PERSONAL/CAREER SPECIAL......CAREER BURNOUT: HOW TO SPOT IT

CAREER BURNOUT: HOW TO SPOT IT     Does your job leave you overwhelmed at the end of the day? Do you feel exhausted and irritable early in the morning and after work? If your answer’s a resounding ‘YES!’, you might be facing job fatigue. It is normal to feel burned out on a temporary basis every once in a while but if you notice this happening regularly, it might be severe burnout and something you need to pay heed to and change as soon as possible... EXHAUSTION The most obvious sign of career burnout is exhaustion. You feel your job is monotonous and that you just can’t find the energy to get through the day. You feel tired all the time and have absolutely no energy or enthusiasm towards your work or assignments, and just want the day to end without contributing anything substantial to your personal growth or the company as a whole, it’s time to take some precaution. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE You started off as a zealous, wellturned out employee and have slowly degraded into someone who doesn’t care much about personal grooming or physical appearance. Looking good is an important determinant to how people may possibly percieve you. “Your outer appearance tends to reflect your inner state of mind, so tend to the problem. Dressing well is often given high regard at one’s workplace,” informs psychiatrist Anita Peters. LACK OF MOTIVATION You don’t feel the excitement you felt towards your work earlier. It may be getting harder to go to work in the morning and the thought of Monday might be filling you with a sense of impending doom. Additionally, you find yourself quieter during meetings with no constructive inputs to give, and it feels like you’re dragging yourself through the day. There’s an obvious lack of direction or motivation and where you are headed professionally, and feel a constant lull in your work life. NEGATIVITY You feel disillusioned and become cynical about your work and your colleagues. You constantly entertain selfdeprecatory feelings and de-value the work of your co-workers as well. “Balancing conflicting demands at work is difficult and tiring. But remember that no one likes an ill-tempered co-worker. There’s new evidence that people experiencing a job burn out produce a higher level of the hormone cortisol, which is a stress hormone in our body,” says clinical psychologist Seema Hingorrany. LACK OF CONTROL If you feel like you don’t have a say in the company’s decisions anymore, it might leave you in a disgruntled and irritable mood. Your schedule and assignments no longer excite you and that often leaves you in a state of dissatisfaction. SIGNS OF A BURNOUT • High emotional volatility and constant stress. • Regular neck pains, headaches and lower back pain. • Cutting off from social interaction. • Low self-esteem and confidence. • Isolation and lack of support.

Ria Lawrence BT140211