If you’re suffering from workplace burnout, getting relief can feel impossible. You bounce back and forth between immediate fixes like happy hour and weekend getaways, and more permanent solutions like quitting your job or changing industries.
But the weekends feel shorter and shorter. “Relaxation” is a distant memory. And you might be starting to realize that the short-term fixes aren’t actually fixing the root of the issue. So what now?
First, let’s look at what job burnout really is, what causes it, and how it shows up. Then, we’ll explore 7 key strategies to fight back against stress and burnout — including what to do if you’re daydreaming about a major career change.
What is burnout?
According to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) from the World Health Organization, burnout is an occupational phenomenon — not a medical condition.
Burnout is emotional, mental, and/or physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress at work — meaning your stress isn’t successfully managed and doesn’t respond to normal rest. In other words, taking breaks, unplugging on weekends, and going on vacation don’t provide lasting stress relief.
More than just exhaustion, burnout includes feeling distant from or cynical about one’s job, as well as being less effective at work.
This doesn’t mean you’re bad at your job or that you’re not trying! Most likely, you’ve been performing well and trying hard for a long, long time. It simply means that with chronic workplace stress, it’s arguably impossible to perform at your very best.
Here’s one of the most important parts to understand:
Workplace burnout can affect anyone, and it can affect everyone differently. Our personalities and lived experiences influence the specific ways it impacts us. So, surrounded by stories of +100-hour workweeks and life-or-death situations, you may feel like your job “isn’t stressful enough” or that you “don’t work enough hours” to have job burnout.
Let’s stop the comparison trap! If you feel burnt out, you probably are. And if left unaddressed, burnout can have serious consequences.
Risk factors and causes of job burnout
Workplace burnout can be caused by:
- Unclear expectations: Are you unsure what others expect of you? This confusion can stem from internal sources (bosses, colleagues) as well as external sources (clients, customers, patients).
- Lack of control: Do others dictate what you do, how you do it, and/or when you do it? On the surface, this may sound like an entry-level problem, but it can impact workers at any level.
- Workplace dynamics and culture: How would you rate communication between management and employees at your workplace? How about respect between co-workers? Micromanagement, cliques, office politics, and more can all lead to feelings of conflict that have a negative impact on one’s job.
- Insufficient or excessive workload: When you think of workplace burnout, you might think of a high workload. But if it feels like you don’t have enough to do, and you still feel burnt out — you’re not alone.
- Lack of support: Do you have the resources you need to perform your duties at work? Do you have a support system — co-workers, teams, your manager — and do you feel sufficiently supported by them? Or, do you feel isolated?
- Lack of appreciation: Are folks recognized for their contributions at your workplace? How about you, specifically?
- Lack of boundaries. You have some control over burnout, and we’ll cover a few things you can try. But if misalignment between your role and your values and priorities is part of the trouble, know that no amount of boundaries will fix a career you truly hate. More on this later!
Common signs and symptoms of workplace burnout
Burnout can look a little different for everyone, depending on personal factors as well as the specific workplace circumstances at play. In general, job burnout may show up as:
- Energy depletion (including emotional exhaustion)
- Fatigue and changes in sleep habits (including insomnia)
- Decreased productivity and motivation
- Mood and mental health difficulties (moodiness, irritability, sadness, anger, or apathy)
- Headaches or other physical complaints (stomachaches, body aches, frequent illness unrelated to existing health conditions)
- Frequently calling in sick (or frequently wanting to, if it’s not an option)
major risks of workplace burnout
Although job burnout isn’t a medical condition, it can lead to mental and physical health issues, which can have lasting consequences.
According to a 2017 study, in workers below age 45, workplace burnout is a significant indicator of:
- Insomnia
- Symptoms of depression
- Hospitalization for mental health disorders
- Other psychological issues
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Prolonged fatigue
- Headaches
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Respiratory problems
- Severe injuries
- And even death
Clearly, workplace burnout is much more than just brief, mild bouts of job stress! And it’s cause to worry about more than just reduced professional efficacy. Burnout has real consequences that could impact you at work and at home.
