How do I deal with workplace burnout?

I stared into my sock drawer for several minutes. My decision fatigue was so bad that I couldn’t remember if I needed to pick a pair of socks or just close the drawer.

The concept of “burnout” gets thrown around casually to talk about everything from a lack of enthusiasm to full-on psychological collapse. I tell “the sock story” to remind people that burnout can affect more than our work performance. Severe burnout can affect our basic functioning.

Hard work isn’t the only ingredient to burnout. All work and no play can even be invigorating under certain circumstances. But when hard work is combined with the following ingredients, it’s a recipe for burnout:

😐 Lack of impact - When you are pouring your heart into your work and you aren’t seeing results (or worse, if your organization is actively hostile to it), eventually you stop caring. 

😔 Lack of agency - When you can’t control the pace of your work or how it’s done, helplessness eventually gives way to hopelessness.

😞 Lack of connection - When you don’t feel connected to the work or the people around you, isolation leads to numbness.

In our 4th episode of HR Peep Show, AnnE Diemer, Tali Ramo, and I discuss what leads to workplace burnout and what you can do about it. Hear the full sock story and what I learned from it at the link below.

Listen Here