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How To Avoid Burnout During Your #JobSearch. MUst REad!

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Looking for a job is exhausting – physically, mentally and emotionally. Physically, a job search takes time, hours per week on a regular basis for months. Mentally, you need to stay on top of the industries and companies you are targeting, the people you have met and where you are in the process for various jobs. Emotionally, there will be ups and downs as some applications turn into interviews, but some go nowhere.

Anticipate that your energy will wane during your job search, and plan in advance how you will get re-energized and re-motivated. Heading off signs of burnout ensures that you continue your job search efforts at a regular cadence, rather than start and stop. Regular and ongoing action will best help you land a new role.

Here are five ways to avoid burnout during your job search:

1 – Schedule regular breaks as part of your job search routine

You might want to research every company on your target list at once to get it over with, but if you don’t take a break, you are more likely to gloss over important details. If you plow through all your networking calls at once, you may sound robotic and therefore disingenuous. If you fill your day with back-to-back activity, you leave no space for an inspired idea to come to you – such as remembering a former colleague you can reach out to or recognizing that something you learned could be of interest to one of your target companies.

Whether you input specific breaks into your calendar or set an alarm to ring every one to two hours, actually schedule your breaks. In addition, make plans for your breaks so you are excited to take them, and you pick activities that refresh you. A walk, a special coffee, or one episode of your favorite sitcom are short ways to refresh. Also plan for a longer break every few days – go out in nature, or see a friend (you can have a virtual lunch if you’re sheltering in place).

 

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2 – Tame your negative self-talk

Sometimes it’s not too much work, but not starting at all that you need to overcome. I have heard from job seekers who put off reaching out to their network or applying for jobs because the negative voice in their head tells them they’re not ready to start or not worthy of being hired. You’ll need to tame your negative self-talk before it talks you out of your job search.

Naming the voice is one way of taming the voice. When you name the voice, you put it outside of yourself. You can notice it and choose to let it go. You can even pick a funny name for your negative voice (like Newman, if you’re a Seinfeld fan) to give it less power. If you have a positive voice that comes up, name that one too, and call for it when Newman shows up.

3 – Keep a running list of wins

The emotional ups and downs of a job search can drain your confidence if you’re not careful. Keep a running list of wins – not just job search-related but in all areas of your life. Note even small positive moments of serendipity, like picking the fastest-moving line at the grocery. When you fall into a bad mood, refer to your list of wins for a pick-me-up.

Having a ready list of wins is a great tool for getting your mindset ready before an interview or networking meeting. Knowing your job search-related wins also gives you something positive to say when people inevitably ask you how your search is going. You can respond with a laundry list of what you have accomplished, and then people will know you’re on top of things and won’t give you unsolicited advice!

4 – Surround yourself with success stories

In addition to your own wins, you can lean on the wins of others. Look for articles of successful people in the industries and roles you’re interested in. Look for articles about people getting hired – regardless of industry or role. Seeing that other people have accomplished what you want to accomplish makes it appear more doable.

When I made a career pivot at age 40, it added an international dimension to my life that was surprising in that I had lived in the same city my whole life (including the college years). But I had been reading story after story of people remaking their lives and careers abroad, so that option seemed accessible even to me. The professional association related to your industry or functional area may publish profiles of successful members. Or you can find profiles in business publications, such as Forbes, Fast Company, Inc, etc.

5 – Have a cheerleader to call

Everyone should have a cheerleader in their network (if you don’t, build your network to include this and other key supporters). A cheerleader is the friend who is always your champion. They may not have advice or ideas or feedback for you, but they always have encouraging words of support. Cheerleaders are optimistic and enthusiastic, so you can count on them for an infusion of energy.

I am not advocating a regular pity party – you don’t want to drive your cheerleader away. But sometimes you may need to vent, or at least say candidly how you feel, and a cheerleader is someone who won’t be brought down by your negativity. In fact, their enthusiasm is often contagious and just speaking to them can help you bounce back, whether you talk about your job search specifically or not.

The job search is a marathon and a sprint

You want to have a cheerleader, success stories and the other three tactics available to you to keep you going in your job search. The day-in, day-out nature of job search is much like a marathon, where you need to be prepared for a long journey.

That said, the most productive job search has a sense of urgency and speed – you want to be the first to apply, or ideally hear about jobs before they are broadly posted. In this way, the job search is also a sprint, and you can use these tactics as energy boosts to propel your search forward.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website or some of my other work here.
Caroline Ceniza-Levine
Forbes.com | June 29, 2020

#Leadership : #StressManagement – 5 Ways #NewManagers can Protect Themselves from Burning Out….Don’t Try to Do it All–That’s a Recipe for Disaster.