Top 7 strategies to reclaim your mental health and well-being
1. Explore the root cause of your unhappiness
Surprisingly, this is the advice you won’t often see.
When you’re in the thick of exhaustion, it’s tough to look inward. But when surface-level fixes don’t resolve your trouble, it’s essential to get to the root of what’s truly bothering you.
So on a good day — a day when you can breathe a bit, without too many obligations, and when you can set aside some time for yourself — find a quiet, private place and reflect on these questions:
- On the best days at work, do I enjoy what I do?
- What specifically do I like best about those days? (Think specific tasks, clients, and even people.)
- On the worst days at work, what makes it such an awful day?
- What specifically do I hate most about those days? (Think specific tasks, clients, and yep, even people!)
- Have I ever enjoyed this line of work? Why, or why not?
- If the worst of the circumstances changed, would I still enjoy this line of work? Why, or why not?
These questions don’t just provide momentary relief. They target the heart of the issue — why you’re burnt out! You might discover a mismatch in values, interests, or energy that can’t be resolved through workplace accommodations or time off.
So what do you do if you discover that you’ve lost your spark for this industry — or maybe, you never really had one at all? You might find the most relief from identifying a new career path — one that aligns with who you are today and what you want for yourself in the future.
It’s not always easy to figure out what that new path should be. If you could use some support to get clear on your next steps and design a career change roadmap, consider career coaching!
2. Seek support at work
Supportive employers want to work with you to identify solutions, but if possible, bring suggestions. Focus on what would give you the most relief as an employee! This will help your employer give you the most efficient and effective support.
For example, clarifying duties, delegating tasks to co-workers, and establishing or reinforcing workplace boundaries are all ways your employer can partner with you to reduce job stress.
If they don’t respond well to their employees’ requests (or don’t respond at all), that’s useful information as you decide what to do next.
3. Seek support outside of work
Simply talking to someone can relieve some of the stress that builds up throughout the workday and workweek. So ask your friends, family, or partner if they have the capacity to hear you out!
If they’re ready to listen, be sure to clarify whether you’re looking for advice from them or just want to vent. Helpful advice can give you a new perspective or action step to try, while unwanted advice may only add to your frustration.
And if you’re really suffering and worry that your workplace burnout is a serious problem for your well-being, it may also be a good idea to connect with a coach or a mental health professional for added support to reduce burnout.
Curious about the differences between coaches and other supportive professionals? Check out this post — Therapist vs. Coach vs. Mentor: How to Decide What’s Right For You.
4. Manage your health
Job burnout won’t be cured with self-care! As an occupational issue, it stems from your workplace. That means, despite your efforts to improve work-life balance and your personal life, it can’t be fully resolved without some change to your work situation.
The specific change you need depends on your goals. You might seek improved conditions at your current workplace, pursue a new employer, or change career paths.
Still, experiencing burnout doesn’t have to mean letting it rule over you 24/7! It’s still helpful to take control and prioritize self-care.
So, what relaxes you? Here are a few ideas:
- Hugging your partner, friend, or family member
- Snuggling your pet
- Breathing exercises
- Yoga
- Going for a walk
- Sitting in nature
- Listening to calming music
- Singing or playing music
- Doing something creative (painting, drawing, knitting)
5. Work it out with a workout
As a formerly burnt-out person, exercise often made me feel drained and stressed. But looking back, I now realize that’s because I leaned on seriously intense workouts, such as HIIT and sprinting. I felt like I was adding even more stress on top of my stress!
But hey — if you feel better after an epic sweat session, don’t let me stop you! The important thing is just to do what works for you.
So if you’ve been avoiding exercise because workouts are stressful, remember that you don’t have to hit your max heart rate, sweat through your shirt, or have a hard time catching your breath to qualify as exercising.
6. Get some more sleep
Sleep habits are so key for managing your well-being! So — have your sleep habits changed as you navigate feelings of burnout and job stress?
