Why burnout depletes productivity (and how to deal with it)

During the construction of a career, working round the clock seems like a justified sacrifice. But the underestimation of the value of rest may well lead to burnout .

The unreasonable achievement of a goal without loss of effort and time is the key idea of ​​our working culture. And it seems that too hard work does not exist. The 80-hour work week, checking email at 3 am, nightly overtime to launch a project — such actions seem necessary and even commendable.

And it actually becomes the end of productivity. Hard work, dedication and small additional efforts to stand out from the crowd - it's all great if you want to move up the career ladder. After all, if you are not among the lucky ones who are constantly winning, then without all this it is simply impossible to achieve success.
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Deliberate employment is an honor. But constant work at the limit serves as a direct road to burnout. Moreover, the fact that processing actually reduces productivity is obvious. John Penkavell of Stanford University found that the lack of a weekend harms hourly output, and the productivity of the 70-hour work week hardly increases compared with the 54-hour schedule — hence, 16 extra hours turn into a meaningless waste of time.

It is necessary to take into account the negative impact of processing on well-being. Therefore, it is very important to ensure that overload does not become an obstacle to the goals.

What is burnout (and what are its symptoms)?

Burnout is a feeling of deep anxiety, fatigue and helplessness that occurs when working to exhaustion. As a result of increased and prolonged stress, it can sneak up unnoticed, because fatigue and stress are often perceived as the norm.

Burnout consists of 12 stages identified by psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Jeil North. It affects people who neglect their needs for the sake of endless work. Reflections about rest, health, and relationships disappear, and people approaching burnout begin to deny the existence of problems created by this lifestyle. The most dramatic manifestation of burnout and its last stage is a physical and emotional crisis. But the difficulties it causes — for example, the feeling of emptiness, isolation, and chronic fatigue — begin to have a negative effect long before that.

Working long hours, giving up weekends, burning lives - in the end it all makes itself felt. One of the leading British doctors, Professor John Ashton, even called for a 4-day work week to deal with high blood pressure and psychological ailments associated with overwork. This suggests that doctors are taking too hard work very seriously.

Adaptation strategies designed to support this lifestyle can also aggravate burnout. Temporary measures - calm, which comes with a cigarette, or Friday's roundabouts until the morning - in the long run can only complicate the situation.

If we talk about a career, then work at the limit of opportunities can lead to the appearance of real obstacles to success. Burnout deprives of motivation and optimism on condition of loss of interest in work. An indicator of this is that a decrease in the number of working hours in the richest countries of the world correlates with an increase in productivity, and the Swedish experiment with a 6-hour working day ended with a rise in efficiency and a decrease in staff turnover.

Why burnout leads to terrible well-being?

Burnout usually begins with a desire to test yourself. The combination of ambition and perfectionism makes you work harder and harder, and hide your head in the sand at the sight of any problems that arise - like an eternal runny nose or unexpected tears because of trifles.

Constant tension triggers a “hit or run” stress response. The body releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, redirects energy to the muscles and increases heart rate, ignoring non-vital functions like digestion. When stress becomes a “default state”, a similar reaction begins to be harmful. Excessive tension causes a feeling of eternal fatigue, inhibits libido and adversely affects the immune system.

Over time, it all increases. The feeling of exhaustion, lack of motivation, inability to relax, the emergence of the habit of living in an environment of minor ailments ... As a result, burnout begins to affect the ability to fully live and work. But if hard work is necessary for success, then how can you make every effort and not harm your health and well-being?

How to avoid burnout and increase productivity?

The key to combating burnout is the allocation of time to classes, reducing stress , and the formation of certain boundaries for both yourself and employers.

1. Limit your working hours

Accidental delays at work for interesting cases will do no harm. However, if you are constantly working until the morning or stay in the office when everyone has already gone home, then it is likely that everything will end with burnout.

If you have just been assigned too much work and have taken too little time to complete it, do not hesitate and raise this question in a conversation with your employer. Any practical boss will certainly prefer a reasonable workload to the loss of an employee due to burnout. Especially since other people will have to take on your responsibilities if you fail to complete the job.

2. Create a formal work schedule

You should also establish strict boundaries of the working day (especially if you work for yourself) and deviate from them only occasionally. The degree of congestion usually fluctuates, so it may sometimes be necessary to work a couple extra hours a day for 2 weeks. And this is normal, provided that you return to the usual schedule quickly enough. At the end of the working day, disable email notifications, close projects and mentally step aside.

3. Think about priorities outside the work area.

Think about your household duties. Those who have children work 40 hours a week much more difficult than those who do not have them. And the correct schedule for you may not be consistent with the traditional “from 9 to 17”. You just need to evaluate what you can consistently handle. And if suddenly comes the understanding that you have charged yourself too much, immediately solve this problem.

4. Find (healthy) ways to relax.

Finally, find a healthy method that allows you to relax. Alcohol even in small amounts reduces the quality of sleep, so a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day will simply exacerbate fatigue. Cigarettes, as you know, are also harmful, so you need to find healthy alternatives.

Meditation will help you avoid burnout for many reasons: from reducing the level of stress hormones in the body by a third to entering a state of deep rest, even deeper than sleep. If you are under stress and feel exhausted, then meditation will help you recover.

And still help to achieve the desired exercise (performed for fun, and not considered as another duty), regular walks in nature or lying in the bath with a book at the end of the day. Anyway, daily rest not only brings peace of mind, but also helps to move on.

PS We recommend another useful article on the subject of work on yourself - 8 clear signs of a successful life, not related to money or fame .

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.