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Your company just promoted you, and you’re a newly minted manager. After a well-deserved celebration and many congratulatory messages, you come face-to-face with one harsh truth that comes with your new role–the lack of empty time slots in your calendar.

In my experience, new managers tend to make one crucial mistake–trying to do it all. They attempt to keep up with their own workload while making themselves constantly available to their team. As noble as those intentions may be, working 15-hour days won’t make you a better leader. After all, no one does their best work when they’re overly stressed.

I learned this the hard way. As soon as I realized that my round-the-clock hours were neither conducive to my work nor my growing family, I made time management a priority. To prevent burnout, I implemented the following five strategies. It’s something that I still live by today, and as a manager, I can attest that they go a long way in keeping you productive (and sane).

LEARN HOW TO SAY NO

I get it, saying no to a colleague feels terrible. But if you keep saying yes to requests, you’ll end up with an ever-growing to-do list of work that isn’t mission-critical for you or your team.

You’ll feel better about saying “no” when you realize that as a result, you’ll have more time to do work that’s highly important, but not urgent. Sure, it might feel good to send those emails and cross those “simple” requests off your list–but are those tasks really going to have a meaningful impact on your team or business? Probably not. So the next time a project, request, or opportunity comes your way, picture where it would land in the table below. If it’s of low urgency and low importance, say “no.” It’s not worth your time.

 

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BE SUPER SELECTIVE WITH MEETINGS

You know that too many meetings can kill your productivity, but earlier in your career, you probably felt obliged to say yes to all of them. As a manager, you can’t afford to do this if you want to get any work done.

Before RSVPing, ask yourself–is there a clear agenda of what this meeting needs to accomplish? Are you the best person to add value in this meeting? Is this something you can’t resolve quickly via email or messenger? If the answer is no, then the meeting is probably not the best use of your time. If the answer is yes, focus the conversation by setting the meeting objective ahead of time. This way, you’ll avoid going into pointless tangents. If you need to decide on something in the meeting, make that clear in the agenda.

Related: 3 creative meeting formats to make your whole team more effective

DO A REGULAR CALENDAR AUDIT

Every now and then, it can be helpful to push the reset button on your schedule. There may be standing meetings that are no longer relevant or nonessential “check-ins” that take up your day-to-day. Do a bird’s eye view analysis to figure out which one of those activities are truly the best use of your time, and whether they’re something others in your team can handle.

You should also think about blocking out time for certain projects that don’t require a meeting–whether that be recruitment or catching up on company updates. Without scheduling those tasks in your calendar, you might find it difficult to make progress.

DON’T USE YOUR INBOX AS YOUR TO-DO LIST

Chances are, you’ll get more emails, not less, when you become a manager. So if you’ve been using your inbox as your to-do list, now is the time to put a stop to that practice. Organizing your “priorities” trains your brain to be “always on” and look for the next task to knock off the list. It does not train you to think about how those lists relate to your big-picture goals and responsibilities.

I use Trello and have separate horizontal lists for “People,” “Culture,” “Product,” “Sales,” and “Performance.” The lists are side-by-side, which allows me to think holistically about my output in a given day or week without the urge to cross off what’s at the “top” of the list.

Related: These to-do list methods will help you finally get organized 

DELEGATE OBJECTIVES, NOT TASKS

Delegating work should save you time, but you can waste a ton of it if you don’t do it right. For starters, delegating to-dos without providing full context results in a lot of hand holding, and as a result, employees don’t feel ownership over the work. This makes them more likely to check in with you and ask unnecessary questions like whether they are doing it “right.”

On the other hand, if you delegate an objective or mission (and provide a few guardrails), they won’t expect a step-by-step instruction manual from you along the way. They’ll write their own, and might even come up with creative solutions as a result. You’ll probably get a better output, and you’ll find yourself with more time to tackle essential items.

Time is our most coveted resource, and that becomes even more of a reality when you move into a management role. By following these methods, you’ll be able to succeed in your new job while maintaining a healthy personal life at the same time.

Christian Kinnear is the managing director and VP of sales at HubSpot.

 

FastCompany.com | August 3, 2018 | BY CHRISTIAN KINNEAR 4 MINUTE READ

#Leadership : 3 Lessons From Tim Ferriss About Avoiding Burnout…A Chance Encounter with the Productivity Guru yields Three Priceless Insights.

