Common causes of burnout include: lack of adequate social support; taking on more than one can handle at work, school, or interpersonally with family and friends; and poor self-care. Burnout is a serious matter.
Burnout is a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job. The three key dimensions of this response are an overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.
Alienation from (work-related) activities: People who have burnout find their jobs increasingly stressful and frustrating. They may start being cynical about their working conditions and their colleagues. At the same time, they may increasingly distance themselves emotionally, and start feeling numb about their work.
Honeymoon phase
The first stage is referred to as the Honeymoon phase (Figure 1). It is particularly relevant to new job roles or undertaking new work tasks and initiatives. At this stage, there are absolutely no signs of burnout, instead, you are full of enthusiasm, commitment, and joy from your work.
Understanding the 12 Stages of Burnout
Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North developed the 12-stage model of burnout that affects so many professionals today: The Compulsion to Prove Oneself:feeling like you constantly have to demonstrate your worth.
Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It's a result of excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress. In many cases, burnout is related to one's job. Burnout happens when you're overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life's incessant demands.
How Long Does Burnout Last? It takes an average time of three months to a year to recover from burnout. How long your burnout lasts will depend on your level of emotional exhaustion and physical fatigue, as well as if you experience any relapses or periods of stagnant recovery.
Excessive workload is always the aggravating factor for burnout. When demands constantly push physiologies beyond capacity, energy sources are overloaded. Nobody wins when we do more than we can do well.
Burnout levels are higher among female K-12 workers than their male counterparts; however, this is consistent with all workers nationally. Still, male K-12 workers are significantly more burned out than their male peers working in other industries (38% vs. 26%, respectively).
Daily recovery
Not everyone can take time off from work. But making small adjustments to your everyday routine can alleviate stress in the long run. Building healthy habits like a morning walk, less caffeine, or daily meditation can help you wind down and recover from burnout.
Younger men, and women aged between 20-35 and 55 years and over are particularly susceptible and should be targeted for programmes to reduce risk of burnout.
Burnout can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and sleeping difficulties. It is important to recognize and treat burnout early, and with psychological counseling and support, most people begin to feel better and recover quickly.
Habitual burnout phase
If left untreated, burnout can become a part of your everyday life and eventually lead to anxiety or depression. You can also begin to experience chronic mental and physical fatigue that prevents you from working. Your job status may be put in jeopardy if you continue on this path.
The brains of people who are chronically burnt-out show similar damage as people who have experienced trauma. Burnout reduces the connectivity between different parts of the brain which can lead to decreased creativity, working memory and problem solving skills.
This means that the most common causes of burnout in the workplace include: Feeling out of control. Lacking the autonomy to make changes to your schedule, workload, or other aspects of your work can feel overwhelming, disempowering, and eventually lead to burnout. Feeling uncertain about job expectations.