Contents
Professional burnout is the depletion of the psychological and physiological resources of a person, which is associated with negative experiences in the performance of work activities. Today, the view of this problem has changed dramatically. Modern research shows that professional burnout can happen to anyone, regardless of occupation, age and gender. Let’s figure out where professional burnout comes from, who is most threatened, is it possible to somehow avoid this disorder, and what to do if the once beloved work has turned into torture.
What is professional burnout
Your work more and more often seems too tiring to you, you feel like a squeezed lemon and more and more often you wonder if you made a mistake with your choice of profession? Congratulations! These can be signs of professional burnout.
Occupational burnout (BW) is the protection of our psyche from various adverse factors that affect a person in the process of work performed. Often this causes chronic stress and chronic fatigue syndrome. These two conditions exacerbate each other. According to experts, this is the main condition that causes professional burnout. The generally accepted theory of burnout is the three-factor model of K. Maslach and S. Jackson, which, under the burnout syndrome, combines the state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, manifested in the professions of the social sphere.
Why is there stress at work? The reasons can be very many: from overload, lack of justice or a decent salary to interpersonal conflicts or the need to act against one’s own conscience.
Signs of professional burnout
Everyone experiences professional burnout in their own way. But with any disorder, the body always sends signals that should tell the person: something went wrong. In the case of PV, such signs also exist.
It all starts with feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with the results of your work. No matter what a person does, it seems to him that this is not enough. As a result, over time, frustration increases, anger, a feeling of exhaustion and helplessness appear. If this condition is not stopped in time, emotional disorders can develop into very real illnesses.
PT can also be indicated by symptoms that are difficult to associate with work at first. Nevertheless, with such a violation, many have problems with sleep, headache, indigestion, chronic fatigue, apathy, increased blood pressure, reduced immunity. Similar symptoms can also appear against the background of normal overwork. But if this is the case, then a week’s vacation will be enough for the employee to return to normal. And in some cases, it is enough just to sleep well and relax on the weekends. But if the vacation ends, and irritation, depression, unwillingness to return to work and difficulties with concentration do not go away, this is a real professional burnout.
ST stages
Professional burnout is a complex process that does not occur suddenly, but can develop over months and even years. Domestic studies of PV are based on the system of G. Selye, corresponding to the stages of stress development (3 phases). The first phase – tension – a person has periods of anxiety and depression, during which he experiences psycho-traumatic situations associated with the work performed. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself, professional activity, a person does not see a way out of the situation.
The second phase is resistance, resistance. Here there is a situation of saving emotions, a person begins to show cynicism, there is a reduction in professional duties and emotional and moral disorientation.
The third phase – exhaustion – is characterized by emotional and personal detachment, emotional decline. Psychosomatic and autonomic disorders develop.
What happens to a person at different stages of the disorder
The first symptoms of burnout are a feeling of gradual exhaustion and increased fatigue. Weekends are not enough for a person to gain strength and stock up on energy for the next working week.
Further activity decreases, apathy appears, a person becomes uninteresting in either the affairs of the organization in which he works, or the personal life of his colleagues.
Then the first emotional reactions appear: verbal aggression towards colleagues, cynical statements, categorical denial of the opinions of others. It becomes unpleasant to work with such a person.
At the next stage, creativity and motivation to work decrease. The employee takes more and more time to complete the usual work, and after completing it, he feels more and more tired.
The emotional tension in the team due to the “burnt out” employee becomes very high. Such a person tries to avoid unnecessary contacts with colleagues, he has sharp mood swings: from anger to sadness. At this stage, a person himself may not yet be aware of the presence of professional burnout, but his body is already beginning to react to what is happening psychosomatically. That is, due to constant fatigue and stress, real physical disorders appear: from sleep disturbance and a decrease in sexual desire to heart disease and indigestion.
The last stage of development of the disorder is especially dangerous. If nothing is done, then professional burnout can cause despair, deep depression, the development of alcohol or drug addiction, and in some cases even lead to suicide.
Who is at risk
In the 70s of the twentieth century, when professional burnout as a disorder was just beginning to be studied, it was believed that representatives of professions whose work requires constant contact with people are primarily affected by it. For example, medical workers, teachers, psychologists, social workers. It was believed that people of these professions exhaust themselves by giving their attention and strength to others, sympathizing with them, taking their problems to heart. But studies in recent years indicate that absolutely everyone is at risk of PV. Today they talk about the PV of traders, employees of corporations, the media, sellers. Also, this condition can occur in people whose activities are not associated with a rigid work schedule or in cases where a person does not formally work (students, volunteers, housewives, etc.).
This is explained by changes in the style of work of modern man. The profession is increasingly time-consuming, more and more demands are placed on employees, but at the same time, in return, they usually do not receive sufficient support or incentive to achieve higher goals. As a result, for many, work turns into a tedious routine – a set of actions that a person is obliged to repeat every day, without getting any pleasure from it.
