Burnout – 7 causes of burnout in the workplace

Picture the scenario: you are in a job that you do not really enjoy and you find the work uninteresting and monotonous. You count down the hours until work is over, have no one to chat to at work that you like and have serious Sunday dread each week.

Picture the second scenario: you have a critical and mean boss who puts you down, gives you tasks to do which are unmanageable and can be aggressive at times too. You hate going to work, cannot express how you feel and are scared to make mistakes or do anything wrong. You feel like you are walking on eggshells while at work and you cannot concentrate fully on your job.

As much as the second scenario seems a lot more dangerous, toxic and detrimental, both situations can cause burnout because of the duration and longevity of the stress endured.

Burnout is an occupational phenomenon, characterized by chronic unresolved stress and physical and mental exhaustion. It can manifest through physical symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, feelings of overwhelm, sickness more often than usual due to a lower immune system, digestive issues, insomnia and lack of focus. Once stress moves into the more dangerous levels, our bodies become accustomed to the constant added demands on the mind and body, and can lead to more serious diseases such as stroke, some Cancers, heart failure and depression. It is really a matter of life and death at this stage. It is unimportant if you think ‘Oh, it is not that bad, I am just bored at work’ or ‘It is fine that no one notices the work I am doing, I am just here to get my pay cheque’, because these smaller issues can cause the same level of burnout as a toxic workplace, if left unaddressed for too long.

Here are my seven main causes of burnout in the workplace;

1. You are overworked.

Being constantly given more work than you can cope with and no support to help, is one of the leading causes of burnout. It leads to you feeling like you are failing, you cannot keep up and you have no time to reduce the number of items on your to-do list. There are only 24hours in each day and you should spend some of them doing things other than work. However, the one thing you need in order to feel more in control is time and this is the one thing there is not enough of when so much is expected of you.

2. You are under-challenged.

Being given a role that is too easy, does not require thinking, or doing the same thing over and over again day in day out, can lead to you feeling as if there is no challenge. This can also occur when trying to take on addition tasks when trying to climb the ladder and being denied the opportunity. It can feel like a kick in the teeth to be applying for promotions and being turned down time after time, especially if you are someone who thrives on personal or professional development. Even intrinsically motivated people find it difficult sometimes to push themselves to find their own challenges and methods of growth and personal development.

3. You are not valued or appreciated.

If you are intrinsically motivated, you will be able to drive yourself to do your best work because you have that standard for yourself, but most people are extrinsically motivated and need praise, compliments or recognition for the work they are doing. When no one notices the great proposal you handed in, when your boss takes credit for your ideas or when you saved a potential disaster from happening but no one even thanked you, it is exhausting because most humans thrive on having purpose and feeling like they are doing a good job.

4. Your job does not interest or motivate you.

Doing a job that you have no interest in can cause an increase in stress levels due to feeling trapped or hopeless. If you are in a job due to money constraints or you need to get your kids through school, we can easily feel like we have no way out and are not in control of our lives. Human beings like to feel they have a choice in the conditions of their life and when these choices are taken away and we have to work for financial reasons or because the job fits the hours we need to collect the kids from school, we start to feel like our life is spiraling out of our control. Your job does not need to be your passion but you will feel less stressed if you have even a slight interest in the role.

5. Your job does not align with your values.

Most people like to feel they have a purpose in life. This does not have to come from a job or a career but if we value honesty and integrity and our workplace, or something else in our life is dishonest or full of lies, we start to question ourselves and our purpose. If we believe in freedom and we have a boss who micro-manages our schedule, it can make our core values fall out of alignment because we are not living a life we believe in, which can cause a lot of internal conflict and frustration.

6. You have no work/life balance or boundaries.

Boundaries are the answer to great work/ life balance and if an area of your life is not balanced, the scales will eventually tip. If you say yes to every task that is delegated to you but you cannot see your partner in the evenings, or if you agree to everything your boss asks in fear of losing your job, just to stay on his/ her good side, this means you are sacrificing another area of your life, be it health, family, friendships, socializing or rest.

7. You work with toxic people.

Toxic people can make a workplace unbearable. Being critized, micro-managed, dealing with angry or unpredictable people, unrealistic expectations of workload, gossip, a negative culture or not being allowed to express how you feel due to a fearful environment, can all lead (quite quickly) to burnout. Being around such negative people can make you feel on edge or anxious all the time, leading to lack of focus, lack of freedom to make mistakes or take risks and lack of faith in your own decisions. Toxic people make us doubt ourselves, they chip away at our confidence and they make us question if it is our fault that work is this bad.

Burnout can be life threatening. If left unresolved, the chances of you having some form of physical or emotional breakdown is almost 100%. It does not go away quickly and can take up to a year to recover from (if you make it out alive). It may seem normal to feel stressed at work but if this stress has been prolonged for 3-6 months, it is most likely you are heading for a breakdown and it needs to be addressed.

So, start now. Start setting boundaries. Start looking for new jobs. Start saying no. Start getting more sleep. Start avoiding negative people and start looking after your physical and emotional wellbeing by recognizing your stress levels and knowing your triggers. It is really not worth your health or your life, so start making small changes today and notice your work and life become more balanced.