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We sat in the southern courtyard of Oheka Castle, the 127-room chateau-style estate along New York’s affluent North Shore. As the other guests at the Shopify Build-A-Business VI dinner made their way back inside, I saw Mr. Productivity himself sitting a few chairs down: Tim Ferriss.

tim-ferris

I’d been a staunch follower of his work since 2007 — the release year for the first edition of “The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anyway, and Join the New Rich.” Understandably, I was nervous to say hello. “Screw it,” I thought, taking a swig of courage and making my way over. I introduced myself, we toasted wine glasses, and then we covered topics ranging from what microphone I use for interviews to his upcoming book.

But there was a bigger question I had in mind. Turns out, it was the same one other Shopify contest winners wanted answered: How do entrepreneurs avoid burnout? Here are a few insights Ferris shared.

1. Identify your most important metric and scale it weekly.

There’s no shortage of data out there. Tools can help e-commerce entrepreneurs track everything from customer demographics to churn rate. So data isn’t the problem. It’s the sheer amount of data that eventually becomes stifling. There’s no way for one person to sift through it all.

Let’s use me as an example. My biggest metrics are shopping-cart conversion, shopping-cart size and shopping-cart abandonment rate. Now, let’s say I have no trouble getting users to my site or to checkout, but they always end up buying the cheapest item. My metric would be increasing shopping-cart size, so I’d track cart size week over week.

Again, the key here is to nail down just one metric. It should be whichever one is most important to your business at the moment. Then, focus on moving it forward week over week. Ferriss says the biggest risk for startups is not failing to execute — it’s executing too many (often unimportant) tasks at once.

Related: The Most Important Metric You Can Track

 

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2. Define the 80/20 rule in your inputs and desired outputs.

The goal of this exercise is twofold: to help you identify inefficienciesand strengths. Taking inventory of both allows you to eliminate the former while multiplying focus on the latter. You need to identify which activities will achieve the highest ROI for the least effort and then zero in on only those tasks. Once you do, you’ll alleviate burnout and get on the road toward sustainable, long-term growth.

If you’re still overwhelmed, focus on the negatives first — i.e., inefficiencies and psychic anchors holding you back. Oftentimes, getting rid of these alone will do the trick.

Related: The 80/20 Rule of Time Management: Stop Wasting Your Time

And now for my personal favorite. Let’s see if you can guess why.

3. Book a 4-week (or longer) vacation in the next 12 months.

Why four weeks or more versus the conventional two? It forces you to remove yourself as a bottleneck. Two weeks is just short enough for you to come back and try to put out fires. Four weeks forces you to develop systems, rules and policies that enable your business to run without you. The other side effect? You position yourself for a future windfall by making your business sellable.

But you can’t just go anywhere. Make sure the location isn’t associated with business or work. Ferriss suggests you get outside your normal routine and working environment. In fact, he recommends Japan.

It’s an opportunity to be in a completely alien environment without sacrificing safety. Social conventions are different. Western influence is absent. For most English speakers, Japanese language and handwriting are virtually unintelligible. Plus, there’s so much to explore. This shock to your system will give you a new perspective on everything — especially your business.

Book everything in advance and, ideally, with other people so it’s harder to cancel.

 

Entrepreneur.com |  October 24, 2016 |  Brian Roberts 

Your #Career : 7 Science-Backed Steps To Take Before Quitting A Job That’s Burning You Out…Here’s the Latest Research on the Small Tweaks you can Make to Fall Back in Love with a Job that’s Getting the Better of You.

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When you first moved your things into your office, you couldn’t wait to put your talents to use and impress your new colleagues with your dedication and drive.  But at some point, that passion to succeed did a slow fade. Instead of killing it on projects, you found yourself going through the motions, bored and uninspired.

Image of a frustrated or tired young brunette rubbing temples

You’re not the only one who spends the workday feeling this way. A 2014 Gallup report determined that 51% of employees were “not engaged” at the office—in other words, they don’t feel invested in their work, and they’re not getting anything meaningful out of it. Another 17.5% of employees described themselves as “actively disengaged.”

“It’s normal to have times when work just doesn’t seem fun anymore,” says Beverly E. Jones, an executive consultant and author of Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO. “But there’s a lot you can do to become more engaged.”

Before you decide it’s time to jump ship, hang tight—there are less drastic ways to rekindle your excitement. These seven tactics can help you discover the joy in your job and make your nine-to-five meaningful again.

1. REBOOT YOUR DAILY DUTIES

It sounds counterintuitive: If you’re not enthusiastic about your job, why would piling more work onto your plate crank your motivation?

