express negative views of work, because they could be experiencing burnout symptoms.
2. Invite employees to discuss their physical and psychological conditions
If an employee appears to be experiencing burnout symptoms, take a personal approach to find out their physical and psychological condition and discuss what can be done to deal with it, such as making an agreement not to discuss work outside of working hours. Even if they do not show symptoms of burnout, it never hurts to occasionally ask about their physical and psychological condition to make sure they can perform at their best. Show concern and support to employees regarding their well-being.
3. Give employees the opportunity to reduce stress
Burnout is basically derived from the accumulation of stress in the workplace, so providing an opportunity to relieve stress will be able to help employees deal with burnout. Providing timeouts or giving leave permission to employees, or even simply holding sessions to listen to employee complaints, will be able to help employees reduce stress, which in turn will have an impact on reducing burnout.
4. Revisit the structure / workload and culture in the organization or work team
Burnout is often caused by work demands that are too high, or a work system that is not well organized, resulting in unnecessary workloads. Burnout itself is not always caused by a workload that is too high (overload burnout), but it is possible for someone to experience burnout due to lack of challenges (under-challenged burnout) or when employees feel unable to professionally complete their work (neglect burnout).
Symptoms of burnout are something that needs to be identified immediately to avoid employees losing their motivation and productivity. Knowing the factors that can make employees motivated and vice versa will be very helpful to understand the potential for burnout. Therefore, early assessment of the potential, competence, and capabilities of employees can be important to be able to help take the right steps and strategies to minimize the risk of burnout for employees.
Written by Herjuno Tisnoaji - Resident Assessor of prasmul-eli
