{"id":876,"date":"2018-10-02T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/?p=876"},"modified":"2021-12-28T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T00:00:00","slug":"career-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/productivity\/career-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Burnout and Its Effect on Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you are being cynical about your work, feeling listlessness, or failing to perform your work \u2014 you might be dealing with a silent enemy called career burnout<\/strong>. At first, people who burn out are chronically fatigued, have trouble falling asleep, lose their appetite, and simply cannot focus on anything. So, in an effort to work more and better, they actually ruin their ability to work at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, we\u2019re going to define career burnout, introduce some research and statistics on burnout, talk about its symptoms, causes, and preventive measures for overcoming this harmful condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is career burnout?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Burnout is not an official medical term but a consequence<\/a> of dealing with prolonged stress and being overworked<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also no official definition of burnout \u2014 some most common symptoms typical for burnout include mental (or physical) exhaustion, reduced performance, listlessness, and cynicism, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most commonly, it\u2019s work-related, and this type of burnout is referred to as \u2014 career burnout<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, burnout can be associated with other aspects of life such as caring for ill or old family members, children with special needs, or even romantic relationships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional burnout is common among nurses and other healthcare workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a study on consequences of early-career nurse burnout conducted in 2020, out of 2,474 nurses, 12.3% reported high levels of burnout symptoms<\/a> during the early stages of their careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the first three years of their career, they came across the most detrimental effects of burnout: cognitive problems and insomnia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of May 2019, burnout has officially been recognized by the World Health Organization and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an \u201coccupational phenomenon\u201d<\/a> \u2014 with the possibility of it being proclaimed a proper disease in the future. There is currently further research looking to provide additional information about burnout and distinguish it from other conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Everything<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Worst real burnout cases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

41% of people who clock in 50+ hours per week say their companies don\u2019t address burnout, and 36% don\u2019t know whether employee wellness programs are even an option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, there are ways you can help yourself, once you get to know what burnout really means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To acknowledge the fact that burnout is \u201cout there\u201d, we visited Reddit<\/strong> and discovered hundreds of burnout-related topics (the truth is \u2014 we didn\u2019t have to search far). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, according to several discussions on Reddit<\/strong><\/a>, real people have suffered severe cases of burnout, which proves burnout is not to be taken lightly: violent daydreams, mental breakdowns, and sudden resignations seem to be only half of the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some of the most detrimental cases of burnout from personal experiences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daydreams about accidents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Daydreaming about getting into minor car accidents to rest at a hospital seems to be quite common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagining how it would be to fling oneself in front of a moving vehicle is another popular fantasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the more severe cases is daydreaming about the elevator cables snapping while you\u2019re riding said elevator to a high floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resignations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some other burnout victims have reportedly slammed their laptops in their client\u2019s faces and simply left meetings, only to resign the day after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others have stayed up late to finish a project, which prompted them to send in their resignations in the dead of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some have left their work for lunch never to return or call again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental collapses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One man had to have his colleague wrap up his files at work \u2014 he was unable to do so himself because he had previously checked-in in a mental hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another serious case of a mental breakdown caused by burnout was a man who started bedwetting due to stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Substance abuse <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A great number of the people from Reddit reported using various substances \u2014 from alcohol, pain killers, and cigarettes, to marijuana and psychedelic drugs in the worst-case scenarios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main reasons they abused substances was finding solace \u2014 since substances gave them false energy to carry on with their jobs and unwind at the end of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suicides<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most severe case seems to be connected with suicide \u2014 some just seriously considered crashing their cars, and others have jumped off roofs to their deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, burnout can cause people to do and think about terrible things \u2014 but which are the burnout signs that one can recognize to be able to respond promptly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Career burnout symptoms <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To distinguish burnout from other disorders, take a look at the most common burnout symptoms divided into two groups: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Physical burnout symptoms<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Psychological burnout symptoms <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    1. Physical burnout symptoms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Physical symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, and dizziness are all signs that burnout has progressed. If it comes to them, you need to seek professional medical health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Burnout will also cause your immune system to weaken, so you may fall prey to various infections, colds, or flues. If you\u2019re an overachiever suffering from a mysterious cold for two long months, chances are burnout is the hidden culprit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Apart from having damaging effects on the immune system, burnout is also associated with sleep disturbances, increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and even male infertility \u2014 according to Research Companion to Organizational Health Psychology<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Psychological burnout symptoms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Your psyche takes a hit as well \u2014 at first, you feel tense, irritable, and prone to outbursts of anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, cynicism and detachment also kick in at some point, so you start to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n