That’s the genius behind a concept called job crafting: taking on new and different responsibilities to expand the boundaries of your job. It’s a new term for something career experts have long advised. Tackling fresh challenges stretches your comfort zone and forces you to learn to grow. That kick-starts your drive and makes your work more interesting, says Kerry Hannon, career and finance expert and author of Love Your Job.

While it’s great to volunteer for projects you hear about in meetings, you’ll get more out of it by coming up with something that’s your own and presenting it to your manager. Since it’s your idea, you’ll be more invested in it, says Hannon. Plus, taking initiative shows that you’re thinking bold, and that can improve your professional rep and help you move higher up in the company.

To brainstorm boundary-pushing ideas, Hannon recommends reading trade websites and setting up Google alerts, which will notify you of the latest news in your industry. “Being in the know can inspire you to think of projects you might be able to nominate yourself for—or start on your own,” she says.

 

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2. BUILD MOOD-BOOSTING MOVEMENT INTO YOUR WORK SCHEDULE

Hunched over a screen or sitting in a conference room most of the day means that energizing oxygen doesn’t circulate through your body. What registers to you as disinterest in and unhappiness with your work might actually be signs that your body craves activity, like a post-lunch walk.

Science backs up the benefits of a midday reboot: A 2015 study found that a 30-minute lunchtime stroll three times a week for 10 weeks boosts enthusiasm, increases relaxation, and tames on-the-job tension. Additional researchshows that walking during the workday ignites creativity and the flow of ideas.

Can’t get away for a half hour? Ask your manager or team members if you can schedule a walking meeting, suggests Jones. Even a 10-minute stretch session in an empty conference room can make you feel alert again.

Keep your energy cranked by resisting coffee refills (caffeine can make it hard to sleep later) and vending machine trips, as sugar typically causes blood sugar levels to spike—then plunge. Instead, fuel up with foods that contain lean protein and complex carbs. Office-friendly sources include yogurt, nuts, peanut butter packets, hummus, air-popped popcorn, and of course, fruits and veggies.

Related: Applying For A “Step Up” Job? 4 Ways To Tell If You’re Really Ready

3. MAX OUT YOUR COMPANY BENEFITS

It’s common for workers to think about employee benefits strictly in terms of health coverage and vacation days, says Sarah Flaherty, LearnVest HR business partner, but that would be a mistake. Benefits are key pieces of your compensation, and you should make sure you are maximizing what you get out of them. “Your employment package often goes well beyond base salary,” says Flaherty.

Some perks offered these days include different types of insurance, gym subsidies, cut-rate tickets for shows and travel, profit sharing, and a 401(k) match program.

“There are often little-known benefits that employees may not be familiar with, such as programs that provide confidential professional counseling services or tuition reimbursement,” says Flaherty. “Another example that I’ve seen is an extension of health care benefits such as covering the cost of IVF or an adoption assistance program that covers the costs associated with adoption—such as agency or legal fees.”

Taking advantage of these benefits can help you see your job in a different light—instead of a gig that’s become a bit uninspiring and routine, your nine-to-five life actually opens up opportunities for you that help you and your family grow and stretch your boundaries, not to mention save money.

Feeling more fulfilled during your workday again may simply be a matter of investigating all the benefits you have access to. “Employees should be sure to pay attention to communications about benefits all year round—not just during benefits season. It is also helpful to leverage the benefits expert in their company if they have any questions about what is being offered,” suggests Flaherty.

Related: 5 Often-Overlooked Company Benefits That Can Help Boost Your Bottom Line

4. PRACTICE POSITIVITY

It’s hard to resist listening in on a gripe session about higher-ups or swapping war stories concerning difficult clients. Gossip helps bond you to your coworkers, and it feels pretty harmless (when it’s not about you, of course).

But there’s a downside. Too much gossip can be negative and toxic, sapping your emotional energy and lowering morale without you realizing it. If you’re already feeling blah about work, hearing about backstabbing coworkers or company infractions “makes you feel worse,” says Jones. Research also showsthat badmouthing can leave employees more cynical about their jobs, which further sinks your happiness and sense of fulfillment.

Though it can be hard to resist, try to keep the negativity to a minimum. You’re not powerless against the office gossip machine: One recent study demonstrates that you can neutralize it by changing the subject or by preemptively making positive comments.

For example, if a coworker starts bashing another staffer, interrupt her by voicing a positive comment about him, or change the subject entirely by asking about her weekend plans.

5. REFRESH YOUR DESK

You might boast to colleagues that you know exactly where everything is on your desk despite the fact that it’s covered in piles of paper. While a little clutter can actually boost your performance by helping your brain zero in on what needs to get done, that mess can also be a motivation suck. A Princeton University study shows that excessive clutter competes for your attention, which makes you more distracted and less productive. The more visuals your brain has to sort through, the more overwhelmed and fatigued you become.

