Burnout can be debilitating, but it doesn’t need to be permanent. By recognising early warning signs and taking preventative steps you can lower stress levels significantly and alleviate burnout altogether.
Set aside regular breaks throughout your day. This could involve something as simple as walking to the kitchen for coffee or taking a stroll outside for some fresh air.
1. Set Your Goals
As a leader, recognizing symptoms of burnout among your team members and helping them find balance can be essential to their success. Encourage team members to express their emotions freely and confide in one another when needed.
Setting goals and helping your team members set their own is also vital for successful teamwork. Unrealistic expectations can lead to feelings of overwhelm and eventually burnout; so setting attainable goals that reflect company values can be particularly helpful in combatting burnout.
Make sure your employees have something exciting or motivating to look forward to, like a trip or activity, which will provide them with motivation when experiencing burnout. If you need help setting goals, read this blog post for tips!
2. Take Regular Breaks
Lack of workplace breaks can quickly lead to workplace burnout. Stress levels rise, professional efficacy suffers and physical ailments arise such as headaches. By taking regular breaks you can stay focused and increase productivity.
It is also crucial to choose activities that don’t rely on the prefrontal cortex, such as socializing with coworkers or engaging in meaningful movement, such as walking. Such activities help revitalize our minds by showing that there’s more beyond our work that needs our consideration.
If your team doesn’t already take regular breaks, consider creating a policy to accommodate micro-breaks throughout the day or longer breaks at least twice weekly. Leading by example is key in encouraging employees to adopt this new habit; BetterUp offers guidance and accountability so that this change is implemented smoothly.
3. Prioritize Your Tasks
Burnout can result from ineffective time management and an overwhelming workload, among other sources. Tools like Eisenhower Matrix can assist employees in prioritizing tasks by considering both importance and urgency; then prioritizing those most crucial to productivity while balancing work life better overall.
Other potential sources of burnout can include lack of support from coworkers and management. Gallup research indicates that managers account for the greatest variance in employee engagement scores; so it’s essential that your team members feel supported at work.
Establishing strong relationships at work can also help reduce stress and increase job satisfaction. Make time to spend time with colleagues outside of work to break up daily routines, or find creative ways to refresh yourself like taking up art again or discovering something new as hobbies.
4. Spend Time Alone
Some may find being alone uncomfortable or disquieting, but spending time alone is actually beneficial to our wellbeing. Spending time by yourself helps energize, inspire and build confidence as well as process emotions more freely – an essential aspect for all. Burnout-prone individuals especially can find this time alone invaluable.
Avoid burnout by spending more time doing what you enjoy, and getting adequate rest. Ample rest will help manage stress while giving you enough energy to complete all of the tasks on your to-do list.
If you are experiencing burnout, therapy could be an ideal way out. Therapists can teach how to cultivate a positive mindset, set boundaries and manage stress effectively while developing an coping mechanism so you can avoid further burnout in the future.
5. Reframe Your Negative Thoughts
Burnout is caused by stress and low morale, leading to reduced productivity, errors or accidents at work and employee churn – all costly consequences for businesses and their bottom lines.
Mindfulness can help reframe negative thoughts and emotions. Take some deep breaths to relax, focus on your body and notice any sensations or emotions as you do so. For additional support try practicing body scan meditation which involves paying attention to each part of your body separately while noting sensations or emotions as each is examined by focussed mindfulness meditation.
Communication of mental health needs with those close to you is also key – including family members, friends and coworkers. Seeking support from others does not equate to weakness; in fact it may help avoid burnout altogether. You could even seek additional professional therapy help if required.
6. Practice Mindfulness
Stress is an unavoidable part of everyday life, and work-related stress can quickly turn into burnout without proper management. One effective tool that can prevent burnout is mindfulness meditation practice which encourages individuals to become more self-aware about their emotions and experiences. By increasing mindfulness practice amongst our society as a whole, mindfulness helps individuals learn how to regulate stress levels while improving relationships by teaching people how to be present in each moment of time.
Burnout symptoms often manifest themselves through fatigue, cynicism and decreased productivity; however, it can also manifest itself more subtly. If you find yourself vulnerable to burnout, try adding these mindfulness practices into your daily routine:.
7. Take Time Off
Burnout can often be linked with excessive stress and anxiety, which in turn can lead to sleeping issues, high blood pressure and depression. To alleviate your stress levels and maintain optimal wellbeing, practicing mindfulness meditation, regular physical exercise as well as eating healthful meals that include folate for improved mood and immunity will help. Also ensure a restful night’s rest.
If you’re experiencing burnout, it is essential that you ask for time off when necessary and find an employer who prioritizes wellbeing and supports employees taking breaks. Otherwise, it can seem impossible to break away from work when concerns about career prospects arise. Pulse surveys can quickly identify issues quickly and allow team members to provide candid feedback; improving workplace productivity and morale – the more energized your team becomes the greater their productivity will be on the job!
8. Reach Out for Help
Burnout can be an enormously detrimental problem for employees, yet its prevention doesn’t need to be inevitable. An important step toward protecting employees against burnout lies in responding early signs of stress or burnout symptoms.
These symptoms of burnout may include increased irritability or frustration; employees experiencing burnout may find it easier to lose their temper with coworkers or family members more frequently or become overwhelmed by simple tasks.
If you recognize signs of burnout, don’t wait – seek professional assistance immediately. A therapist can provide helpful strategies for relieving stress. Support groups or online communities can also be great sources for sharing challenges – providing a sense of belonging while encouraging team morale and decreasing burnout.
9. Reevaluate Your Priorities
Technology makes it increasingly easy to take on too much work, leaving many feeling overburdened and stressed at work. To restore balance and reduce anxiety in the workplace, it’s vital to set your priorities back and prioritize tasks which matter the most to you.
If you are feeling burnt out at work, take some time off or find ways to reduce your workload. Engaging in self-care practices and seeking assistance are also great strategies for combatting burnout.
If you find yourself feeling fatigued and disillusioned at work, it may be time for a change. Burnout is often caused by factors beyond our control such as unrealistic expectations or an unpleasant work relationship; finding a workplace that understands how to prevent burnout will be key. Reassessing workload by keeping track of time logs or delegating low priority tasks to other members may also help.
10. Don’t Overcommit
Sleep, breaks, and finding ways to decompress may help ease exhaustion and cynicism; however, they don’t address the source of burnout itself. In order to stay away from burnout altogether, you need to change both your approach and perspective to work.
Make sure you’re not over-committing by considering the impact of each commitment on your mental load, whether or not it can be delegated to someone else, and how much time will need to be devoted to deciding to say no when necessary.
Make sure to prioritize your own needs by creating a self-care plan and prioritizing eating well, getting sufficient sleep, and scheduling time each day for activities you enjoy – these habits will allow your body and mind to work optimally and be less susceptible to burnout.
