You’d be hard-pressed to find a member of the workforce who doesn’t experience some degree of job-related stress. Even people who genuinely enjoy what they do for a living are bound to feel their stress levels spike on occasion. This isn’t helped by the fact that our culture regards working oneself to the bone as a badge of honor. The way some people see it, if you aren’t completely drained by the end of the workday, you must not be working hard enough. As such, it’s hardly surprising that professional burnout is a common problem in virtually every industry. Anyone looking for effective ways to avoid burning out and maintain a healthy work/life balance will be well-served by the following pointers.
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Recognize When You’re Being Exploited
Unfortunately, many employers won’t hesitate to take full advantage of their workforce. Such companies will pay you as little as possible while seeking to get the maximum return on their investment. So, if you feel that you are consistently overworked and/or saddled with assignments that are well above your pay grade without being duly compensated, you have a legitimate grievance. Since work culture in the U.S. celebrates people working themselves to their breaking points, many of us have come to regard such treatment from employers as normal. However, regardless of how common it is, it isn’t right, and no employer has the right to exploit you.
If unmanageable workloads are a regular problem for you, try to set clear boundaries with your bosses. Let them know exactly what you are capable of producing in a given workday or workweek and request that they avoid exceeding this quota. If you’re unaccustomed to speaking up for yourself in such situations, this may present a challenge, but doing so can be crucial to avoiding burnout. Should your bosses refuse to respect your wishes, it may be in your best interest to seek employment elsewhere.
Don’t Take Work Home
If you’re paid for 40 hours of work per week, your employer isn’t entitled to any more of your time than that. However, because of our work-obsessed culture, many of us never truly clock out, and bringing work home is considered commonplace. This is unhealthy on a number of levels. First off, it cuts into your personal time, which can prove detrimental to maintaining a good work/life balance. Secondly, it gives employers the impression that it’s okay to expect people to remain on call 24/7. Outside of bona fide emergencies, your workday should begin and end at predetermined times.
Seek Therapy
A good therapist can be vital to properly manage work-related stress – as well as a host of other psychological afflictions. The right therapist can help you identify potent stress triggers, increase your confidence and take back control of your life. Of course, this isn’t to say that therapy can only prove beneficial to people experiencing looming burnout. Attending therapy sessions can also help you come to terms with past trauma, improve interpersonal relationships and provide you with valuable coping tools to utilize in the future.
If your schedule is too busy to allow traditional in-person sessions, take care to consider remote therapy options. Big Apple residents in the market for remote therapy are sure to find an assortment of attractions when searching for “online therapy New York”. Few cities are as busy and stressful as NYC, so if you currently reside in a city that never sleeps, don’t be afraid to seek out a dependable therapist.
Switch to Telecommuting
As many of us have come to discover during the COVID-19 pandemic, physical presence in a formal workplace isn’t actually a prerequisite for most office jobs. Thanks to advances in technology, a sizable number of office workers can perform their respective job duties effectively and efficiently from the comfort of home. So, if a large part of your job stress stems from a less-than-ideal work environment, make it clear that you’d prefer to work remotely.
It’s easy to see why work is such a common cause of stress in people’s lives. Office politics, unreasonable workloads and unmanageable hours can turn each and every workday into a test of endurance. Unsurprisingly, many members of the workforce can only endure so much of this before they experience burnout. If any of this sounds familiar, utilize the measures discussed above to stave off professional burnout and keep your mental health intact.
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