While you don’t need a totally pristine desk, the fact is, reducing most of the loose papers, folders, and objects in your visual field keeps you more organized and focused, which helps you do better at your job and feel more in control. “When you get rid of old papers or emails that are hanging around, it’s very liberating,” notes Jones. Clearing clutter from your workspace also clears it from your brain, and that can clarify your goals and motivate you to dive back into your work and accomplish more.

Related: 4 Ways To Turn A Job-Hopper History Into A Big Career Asset

6. TACKLE TOUGH OFFICE RELATIONSHIPS

Sometimes it’s not the job itself that’s the problem but the people you spend your workday with: the complainers, the scarily ambitious, the petty-minded staffers who make a big deal out of things that don’t matter. Navigate too many difficult personalities day after day, and no wonder you’re unhappy.

If a colleague is genuinely causing you grief on a regular basis, Hannon recommends inviting her for a one-on-one talk. “You’ll need some backbone here, but be positive and do your best to be polite,” she says. “Calmly explain that it’s not okay to treat you this way or act the way he or she does. It’s possible the person is unaware that what he or she is doing is upsetting you, and will apologize and back off.”

If that doesn’t work, or if the person making your work life miserable is a higher-up, talk to your manager or human resources about the situation. Be careful about asking if you can be reassigned. “It’s not always easy for your manager to rearrange work assignments,” says Jones, and inadvertently, you might be branded difficult yourself. “Unless there’s a crisis, I’d start by asking your manager for guidance about how to work more effectively with that person,” she adds. “Then, as a next step, ask if it is possible to modify your assignments so that you work with them less frequently.”

Above all, Hannon suggests framing the situation as something solvable. “Describe what’s been happening in detail, and explain how the situation is taking a toll on your ability to do your work,” she says. “Focus on the potential solution rather than dwelling on the problem.”

Related: Coworkers Behaving Badly: How To Keep 6 Toxic Colleagues In Check

7. PURSUE PURPOSE IN YOUR JOB

Maybe your work lends much-needed help to others. Perhaps the money you earn allows you to afford a nicer life for your family. Or your job taps into skills you’ve worked hard to develop, and you feel proud when you are asked to use them. Whatever it is, even the worst job can offer benefits that fill you with real purpose and meaning. Keeping this in mind will lift your spirits, making you more invested.

It’s not as hokey as it sounds. Research shows that people who feel that their work is meaningful are happier than those who have a high income. If you truly can’t think of something uplifting you get from your gig, take it upon yourself to create that meaning—say, by starting a mentoring program, making yourself available to younger employees who are just finding their footing, or organizing an office blood drive.

“It’s easy to lose track of what the point is or how you’re contributing or helping people, but if you’re actually providing a service or doing some good, that’s a contribution,” says Jones. “Focus on the meaning, on the contribution.”

FastCompany.com | RACHEL GRUMMAN BENDER  | 09.17.16 5:00 AM

#Leadership : How to Get the Best from your Employees without Burning them Out…What is it that Drives Employees to Lose Faith in their Employers, Lose Motivation in their Careers, and Drives them Away from your Company and to Another?

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We all want to maximize productivity within our businesses, large or small, yet the techniques of the past are rarely sufficient for a modern workforce. More and more, I’m finding that the personal touch goes a long way toward employee productivity, as well as morale and retention.

Free- Stones stacked on each other

What is it that drives employees to lose faith in their employers, lose motivation in their careers, and drives them away from your company and to another?

I find that it’s often a combination of bureaucracy and stress. To minimize both, you need to identify what it is that your employees reject, and figure out a way to fix the issue.

1. Minimize the red tape

One of the most frustrating walls an employee encounters is requiring permission to do their job, time and time again.

Yes, there are security reasons for some measures. But often, old policies from petty managers trying to hoard power have led to “the way things have always been done” inertia, which keeps bad rules in place.

Just like in marketing with conversion rates, minimizing the number of obstacles between employee and desired outcome will increase productivity.

2. Be liberal with non-financial benefits

I completely understand that many businesses operate on tight margins. Your best employees deserve raises and bonuses, but when the budget doesn’t allow it, you have to do something.

Why not offer a bit more paid time off or allow the occasional work-from-home day? Sometimes it can be as simple as setting up a room for the occasional sanctioned, on-the-job nap.

Personally, I’d much rather have an employee feel safe nodding off for half an hour than having them doze at their computer getting barely anything done for half their shift.