It’s hard to break the habit of scrolling or binging one more episode of your favorite show before bed, and you don’t have to — but if you shut it down just 30 minutes earlier, you might wake up happier tomorrow morning.
So, can you go to bed earlier? Adding a relaxing bedtime routine where you meditate or practice mindfulness? Ask your partner to walk the dog on Saturday AM? Sleep without an alarm to wake up naturally on Sunday mornings?
Try something new and see what works best for you!
7. Challenge your negativity
You are not the cause of your workplace burnout. But you can talk back to the internal monologue that could be cranking up your suffering.
See if you can identify just 1 or 2 common refrains that play on repeat in your head. Maybe it’s, “I’m so ungrateful; why can’t I just be happy at my job?” Or, “I don’t deserve a better career.” Or, “Nothing ever goes right for me.”
Write them down, then practice noticing them as they pop up. When you catch yourself in one of these thoughts, focus and try to dig a little deeper:
- Is that thought true?
- How do you know it’s true?
- Is it helpful — does it pull you forward or lead you down a darker path?
Also, see if you can spot any commonalities about when these thoughts pop up for you. Is your 5:00 glass of wine actually relaxing, or does alcohol ramp up your negative thoughts? (It was tough to admit, but personally, that turned out to be true for me!)
While you won’t completely fix job burnout this way, you may start to feel a greater sense of agency over your life — and that’s key in the journey to change.
Workplace and job burnout FAQs
What are the five symptoms of burnout?
Signs may vary from person to person, but folks with workplace burnout commonly experience:
- Energy depletion (including emotional exhaustion)
- Fatigue and changes in sleep (including insomnia)
- Decreased productivity and motivation
- Mood difficulties (moodiness, irritability, sadness, anger, or apathy)
- Headaches or other physical complaints (stomachaches, body aches, frequent illness)
Burnout can coincide with, or even lead to, more severe issues including depression and chronic disease.
What are the five stages of burnout?
Workplace burnout can creep up on you!
- It will start as occasional stress stemming from issues at work.
- Next, that stress becomes near-constant — chronic workplace stress that follows you home, disrupting work-life balance and impacting your personal life.
- When you’re no longer able to effectively manage it or restore your energy with normal rest, you’ve hit burnout.
- Severe burnout affects your performance at work; you’re constantly exhausted, irritable, and may lash out at others — not just other employees, but friends and family, too.
- Unmanaged job burnout has been linked to chronic health issues: mental challenges including depression, physical issues including heart disease, and even death.
What does burnout feel like at work?
Workers suffering from job burnout may experience feelings of exhaustion, cynicism, lack of motivation, hopelessness, irritability, and apathy.
You may feel unappreciated or unsure what’s expected of you. Your workload may feel too high or too low, and your energy doesn’t match the environment. Basically, you lose all sense of satisfaction with your work.
Should I change careers to escape my job burnout?
If you’re tired of always going above and beyond, but love what you do, you may need stronger boundaries to manage your burnout. If you’re stuck in a toxic workplace but still feel connected to your line of work, switching employers could be the key to relieving your burnout.
But what if you’re totally dissatisfied, feeling completely disconnected from the work you do?
If that sounds like you — you could be ready for a whole new career path.
While I can’t give medical advice, I found this article by clinical psychologists really helpful, especially one diagram about halfway down: “What keeps burnout going?”
It shows how job dissatisfaction, low confidence, and long hours work together to keep restoking burnout time after time.
So, even though it will be a struggle to muster the time and energy to piece everything together, having a clear vision of your future and a realistic action plan to get there is a majorly effective way to combat burnout for good. And having a coach by your side to remind you why you’re doing this could be exactly the support you need to keep moving.That road might be unclear now, but you don’t have to figure it out alone!
Check out 1:1 career coaching to learn how you could identify your ideal role, build an action plan, and start going after a future you truly want — leaving workplace burnout behind.
