Risk of Job Burnout

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By Jonathan Eqar

You've probably heard someone say they are "burned out," but what is job burnout, really?

Job burnout happens when you experience stress to a significant degree in what seems an unending circle, with no let up.

There are several situations when job burnout can become severe enough that it may necessitate a career change if you don't want to experience significant mental, physical or emotional symptoms that may end up damaging your health.

We've all experienced stress, of course, but job burnout happens when that stress is unending and significant -- and when we have no control over it. Here are some situations that may have you at risk of experiencing job burnout.

Causes for Job Burnout

1. You have too much work to do and too little time to do it

Especially in this economy, with so many layoffs happening and people losing their jobs, you may find yourself in a position where you still have your job -- but you're doing the work of three people instead of just one; you're doing the work of the two people in your department who were laid off, and you're doing your own work as well.

You're told that you should feel lucky to have your job, but in fact, there are days when you wish you'd get laid off, too.

That's because you literally have too much to do for one person to handle -- but no one is sympathetic to your situation and no one is helping you.

So, you shoulder the extra burden and soldier on, but there's only so much you can do regardless.

2. You're working hard -- but with no goal for "something better" in sight

Almost everyone has had jobs where they simply have had to slog along; the job itself is not very enjoyable, but it's a stepping-stone to something better.

So you work hard and do your best, and eventually, you do get that promotion, or you do finish school and change careers so that you can get on to a career you truly enjoy, where the work is hard but the rewards are equally beneficial.

What happens, though, if you've got a job where you simply go along day to day, with no end in sight?

What if you're working hard with no chance of promotion, no significant chance to make a better life for yourself than the one you've got now, and no chance to really get ahead? This is where burnout can happen.

3. You're working in a job that doesn't support your values

Just as one example, let's say you work for an employer that cuts corners wherever it can, at significant cost to the environment.

The attitude of the company is, "As long as we aren't breaking any laws, we can do whatever we want to, as long as it saves us money." What's worse, you as an employee may even be rewarded for finding ways to cut these corners by receiving a bonus for monies saved.

At the same time, though, you are a strong proponent of environmental conservation, "green energy," and protecting the Earth.

You may have begun this job by justifying it, saying, "Well, I'll do this for a little while and then change jobs as soon as I find one that's better," or maybe even, "I can change their minds."

Yet here you are, several years later, in the same career, making decent money and with a good lifestyle that you don't want to give up -- and hating every second of it because every time you comply with the company's stance to cut corners and hurt the environment, you go against your own values.

That can only go on for so long before job burnout begins to happen.

4. Your boss always expects the impossible -- and you deliver

You may have become the "golden kid" to your boss, always able to save the day by pulling off the impossible with little to no resources, and no help.

Now, you're stuck, always expected to continue to do the impossible with no resources available to you to give you a break; you can only keep up that kind of stress (and that kind of impossible situation) for so long before you begin to burn out.

So... how can you prevent job burnout? Read the article how to prevent job burnout to find out how.