 

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3. Ditch the performance review

Or, rather, make sure they’re relevant if you have one. Performance reviews are a source of stress even for good employees — check out impostor syndrome — and they’re often just filed away and never referenced again.

Unless your reviews are both accurate and used regularly, they’re probably doing more harm than good.

Frankly, I think official performance reviews are an antiquated relic from the ghost of management past. If you’re paying attention and have a working relationship with your employees, you’ll be able to tell how they’re performing.

More importantly, if you’re open and they can come to you with problems they face, you can help stave off the issues that drive down their morale. Half of the reason for a negative performance review is toiling under strict conditions that limit an employee’s ability to work in the first place.

 

4. Establish a way to report and address problems

Part of this comes from fostering a culture of gentle management. I’m not saying you need to make friends with all of your employees, but you should be approachable and attentive when they have something to say.

If the problem is a business system, consider why it’s causing an obstacle to productivity and look into alternatives. If it’s not something you can change, at least consult with the employee about why that’s the case.

One circumstance that may come up is when an employee is the problem. Sometimes a new hire just isn’t working out, and their coworkers are better positioned to see it than you.

You don’t need to set up an anonymous tip line for bad behavior, but you can accept employee advice when a developer tells you the new guy is consistently breaking things and barely doing their job.

5. Trust your employees to do what they do best

Ideally, you will avoid the above situation by hiring a competent, intelligent team. The number-one thing you can do is stay out of their way and let them do their thing. Eliminating red tape and bureaucracy is one part of it, but another is being more of a facilitator than a dictator.

Provide guidance and advice. Establish goals and plans. Don’t micromanage their hours and set unrealistic deadlines. If they need more resources, help them obtain them or explain why the restrictions exist. Keep them in the loop and aware of what’s going on in the bigger picture, so they know what they’re working toward.

The ideal situation is one of trust, awareness, and facilitation. The days where management is a harsh gatekeeper of information and resources are gone. We live in a world where your best employees will be more than happy to jump ship unless you give them a reason to stick with you.

Sometimes, yes, that’s going to be money, and yes, you’re going to lose some good employees when your budgets are tight. You’d be surprised, however, just how many good people are willing to stick around when you simply have a pleasant place to work.

James Parsons is a content marketing influencer, entrepreneur, and writer. He writes for large publishers including Entrepreneur, Inc., and The Huffington Post. You can reach contact him on his website or on his Twitter profile.

 

Businessinsider.com | August 18, 2016 |  James Parsons 

 

Your #Career : 3 Signs That You’re Burnt Out…Take some Time to Honestly Assess the Amount of Stress in your Life & Find Ways to Reduce It Before it’s Too Late. Burnout isn’t Like the Flu; it Doesn’t Go Away After a Few Weeks Unless you Make some Changes in your Life

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We often hear about how workers are disengaged. A Gallup poll found that only around one out of every eight employees worldwide are actually fully engaged in their work, and the remaining seven are disengaged, at least to some degree.

Free- Bubble on the Bubble

Sometimes, this lack of engagement results from a lack of interest in what you’re doing. “I dreamed of being a photographer my whole life, but I took this job as a secretary because it pays well,” or “I always wanted to be an artist, but I work at this dentist’s office to pay the bills” — those stories are all too common. It’s not often that we hear about people who dreamed their entire lives about becoming astronauts, doctors, or musicians, and how they are actually successful in those particular career paths.

 Pace yourself. If you value your job, care for it like you would anything else that you care about — work evenly and at the appropriate pace. It’s unwise to give it an abundance of attention for several months, get burnt out, and have to neglect portions of your work, and then start the cycle all over again.

Even if you have your dream career, you can only give so much of yourself to your job before it starts to take a toll. Sure, give 100% while you are at work, but when it’s time to go home, work should be done until the next work day. There are some really great companies out there these days, ones that know attracting and keeping talent means giving a little to get a lot. Some companies have onsite daycare, some allow their employees to telecommute, and others have recreational facilities onsite so that employees can get some time away from their desks to stretch their legs and have a little fun.

No matter how many perks are offered, how much an employer tries to set you up for success, or how much you like what you’re doing, at the end of the day, it’s partly up to you to manage your own work-life balance. Work can be addictive. Checking emails during off-work hours, reviewing reports at night, and logging into systems because you just want to check “one thing real quick” can be unhealthy.

After a while, the line blurs, and work life and home life are really no different. This can be so unhealthy that Germany was actually considering passing a law prohibiting people from sending work-related emails after 6 p.m. “There is an undeniable relationship between constant availability and the increase of mental illness,” Labor Minister Andrea Nahles told the Rheinische Post.

