The 3 Kinds of Burnout–and How to Cope

Feeling demotivated or tired on some days at work is normal–nobody can be revved up all the time.

However, it’s a red flag when this stretches out for a while and you’re already spiraling to the edge of your physical and emotional limits. This leads to burnout, which makes it practically impossible to work or even be productive.

Burnout is more than exhaustion. It plays out over a long time, building up day after day until you can’t ignore it anymore.

There isn’t a clear-cut way of noticing it in other people, either–somebody experiencing burnout can lash out a burst of anger, or be extremely sluggish and refuse to show up to work.

To give you a more nuanced picture, psychologists have observed three different kinds of burnout:

Frenetic

This is probably the most common image of burnout: someone drowning in piles of paperwork, chugging down entire jugs of coffee and staring blearily through sleep-deprived, bloodshot eyes. To make it worse, more tasks are coming in than can be finished.

Simply put, you’re about to crack because you can’t handle how much you need to do. The usual coping mechanism for this is ranting about your work and even about your company–stress gets displaced into anger, and your blood pressure reaches boiling point.

Don’t do everything.

If it’s becoming too much, learn to say no. Don’t hesitate to tell your manager, or at least explain that you might need more time or some breathing room. Alternatively, consider whether you’re putting too much pressure on yourself–maybe you can delegate to other employees.

Pace yourself.

Time management will serve as your anchor. Put everything down in a to-do list so you can free up your mind from having to juggle everything, then arrange them by priority and focus on the highest first. If possible, plan out the top three tasks you’ll accomplish the night before.

Underchallenged

This is the opposite of the first type. There isn’t enough stimulation. Employees are frustrated because of lack of challenge, and they don’t perceive their work as rewarding and meaningful.

Instead of throwing themselves into it, they avoid their work and dissociate from it, leading to procrastination and mediocre performance. They’ve lost their intrinsic motivation–and this leads to boredom and cynicism, and an increasing sense of alienation from their work.

Venture out of your comfort zone.

Try to see if you can take on new projects and opportunities, or propose a creative way of doing your job. You might have fallen into a rut–and the way out is to shake things up, whether by taking on a different role or upping the difficulty level.

Remember your why.

Committing to anything long-term won’t work if you rely only on extrinsic motivation such as your paycheck. Look at the bigger picture–imagine your clients, and what you’re contributing to their lives with your job. Additionally, how does your job improve your own skills? Reconnect with the passion or interest that you felt when you applied.

Worn-out

Worn-out employees are very much interested in achieving their work goals–except that they feel they can’t do it. Whether out of perfectionism, fear of failure, or lack of self-confidence, they find their tasks daunting and are prone to giving up.

Rather than anger or boredom, the dominant emotions experienced by the first two types, worn-out employees are plagued by anxiety and are prone to work paralysis.

Go step by step.

To avoid getting overwhelmed, focus on one step at a time. Instead of seeing an enormous project that you need to pull off or else, start with the smallest actions and give yourself a pat on the back for every task that you check off. Once you ease back on the pressure, you can relax and get more done.

Calm down.

When it’s all getting too much, take a few minutes off and just breathe. Clear your mind and notice what’s in your immediate surroundings–or close your eyes and recenter yourself. In as short as a few minutes, a mindful break like this can reduce your anxiety so you can get a better perspective.

 

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