It is commonly believed that professional burnout is possible only when working in the office. However, in 2021 new employees were transferred to work at home, and the symptoms of burnout at work remained with them. Although it would seem, it is possible to work at home in a relaxed atmosphere, to take breaks at any time and not feel the breath of the bosses behind your back.
In this article, we will discuss how to determine the signs of burnout at work and what measures should be taken to correct the situation and maintain a high level of work efficiency even in the most challenging situations.
Is burnout at work at home really possible?
Of course, it is. Many people take on so many responsibilities that it makes absolutely no difference whether they work in an office or at home. They constantly spend time at their computers. Their heads are busy thinking about work for 12-14 hours a day, and they forget about the need to rest.
Very often, employers themselves contribute to the problem of burnout when employees work at home. They believe that their employees will be doing completely different things by working from home, which is not related to work and will not benefit the company. To prevent this, they constantly conduct meetings via skype and try in every possible way to control their employees, not even realizing that by such actions they only worsen the situation and decrease their ability to work.
Determining burnout at work
By what symptoms can you tell that you are burned out and urgently need a rest? You begin to have problems with sleep, your motivation to do something completely disappears, you feel tired and excessively irritable, which was not characteristic of you before. You begin to have depressive thoughts and become sluggish and inert.
Causes of burnout at work can be very different. Not all employees are happy that they have to work from home because it is essential to communicate with colleagues, direct interaction for many of them. When such people start working from home, they often feel lonely and isolated from the world. Since the opportunity to communicate with other people is one of the most important motives for successful work, the efficiency of such work decreases significantly.
Another cause of burnout is the need to organize one’s work schedule. Many specialists do not know how to do this, and if they make such a schedule, they do not follow it in the future, often being distracted by extraneous matters. Their attention is very often directed not on the performance of direct duties, resulting from burnout and having problems at work because they do not achieve the results set before them.
How to fight burnout at work at home?
The problem of many professionals working at home is the loss of time control. They sit down at the computer at 9 am and get up only at the end of the day, feeling incredibly tired. Do they manage to do more things than their colleagues? No, they don’t. They quickly lose focus and spend an hour doing things that can be done in only five minutes.
It is advisable to take breaks, not just two or three minutes to make tea, but if possible to go outside for a few minutes for a walk to get some fresh air. They should get a change of scenery and give their eyes and head a rest.
Enjoy the beauty of nature, take a walk in the park and inhale the scent of trees and flowers, enjoying every second.
Put the phone away as far away as possible
If you take a break and go for a walk to the nearest park, but take your smartphone with you to the Internet, and continue to deal with work matters, there will be no benefit from such a break.
Leave your smartphone at home, taking a watch to keep track of time. This is the only way you can switch gears and renew your energy.
Take small but frequent breaks
For example, after an hour or 2 hours of work, you can take a break for 5-10 minutes. You will be surprised, but you will manage to do a lot more in a day than you did before introducing the tradition with breaks.
Treat yourself to a delicious meal
Since fate has decreed that you work from home, have time to take as much positive from this situation as possible. You did a great job, and now you can reward yourself with some deliciousness. It is essential that the meal you prepared was tasty and healthy and had a high energy value.
Remember that the weekend is for rest
Many workaholics take advantage of the situation of working at home to show their best side. They offer their employer a full-time job, working seven days a week. You may get more money, but such a schedule with no days off will lead to burnout.
Don’t think that your employer will feel sorry for you. On the contrary, he will squeeze every possible resource out of you because his income directly depends on it. Your task is to consider your interests and work five days a week, not seven, two days a week devoted to pleasant activities, relaxation.
Create your own reward system
If all you do is work without any motivation, sooner or later burnout will come to you, and it will happen at the most inopportune moment.
To avoid this, divide your work into several stages and tasks and encourage yourself after completing each task. For example, send out all emails to clients, take 20 minutes to listen to your favorite music or make yourself a favorite drink (but without alcohol). Go to the store and buy yourself something sweet. Do something that pleases you.
Get into meditation
No matter how you feel about meditation, it’s what helps millions of people worldwide quickly rejuvenate and significantly reduce the likelihood of burnout in the workplace.
To meditate and relax, you don’t have to enter an altered state of consciousness or learn some secret techniques and methods. Relaxing meditation is quite accessible, and you can find suitable videos on YouTube. Not only will it bring you tremendous benefits, but it will do it in a short time without taking you away from your work.
Last modified: June 19, 2021
