BURNOUT

Despite the sunshine, colourful flowers and lovely spring atmosphere, I am curious about burnout. What is burnout? Why can someone get a burnout?

I have never known the term burnout before I came to Holland. I learn it here and notice that quite a number of people in my surroundings claimed to have it. In Holland if someone has a job and get a burnout leave which could happens for months, this person still get big part of his/her salary. I find it as a very interesting phenomena.

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive an prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

Most of us have days when we feel bored, overloaded, or unappreciated; when the dozen balls we keep in the air aren’t noticed, let alone rewarded; when dragging ourselves out of bed requires the determination of Hercules. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be flirting with burnout.

You may be on the road to burnout if:

Every day is a bad day.
Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy.
You’re exhausted all the time.
The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming.
You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated.

The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life – including your home and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.

Causes of burnout

There are many causes of burnout. In many cases, burnout stems from the job. But anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout – from the hardworking office worker who hasn’t had a vacation or a raise in two years to the frazzled stay-at-home mom struggling with the heavy responsibility of taking care of three kids, the housework, and her aging father.

But burnout is not caused solely by stressful work or too many responsibilities. Other factors contribute to burnout, including your lifestyle and certain personality traits. What you do in your downtime and how you look at the world can play just as big of a role in causing burnout as work or home demands.


Work-related causes of burnout

Feeling like you have little or no control over your work.
Lack of recognition or rewards for good work.
Unclear or overly demanding job expectations.
Doing work that’s monotonous or unchallenging.
Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment

Lifestyle causes of burnout

Working too much, without enough time for relaxing and socializing
Being expected to be too many things to too many people.
Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others
Not getting enough sleep
Lack of close, supportive relationships


Personality traits can contribute to burnout

Perfectionistic tendencies; nothing is ever good enough
Pessimistic view of yourself and the world
The need to be in control; reluctance to delegate to others
High-achieving, Type A personality


(resource : www.helpguide.org andwww.cartooncreator.nl )

This statement above : What you do in your downtime and how you look at the world can play just as big of a role in causing burnout as work or home demands, is the most interesting part for me. How you look at the world! Why is it interesting for me? I have learned from my surroundings here that being materially prosperous doesn't guarantee someone's happiness. And being poor doesn't mean someone is unlucky. Bingo. My lesson in the spring.

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