Job Burnout: Is it Worth It?
Sometimes we just have too much on our plates. At first good time management and sleep deprivation make everything seem workable, but over time the illusion begins to fade away. I know that is my experience.
I am a disillusioned college grad. Just like all the other people my age I am trying to build a life. I work a full time job. Just like many other people, I feel over worked and under paid. While the money isn’t exactly rolling in, it pays my bills. I teach part time to bring in a little extra spending money. On top of that I have side writing jobs (freelance ), and I am working on novels for additional revenue. Some where in there I am supposed to have a relationship, have a social life, housekeeping, bill paying and all my other adult responsibilities. On most days, I can easily make this work. Sure, I have moments of being overwhelmed. I do not sleep much. I drink tons of caffeine. In the end, I keep up with my work, homework gets graded, lecture gets planned, freelance articles are written, I make progress on my novels, bills get paid, house stays relatively clean, and I see my boy friend and friends enough to keep me happy.
Then there are times when this just doesn’t work at all. When the workload at work increases, I want to stay over to play catch up. However, we do not have the money for the over time and usually I have somewhere else I need to be. I feel guilty about leaving, but I have very little choice in the matter. This is when job burnout starts to set in.
Throughout the semester, I have no issues keeping up with the work load. At the end of the term I have some many final projects to grade and so much paperwork to wrap up, I can spend hours each night trying to stay on schedule. I will be grading papers from the time I get home until midnight.
Having one of these scenarios happen is hard enough, but I can usually make it work. When they both happen at the same time, that is when the job burnout becomes undeniable. I am pretty much wiped out by the work day, and then I still have four to seven hours of work still to go once I leave.
Pretty soon I am just exhausted. I am barely keeping afloat as it is. Now my apartment is getting more and more cluttered. I haven’t had a meal that resembled anything healthy in days. When I do finally get my class work done, I am totally unmotivated to do any thing else. If I do write any articles or work on my novels, I am usually not happy with the results. Most times my brain is so fried, I would rather watch TV or play Grand Theft Auto, or do something that required little thought.
I am mentally and physically exhausted. I only sleep a couple hours a night until I crash. When I am at work, I am annoyed by little things I usually ignore. I am angry with myself for not being able to keep up. When I have to leave (and I know co-workers are staying late), I feel guilty for not having more time to work. I have little anxiety attacks (trouble breathing). I get horrible headaches. I even get a very negative attitude, and I become very irritable. I have hit the full fledged job burnout phase. No amount of planning or organization has helped me deal with the added stress.
According to Henry Neils the President at www.Assessment.com, there are signs of job burnout:
1. Chronic fatigue – exhaustion, tiredness, a sense of being physically run down
2. Anger at those making demands
3. Self-criticism for putting up with the demands
4. Cynicism, negativity, and irritability
5. A sense of being besieged
6. Exploding easily at seemingly inconsequential things
7. Frequent headaches and gastrointestinal disturbances
8. Weight loss or gain
9. Sleeplessness and depression
10. Shortness of breath
11. Suspiciousness
12. Feelings of helplessness
13. Increased degree of risk taking
If you have some of these symptoms, you may be facing the same problem. I wish that I could say that over time, it would just go away. Job burnout usually doesn’t fix itself. The work load may lighten over time, but your attitude and emotional damage may remain. If you find yourself working lots of extra hours, is it possible to gradually start cutting back on them? Yes I know: How will my work get done? Maybe give your self one night a week where you will not work over. Take that time to relax or focus on the things in your life you have been neglecting.
Sometimes vacation is the answer. I know, not everyone has vacation time saved up. If you do have vacation time, you may not have a good time to try and take it. Maybe give yourself a long weekend. Don’t take a whole week, but a day or two to get you away from the office.
Maybe it is time to move on from a job. Maybe it is your difficult boss, or maybe the job just isn’t a good fit for you. I’m not saying go in tomorrow and quit your job. I am only suggesting that you start to take a look around for something that is a better fit. Don’t just take the first semi decent job that comes along. It doesn’t matter if it pays a little more, but it is on the other side of the city. Make sure the switch will be a step up. Going up one dollar an hour would be nice, but if you are taking a cut a benefits is it worth it. Do your homework, and see if you can find a new career. It may not happen overnight, it may not even happen in a month. Take your time. Remember that your job may be making you miserable, but it is a job.