What do you think about Germany’s potential future decision to make emailing after 6 p.m. illegal? Do you think you’re working too hard? Here are a few signs you may be so stressed out that you’re becoming burnt out.

1. Coffee does nothing

More than half of American adults drink coffee on a daily basis. You may be thinking, “I’ve become kind of immune to coffee because I drink a few cups every day.” But coffee should still affect you to some degree, no matter who you are. So if you can drink a cup or two of Joe and then easily nap afterwords, you may be so stressed out that you just want to zonk out.

“The EEG machines that show increased brain activity post-coffee don’t lie — but some people swear that caffeine doesn’t affect them. What’s probably happening with these caffeine denialists, says [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][study author Michael Breus], is that they’re so exhausted that their levels of calm-inducing neurotransmitters are very high. Theseneurotransmitters help override caffeine’s effects, or they set to work on a different area of the brain to kick-start the sleep process — so the caffeine is working, but the coffee drinkers aren’t reacting to it. In other words, they’re not superhuman; they’re just super-tired,” according to data published in a Huffington Post report.

 

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2. You’re experiencing physical symptoms

According to WebMD, the physical symptoms of stress include the following:

  • Low energy
  • Headaches
  • Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
  • Aches, pains, and tense muscles
  • Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
  • Insomnia
  • Frequent colds and infections
  • Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
  • Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear
  • Cold or sweaty hands and feet
  • Excess sweating
  • Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
  • Clenched jaw and grinding teeth.

Burnout can effect more than just your ability to put your best face forward — it can actually make you physically sick. That’s not to mention all of the emotional and mental health-related problems you can experience as a result of too much work stress, as well. These emotional symptoms range from feeling frustrated and overwhelmed to avoiding your loved ones.

 

3. Success doesn’t feel like success

When you do well at your job — when you receive accolades from your superiors, clients, or coworkers — does that rejuvenate you, or does it feel like you don’t deserve the praise (or that the praise doesn’t really matter)?

If you are a high achiever, you may be particularly susceptible to this symptom. At first, you give 200 percent of yourself — you over perform and everything is going really well. Except, there’s one big problem: You’re overdoing it, putting way too much into your job and seeing it as a sprint instead of a marathon. This sets you up for short-term success that cannot be maintained over the long run.

Because you excelled so much in the beginning, you place more and more pressure on yourself. And, according to Psychology Today: “Irritability often stems from feeling ineffective, unimportant, useless, and an increasing sense that you’re not able to do things as efficiently or effectively as you once did. In the early stages, this can interfere in personal and professional relationships. At its worst, it can destroy relationships and careers. … Despite long hours, chronic stress prevents you from being as productive as you once were, which often results in incomplete projects and an ever-growing to-do list. At times, it seems that as hard as you try, you can’t climb out from under the pile.”

If any of these signs or symptoms sound like you, it’s time to take action. “Take some time to honestly assess the amount of stress in your life and find ways to reduce it before it’s too late. Burnout isn’t like the flu; it doesn’t go away after a few weeks unless you make some changes in your life,” says Psychology Today.

Pace yourself. If you value your job, care for it like you would anything else that you care about — work evenly and at the appropriate pace. It’s unwise to give it an abundance of attention for several months, get burnt out, and have to neglect portions of your work, and then start the cycle all over again.

CheatSheet.com | April 28, 2016 | 

 

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#Leadership : Overcoming Burnout: 5 Ways To Get Back On Track At Work…What Is Burnout? Career Burnout is a Chronic Psychological Condition Characterized by Exhaustion, Cynicism & a Lack of Professional Efficacy

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Why People Experience Burnout ?  Excessive workloads, unrealistic time pressures and resulting exhaustion certainly contribute to burnout, but they alone are not responsible. Day-to-day social interactions and a lack of civility in the workplace are a primary cause.

Burnout_Woman

“I haven’t seen you smile in a week,” Anne vividly recalls her husband saying. She was in the depths of burnout. She worked as a medical professional in a relentlessly pressure-packed environment, with an unreasonably heavy workload, yet she didn’t think her job was the source of her unhappiness. She had come to blame herself, believing she was simply incompetent.

With the support of her husband and a counselor, Anne began to see that work and misery didn’t have to be synonymous. She realized there was a difference between being busy and burdened, and she regained control, partly by making an effort to pause throughout the day to relax or exercise. Eventually, she even recognized that she could truly be good at her job.

