Have you ever felt overwhelmed day after day at work? Did you know that there is something called Burnout syndrome and it is related to this situation? Work balance is not a game! Therefore, in this article we explain what Burnout is and how you can learn to avoid it.

What is Burnout Syndrome?

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Burnout as an official disease. But what have you heard about it?

Burnout syndrome, also known as burnout, refers to a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion that occurs chronically as a consequence of a poorly managed work relationship.

Burnout is characterized by a state of emotional exhaustion, a distant attitude and a feeling of constant ineffectiveness, which is why it is considered one of the main mental health problems today.

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What are the risk factors for Burnout?

There are certain factors that can trigger Burnout in a worker. Below, we tell you what they are:

Socio-cultural factors

It is common for professional burnout to occur in those cases in which the worker is in direct contact with people; an example of this may be teachers or health personnel.

In this type of direct employment relationship, there may be a clash between the expectations of the worker that generates some kind of tension at the moment of offering the service and the person who benefits from it.

Personal factors

In certain types of personalities it is more common that Burnout can originate, such as:

Idealistic personalities, as extremely high expectations in a work environment often lead to both emotional and physical burnout.

Personalities with low self-esteem, as in these cases people tend to isolate themselves or suffer from anxiety, which can aggravate Burnout more frequently.

Absolutist personalities, since they tend to be very demanding and self-critical people; and sometimes they are more prone to suffer from chronic stress and Burnout syndrome.

3. Organizational factors

The company as such can also be a factor that leads the worker to suffer from Burnout, and it is usually common to evidence a constant work overload, lack of rewards, as well as differences with the rest of the employees.

Symptoms of professional burnout

Burnout originates as a continuous process in which the worker begins to progressively lose energy, optimism and enthusiasm in the workplace. To recognize when it can happen to us it is important to know what the associated symptoms are. In the following infographic we show them to you:

However, just as workers can be affected by this series of symptoms, these actions often generate consequences internally in the company where they carry out their activities, such as: staff turnover, abandonment of the organization and internal conflicts that damage the work environment.

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How to avoid Burnout Syndrome?

Taking into account that professional burnout usually affects around 10% of workers worldwide, it is time to ask ourselves how can we prevent this situation?

There are certain strategies that can be applied individually or collectively (by the company) to deal with this disease:

Individual strategies

If you want to avoid Burnout on an individual basis, there are certain psychological techniques that can help you reduce the emotional discomfort. These can range from breathing and relaxation practices to cognitive restructuring.

Likewise, focusing on social skills techniques will help you to enhance your behaviors to relate to other workers.

Problem solving is also very useful for rational responses and other real situations you may experience.

Collective strategies

On the other hand, we find those techniques that can be carried out by organizations to help the proper development of employees:

Early socialization programs help workers to acquire certain skills before they enter the workforce.

Through feedback and evaluation programs, employees are educated on the assignment of tasks and responsibilities, thus promoting professional improvement.

Finally, organizational development programs are ideal for fostering an optimal environment within the company and making all personnel stand out for their motivation and commitment.

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How to cope with Burnout syndrome?

What can become a problem for both workers and the company itself, can be attacked intelligently at the corporate level through actions such as:

• Study in detail the working conditions that may have generated the syndrome and modify them.

• Try to be realistic when assigning tasks to each business department, and establish appropriate delivery times.

• It provides space for the exchange of ideas and participation among workers.

• Establishes a workable work schedule and, if necessary, allows for justified work flexibility

• Provides the necessary resources to meet each of the established objectives and to facilitate teamwork

• Encourages socialization inside and outside the workplace, so that you can generate empathy in the whole team.

• Provides emotional support in the organization and establishes clear communication criteria.

In TAS Consulting we can perform the social management of your company and advise you to build an ideal relationship with your employees. So, if you want more information about this, please contact us!