Stress and Job Burnout

There is an old expression, "too much of a good thing is not so good". This applies to even doing a job which we once loved. Over 30 years ago there was research that indicated that among professionals, over 40 percent indicated that if they had it to do over again, they wouldn't be doing what they were doing. Dr. Norman Sundberg, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oregon, had done some prescient research in this area, and this was later duplicated elsewhere. It didn't matter that someone had gone into a profession that earned a lot of money, such as being a dentist, physician, or an attorney, but after a decade or so, almost half of them regretted doing what they were doing.

This would seem tragic given that people spend so much time and energy educating themselves into a career, only to find that they are disillusioned, discouraged and troubled about continuing it. Unfortunately, many professionals felt that they could not change what they were doing because of that investment of time, energy and monetary resources. They also didn't want to go through the emotional struggle of a major upheaval in their family and within themselves, and tragically continued to complain "I'm burned-out."

Later research indicated that this finding was fairly common not only among professionals, but also among lesser skilled individuals and highly skilled individuals, independent of their craft. Have you ever heard of someone saying, "I can't take this anymore", "I'm really burned-out now", "I hate this work", or "I wish I could do something else." When people say these things, they are usually feeling sad and sometimes downright depressed. Think about it, what a shame to spend over 40 hours per week doing something that you dread. Now that is mentally exhausting!

When any of us are in that state of mind, it's time to take stock , get some help and/or consultations, or simply figure out a way to better enjoy your work and your leisure hours, and/or find some other way of make a living. But how do you know that you’re really burned-out?

Here are some of the telltale signs which may suggest that you’re feeling troubled about what you're doing, and that you need a tune-up of some form:

* At work or at home, are people troubling you by saying, "you know, lately you haven't been looking so good."

* Upon awakening, you dread going to work.

* When you are at work, day after day you can't keep your mind on what you are doing.

* You find yourself being forgetful about deadlines, appointments and ordinary job responsibilities.

* You tire more easily. You can't even seem to get a second wind by mid-afternoon.

* You go home after work, and all you can think about is just lying down and crashing.

* You find yourself feeling a sadness that you just can't put your finger on.

* You feel as if you're working harder and harder, but you’re being less efficient.

* Even away from work, joy is elusive. It's even hard to smile.

* You've lost your sense of humor.

* Sex begins to feel like work instead of fun.

* You find yourself becoming increasingly disenchanted at work, and cynical about what ever goes on at work.

* You find yourself being critical of your coworkers, subordinates and your bosses, even over minor things.

* Even though you once felt you had something to say to others, now you feel like you don't have much to say about anything.

* When someone asks you what you want to do, where you want to go, and how you want to do something, you find yourself more readily saying, "I really don't care."

* You find yourself suffering from minor aches and pains, headaches, and even lingering colds, feeling rundown often.

* You find it more difficult than ever to make time to keep in contact with your family, friends and/or neighbors.

* If you have children, you struggle to find the energy to go to those extracurricular school activities.

* Suddenly, what you used to enjoy doing at work feels like a great effort.

* Not much seems to bring you any pleasure.

These may not be all of the telltale signs of being burned-out, but they are some of the signs, and we should all pay attention when they happen.. Talk to a loved one, to a professional counselor, to your rabbi, your priest, and/or perhaps to a best friend who listens carefully. Take stock of your life, and decide whether or not to renovate how you do your job now, or whether or not to find something else to do. It really doesn't matter, it only matters that you decide to do what is good for you.