Anne is just one of an increasing number of people who have experienced workplace burnout. “It’s more common than the average worker recognizes,” says Chris Ebberwein, Ph.D., a behavioral faculty member at Wesley Family Medicine, University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita and member of the American Psychology Association.  “It can creep into your life and make you start to think unhappiness at work is normal.”

 

What Is Burnout?

Career burnout is a chronic psychological condition characterized by exhaustion, cynicism and a lack of professional efficacy, says Christina Maslach, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. “It’s not simply that people are tired…It’s not just that people have a bad attitude,” she says. “It’s that they’re working in a socially toxic workplace,” one that lacks support and transparency from supervisors and colleagues.

The idea of workplace burnout first gained traction in the 1970s, but awareness of the problem has peaked lately. “The workplace is just squeezing people harder and harder in a lot of ways, and burnout is that reaction to chronic, everyday stressors,” says Maslach. “People experiencing burnout talk about erosion—I love my job, I’m good at my job, but working in this environment is socially toxic.”

Job burnout affects professionals working across all occupations, but appears to be most prevalent among those in service jobs, particularly physicians, 46% of whom have reported experiencing it, according to the Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report 2015.

 

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Why People Experience Burnout

Excessive workloads, unrealistic time pressures and resulting exhaustion certainly contribute to burnout, but they alone are not responsible. Day-to-day social interactions and a lack of civility in the workplace are a primary cause.

“Something as little as someone rolling their eyes can wear away at you,” says Maslach. “It’s also sarcastic tone of voice, being nasty and rude. It’s what you say, how you say it and how you act.”

According to Maslach, There are 6 Areas Where Trouble can Lead to Burnout. These are:

1. Workload: Do you have too many tasks and not enough time to complete them, or too few resources? Is the flow of your assignments unsustainable?

2. Control: Does your job allow you a level of autonomy? Do you have control over what you’re doing and when?

3. Reward and positive feedback: When you do something valuable for your employer, are you recognized for your work? Do you feel appreciated?

4. Workplace community: Do you work in a supportive, transparent environment, or are you surrounded by destructive competition and gossip?

5. Fairness: Is everyone within your organization treated with respect, fair opportunity and equal access, or do you perceive favoritism and cheating?

6. Values: Do you find your work meaningful, or does it require you to compromise your personal values?

 

Overcoming Burnout

If you feel like you’re on the path to burnout, here are five ways to get back on track.

1. Seek input from within your organization.
In many cases, professional burnout is not exclusive to one individual within an organization. Identify other employees who may be experiencing the problem and collaborate with them to start to fix it. “People have to work together to figure out what’s creating a less than ideal working environment,” says Maslach. “Ask yourselves, ‘How do we turn this around?’ See if there are ways for the organization to work with everybody to find a solution.”

A successful example of this is CREW (Civility, Respect and Engagement in the Workplace), a burnout intervention program first implemented in Veterans Health Administration hospitals. Over a six-month period, participants met weekly to discuss respectful workplace relationships and participate in communication exercises. Outside of meetings, they were encouraged to practice positive social exchanges. The program yielded improved civility and decreased burnout more than one year later.

2. Establish new relationships.
If everyone in your office social circle has given up on escaping the burnout rut, it’s time to make a change. Surround yourself with coworkers who want to make positive strides in their work lives and draw support from one another. In “Conquering Burnout,” in Scientific American, Maslach and a coauthor write, “Receiving good vibes from others is an uplifting experience, but so, too, is expressing them to others.”

3. Find meaning in your work.
Identify the most fulfilling elements of your work and dedicate more time to them. If you can, talk to your supervisor about better aligning your responsibilities with your strengths and interests. “If you feel like the projects you’re taking on match what you like to do, burnout will diminish, because you’re enjoying yourself at work,” says Ebberwein.

4. Make a conscious effort to take breaks.
Whether for a few minutes or a few days, take time away to recharge. Set an alarm every 30 minutes as a reminder to get up and move around the office, suggests Maslach in “Conquering Burnout,” and make use of your vacation days. “Some companies love people who never take breaks,” says Ebberwein. “But that praise is moving them down a path to burnout.” If appropriate, talk to your employer about switching to a more flexible work schedule. Customizing your schedule to your needs can offset burnout by giving you a greater sense of control.

5. Change organizations or career paths.
Despite your best efforts, sometimes you can’t possibly overcome burnout where you work. In that case, beating burnout may require you to consider a new job or an entirely new field. “Some jobs are, by nature, difficult, tiring and stressful,” says Ebberwein. “If you can’t say you do it for a specific reason, explore other options.”

 

Forbes.com | June 23, 2015 | Vicky Valet