Are You Experiencing Career Fatigue?
Does this sound familiar?
- Are you feeling “stuck” in your career?
- Do you dread going to work?
- Have you noticed that you’re more irritable and impatient than normal?
- Are you finding it difficult to focus? Has your productivity dropped?
- Are you struggling with insomnia? Or are you experiencing the opposite and struggling to drag yourself from bed every morning?
- Are you experiencing frequent headaches or stomach issues?
- Have you noticed that you’re becoming more apathetic?
- Is work encroaching on every aspect of your life?
If you’re experiencing some or all of these symptoms, then you might be struggling with job burnout, aka “career fatigue”.
While it may seem like it’s “normal” to not love your job, career fatigue can lead to some serious health problems and should never be ignored.
So, what can you do?
How to Overcome Career Fatigue
There are several steps you can take to address symptoms of career fatigue:
Set boundaries
First and foremost: stop saying “yes”! It’s time to evaluate the weight you carry in both your personal and professional lives.
Figure out what you can reasonably accommodate in your schedule (WITHOUT overtime hours!) and adjust accordingly. It will be hard to set and enforce your boundaries at first, because people won’t be used to them…but after a while, it will become more comfortable for you and those in your life. And your shoulders will thank you for the lightened burden!
Take breaks
Make sure to eat all meals, and be sure to take time away from your work throughout the day to stretch and give your work persona a rest. The amount of time that a person can spend focused on one task is finite; typically within 2 hours, you need to take a rest.
Try working in sprints: 90 minutes focused on an intensive project, 10–20 minutes off to grab a coffee, rest your eyes, and check your email/Slack messages. This harnesses your natural ultradian rhythm and allows you to achieve your ultimate flow state.
Are you taking your PTO? Make sure you do. And if you’re sick? STAY HOME. Your body will recover faster if you get the rest that you need.
Find a mentor
If you’re feeling stuck or lacking confidence, it’s time to utilize your network! Find a mentor or career coach to help give you new insights into your current work and aid in navigating your next steps.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to the people who inspire you! A mentor can be someone you already know, or they could be someone that you follow on social media. LinkedIn in particular is full of talented people who are sharing their insights daily. Find a few “influencers” that speak to YOU, and follow along on their journey!
Change your job
Sometimes the only thing to be done about career burnout is to let go of the work that’s not working for you.
Take stock of what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about, then find the crossover. Can you turn that into a career? That’s an excellent place to start!
What do you need to do to make it happen? Create an action plan and break it down into steps. Celebrate each time you reach a goal!
Seek professional support
I cannot stress this enough: if you are struggling, get help.
Mental health professionals are there to help you navigate difficult periods of your life, and you’re not alone in your pain. (According to Zippia, 89% of workers have experienced burnout within the last year, and 40% have left jobs because of it.)
Mental health care is becoming more and more accessible and less disruptive to your daily life. With the rise of telehealth and organizations like BetterHelp and Talkspace, you no longer have to take hours out of your workday to find support.
Find a therapist that is right for you, and if you find yourself in crisis please contact 988 (US).
How to Prevent Future Career Burnout
While it may be difficult to prevent all forms of stress, there are steps that you can take to identify warning signs and prevent future career fatigue.
Regular self-evaluation
Check in with yourself often. Ask yourself these questions:
- How am I feeling?
- Do I still enjoy my work?
- Is my workload manageable?
- Do I feel supported by my company and my team? (Salary, benefits, shared responsibilities)
- Do I feel seen and heard at my company? Am I comfortable raising concerns?
- Is there growth potential in my company?
If there ever comes a time when the answer to one (or multiple) of these questions isn’t what you want for yourself, consider the next steps like talking to your supervisor.
Work/life balance
Make time for your personal life, and remember: you come first.
If you’re not healthy mentally and physically, you can’t do your best work for your company. And remember: setting and enforcing boundaries early (such as your office hours) will help you avoid intense burnout.
Take courses or do freelance work.
Sometimes we have to do work that doesn’t feed our souls because we need to pay the bills, and that’s okay! Make sure that you still find a way to fill your own cup.
By taking courses for career development or starting a freelance business on the side, you can do something you enjoy AND invest in your future in case you decide later that you’d like to make a full career pivot.
Conclusion
Because it impacts so many, career fatigue might seem like a “normal” part of life…but it is actually a big red flag for both your mental and physical health.
Failure to address career fatigue can lead to serious consequences, spanning from insomnia, fatigue, and lowered immunity to high blood pressure, heart disease, and even Type 2 Diabetes.
Remember: we work to live, not live to work! By taking steps to recover from current burnout and prevent future recurrences, you can take your future into your own hands and overcome career fatigue.
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Happy learning!