In our time, it has also become clear that burnout affects people, regardless of their age or seniority. If earlier it was believed that such a disorder occurs in people after 30-40 years, then today cases of PV are known even in 20-year-old employees. And more and more researchers say that in modern society, PV occurs more often in young people than in pre-retirement age. When a certain level of psycho-emotional destabilization is reached, workers unconsciously try to secure and protect themselves. This often happens faster for young professionals than for older workers. This phenomenon occurs because young professionals have a large workload and high requirements, as well as high personal expectations.
However, according to experts, not all people are equally often affected by PV. More prone to burnout are neurotic, hypersensitive people with low self-esteem, passive, dependent on the opinions of others, often perceiving different situations from the point of view of a threat. In addition, according to the observations of experts, PV often occurs in perfectionists and people in whose lives work is the main place. Perhaps that is why burnout occurs more often in single people than in families. But to say that the problem more often affects women or men is impossible: males and females are equally at risk.
Why does PV occur?
A victim of professional burnout is often himself the culprit of his disappointing condition. Modern man is accustomed to putting his work above all else.
Wanting to earn more or reach higher heights, many have to sacrifice sleep, rest, time spent with family or friends. On the other hand, there are many people who are simply afraid of not being busy with something. From their point of view, being unemployed is almost the same as being useless. As a result, afraid of being unnecessary, they take on more and more work, which over time becomes more and more difficult to perform. Separately, it should be said about people who run away to work from loneliness and longing. They will also burn out sooner or later.
Many experts recognize that professional burnout is often preceded by a sincere passion for work. Professional activity at the initial stage is a source of joy and satisfaction, a person has great hopes for his work, he is full of ambition and wants to make a brilliant career. In this case, the employee gives himself without a trace to professional activities and receives genuine pleasure from this. But according to psychologists, this behavior is also not normal. This imbalance between busyness and leisure (even if it does not cause irritation yet) over time has every chance of developing into a PW. Whatever causes overwork, sooner or later it will lead to emotional, physical and spiritual exhaustion.
How to test yourself for a penchant for PV
As a rule, a person notices professional burnout in himself or a colleague only when the most obvious signs of the disorder appear. But, like any other violation, PV is best prevented or at least stopped at an early stage. Therefore, experts have developed several tests, the answers to which will help to diagnose the disorder in time.
Test 1
If 3 or more of the above suggestions apply to you, this could be a sign of professional burnout.
- More and more I feel overwhelmed.
- I get tired quickly.
- I have sleep problems.
- I rarely feel hungry.
- It’s hard for me and I’m tired.
- At work, too many things have piled on me.
- I often get angry and feel frustrated.
- In the current situation at work, I feel helpless.
- I feel like no one cares about me.
- I can not go on.
Test 2
If you answer yes to at least 5 questions, you may have PV:
- Does your job seem boring to you?
- Are you now less responsible for the performance of professional tasks than before?
- Are you constantly tired and losing a lot of energy at work?
- Is professional activity turning into a routine?
- Do you feel sad on Sunday just because you have to work tomorrow?
- Do your colleagues annoy you?
- Have you become cynical and cruel to colleagues, boss and work itself?
- Do you look with discontent at people who feel happy at work?
- Are problems at work affecting your family or social life?
How to overcome PW
We live in a society where weakness is often perceived as a vice. But gritting your teeth and working hard in case of professional burnout is not an option. The best thing a person can do in such a situation is to try to achieve a balance between professional employment and leisure.
Faced with the PV must understand that it is not unique. This happens to a wide variety of people: more and less successful, with great experience and at the initial stages of career growth. If this happens, it is important first of all to find a person who will serve as support. Ideally, seek help from a psychologist. Professional burnout is not a lack of character or a sign of laziness. This is a psycho-emotional disorder, from which it is necessary to get rid of as soon as possible.
Ten rules to help avoid PV:
1. Think about what you can change in your approach to work, and if necessary, talk to management – you may need to change the scope of work.
2. Decide on your life priorities. When a person understands what values he wants to build his life on, it becomes more clear how to achieve what he wants.
3. If the values of the company you work for are incompatible with your own and lead to internal conflict, you should consider changing jobs.
4. Often the cause of PT is the inability of the employee to say “No”. Don’t take on too much work, especially the unfinished business of others.
5. Clearly limit in your schedule the time that you are willing to spend on professional activities, and the time for family and leisure.
6. Appreciate yourself. Learn to celebrate your own accomplishments.
7. Give yourself permission to make mistakes – no one is perfect.
8. Take rest as seriously as work. Plan your vacation and stick to that plan.
9. Go in for sports, especially if professional activity is related to mental work. This is the most rewarding form of relaxation.
10. Eat a healthy diet. Food rich in minerals and vitamins not only serves as a source of energy, but also stimulates the production of hormones responsible for good mood and optimism.
At some point in the labor activity, a person becomes a victim of overwork. It happens to everyone, no matter how much you loved your job up to this point. The scenario can then develop in two ways. In the first case, if you notice signs of overwork and stress in time, you can take a vacation or reconsider your attitude to work – perhaps you just took on an overwhelming burden? As a rule, this is enough to regain the pleasure of work. The second possible scenario provides for a more unfortunate outcome. If you do not stop in time, professional burnout will begin to progress. Therefore, if you have the first symptoms of this syndrome, it is better to re-evaluate your activities and your regimen before burnout develops.