Throughout the business world, burnout was a term used often but was not officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) up until 2019. The WHO defined burnout as a syndrome that is caused by “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It was discovered that burnout not only affects your mental state but also impacts your physical and emotional states just as much.
A common response or reaction to burnout that many business owners reported experiencing is the desire to leave everything behind. For instance, the news and the internet are packed with stories about business owners who shut down their stressful businesses to pursue a more relaxed career.
While stress usually involves having too much to handle on your plate, burnout is the opposite. Burnout involves a lack of motivation, lack of energy and even a sense of carelessness regarding the workplace or business.
The risk of experiencing burnout increases when the individual is suffering from low self-esteem, unreasonable expectations, or isn’t capable of handling too much pressure within the work environment. Additional triggers to burnout include working in a place with a tremendous workload and having to work several roles because there are not enough individuals to fill the roles.
1-The Honeymoon Stage: This is where everything seems normal. You will find yourself excited and thrilled to begin a new task, start a new role, or fill in for someone at your firm.
2-The Beginning of the Stress Stage: As you continue to take on more tasks, and new responsibilities, and increase your workload, the honeymoon stage would start slowly shifting into a more stressful phase. You may not notice this phase straight away, because not every day will be packed with stress. Stress simply comes and goes in this stage.
3-Sever Stress Stage: Slowly but surely, stress becomes a more prominent part of your work life as you take on these tasks and have no time to rest. This stage is when you need to stop and address whatever is causing you constant stress. If you did not then you are slowly headed towards burnout.
4-Burnout Stage: This is the stage where you reach a maximum point where you feel you have had enough! You obsess over your work problems, often feel numb, and physical symptoms start to emerge including headaches and stomach issues.
5-Chronic Burnout Stages: If this stage is reached, that is because burnout was not treated. Therefore, it becomes part of your daily routine and may spiral into depression or anxiety.
There’s always a way to bounce back! Experiencing burnout is just the beginning of a great turnaround of events. From tired and exhausted to productive and accomplished.
Start by talking to someone. Whether it’s family, friends, a colleague or a professional, make sure to talk to someone. It alleviates a lot of the burden you're carrying on your shoulders and maybe shows you exactly what is causing your burnout.
Explore ways that can enhance your work-life balance. One way we recommend is automating your business processes as much as you can so that you do not have to do so much. Please get in touch with us to learn about what you can automate to relieve you from your burnout.
