Job-Related Stress and Burnout

Many people reach a point in their professional life where they are unfulfilled by their work. They may not know why they're unhappy and what they can do about it. Burnout at work is a continual, increasing dissatisfaction with your job, that can lead to severe depression and physical illness. It can range from mild boredom to a lack of interest in work. It means feeling unhappy almost all the time without assigning any reason to it.

Do you find yourself glancing at your watch more than four times an hour? Do you feel as if time has stopped moving? Do you feel like hours must have passed but when you see the watch it is only 10 minutes that have actually passed? Burnout victims experience these symptoms more often.

Solution
The solution to this problem is very simple. Take on different work. Break your daily routine by doing something new. This will keep you interested, and you won't realize how time has passed.

Every now and then we have a day when we feel we'd rather be at home watching TV than stay in the office, working. That's only natural. But people experiencing burnout are bored almost all the time. They don't have any enthusiasm for the job and are simply lifeless.

Solution
The solution to this symptom is learning something new. Life and work become dull when you stop learning. Make it a point to broaden your knowledge, master new skills, and learn new things. This will kill your boredom, and you will be more active than ever.

As confidence sinks lower and lower, the victim becomes excessively introverted and withdrawn. He doesn't socialize or communicate with co-workers because of his work-inflicted inferiority complex. And thus he becomes more and more withdrawn from society.

Solution
The simple solution would be rekindling your interest in your profession. Become active, attend meetings, read journals, present papers. Take responsibility of training some of the young people in your department. Try to be more active and interact more with people. Organize gatherings and get-together parties.

Stress causes different symptoms in different people. Nervousness, fatigue, insomnia, heartburn, headaches, stomach aches, constipation are all the symptoms of stress. And a burnout is a stressful situation. So, if you feel stressed and are exhibiting its symptoms, a burnout at work could be a possible cause.

Solution
The solution is change employers or fields. If there's no department in your company where you'd be happy, then maybe you should change companies. Changing careers is an effective cure for a severe job burnout.

Are you overworking yourself? If so, watch out! Overworked people are likely to suffer fatigue and stress that can eventually lead to a burnout.

Solution
The solution to this is simple, you need to know how much work you can handle. Don't overwork yourself, as it can take a toll on your body.

Strangely but true, being under-worked is more likely to lead to a burnout than being overworked. The fact is, most people want to work and feel as if they're contributing something. If you don't allow employees to work to their full potential they'll feel unproductive and unsatisfied.

Solution
The only solution is to ask for more work. Not getting a chance to work to your full potential is one of the biggest reasons for a job burnout.