Very highly motivated workers are the most prone to getting burnt out at work. The idea is to shine your light, without lighting the candle from both ends. If you consider yourself a workaholic, these are a few signs that you should look out for.
Slow energy recharge
One of the obvious signs of a burnout is lack of energy to do regular things like spend time with your family, go to the gym or even cook. The feeling of being depleted after work is not a good sign. Regular and complete sleep is the way body primarily repair and recharge but a burnout will cause inconsistent sleeping pattern. People who are over stressed at work will most likely lose sleep over work related issues. People put early alarms but are so tiered that they will hit snooze over and over until they frantically wake up realizing they are already late. If you too like to set your alarm too early so that you can use the snooze button a couple of times before waking up, it is your first sign in the morning of a job burnout.
Dreaded weekly schedule
Arriving at work at dawn or leaving well into the evening is stressful on its own. Being forced to work at these hours can add to your stress exponentially. Some people go through the rest of the day as a like a zombie. If you feel liberated after a Friday at work, this means you are truly stressed and feel free when weekend rolls around. Similarly, dreading every Monday for having to go back to work is a clear sign of burnout. Stress at work is inevitable but every moment should not be stressful and you shouldn’t be constantly overwhelmed.
Work related conversations
One of the obvious signs of a burnout is that when your spouse, partner, friend or family asks you about your job, you would simply respond with a one-word response like “Fine”. It doesn’t matter if it’s a new job or an old one. “What do you do for a living” is quite a common question in cocktail parties but people who are burnt-out or stressed will find that question annoying. Not wanting to explain their job to people is a sign of someone who is sick of it. If you don’t remember your last accomplishment at work, the last time you felt satisfied while at work is a clear sign of job burnout.
Personal relations
The most common effect of stress is frequently losing your temper. To cope with these temper tantrums, you may sometime ‘explode’ on those around you. There is no doubt that venting can help but your problems at work should not be the only topic of discussion with your spouse or friends. Even your co-workers will be hesitant around you if you throw frequent temper tantrums and become difficult to work with.
