Everywhere you go people are struggling with financial challenges. It is scary--patients come in because they need help with issues and they are worried about how they will continue to care for their families. This stress can lead to depression, anxiety, hypertension, chronic headaches and, ultimately, to heart disease and cancer. People’s jobs mean a lot to them. It’s how they validate themselves for having a skill and being appreciated and it also establishes security for their families.

Many people are feeling what is called “burn out” right now. This doesn’t start immediately, but rather it builds gradually as they took on more work, were asked to perform different jobs, watched their friends get a pink slip and became anxious that they would be next. Just as it doesn’t begin quickly, it doesn’t leave quickly. In fact many of the feeling associated with burn out take years to work through. Job burn out doesn’t affect just one person either. If one person has it, it grows and soon the whole milieu of the department struggles with it.

How can we identify those people with burn-out or how can we recognize it in ourselves? It begins the same way in most people: normal feelings of depression, anger, frustration, dissatisfaction and anxiety. These are normal with all of us and it usually goes away. With burn-out though, it doesn’t go away. It becomes worse. It turns into a “why bother” attitude. You may acquire physical symptoms such as headaches, hypertension, and stomach problems. There is a feeling of depression or despair that things will never improve. Burn-out stifles creativity so that you can no longer think of new ideas or concepts that would improve your company. Substance abuse and personal problems become more likely.

Suggestions for working through burn-out

1. The worst possible job is the job you have to perform with absolutely no control. You must change this around so you have control over your performance of your job. Ineffective leaders send their employees on wild goose chases working on something that is never going to matter. This can be frustrating because the person performing the job knows it will never matter. A better idea is if you cannot reason with your boss then do the job assigned but also do something creative with your job in another area. When the right time comes show your team or boss what you have worked on. If the boss is not threatened they will appreciate that you have been trying to make the company better.

2. Take better care of yourself. Learn to reward yourself for a job well done. Take time to organize your day. Organize your work area as well as your meals at home with your family. When we develop burn-out we also let go of all areas of our life. Your family needs you to be involved in caring for them. Keep the job at work and your personal life separate.

3. Learn to manage stress. This is the single most important area of taking control back and alleviating “burn out’. When your boss says something that begins to make your head ache or your blood pressure shoot up, take 5 deep breaths. Let them out slowly. Have a favorite mantra or prayer you can repeat to help calm you. Remind yourself “this too shall pass”.

4. If you cannot manage the stress of the job anymore you can always talk to your superior or HR and tell them how the job is affecting your health. If this doesn’t work it may be wise to begin the search for a new job. A job is a way of rewarding yourself and using your skill or talents to make other’s lives better. When it ceases to do that, you may need to sit down and weigh the pros and cons of continuing work at a job that no longer provides the outlet for you to improve your own as well as other’s lives.

MJo