Apathetic, Unproductive And Unmotivated?
A therapist writes about 3 types of burnout and burnout management.
In our productivity-obsessed modern world, burnout is one of the most common and devastating psychological conditions. Not because it reduces productivity, but also because of the psychological and physical suffering it causes.
Unfortunately, the word “burnout” has been thrown around so frequently and casually, what it actually refers to has been somewhat lost.
That’s why I wrote this article — I want to talk about burnout, its signs and symptoms, and what can be done about it.
What is burnout?
Burnout is a response to chronic work stress. According to this study, it consists of fatigue (in relation to work), cynicism towards one’s work colleagues and industry, depersonalisation (distant attitudes towards work), and a sense of incompetence in the professional sphere.
However, recent research has shown that there are three types of burnout, each associated with varying degrees of involvement in one’s work.
The Three Types of Burnout And Their Signs
1. The Overloaded Type
The first type of burnout is the overloaded subtype. This is what typically comes to mind when we talk about burnout — someone in a workplace that overloads them with work.
This type of burnout tends to happen in competitive fields in which one needs to keep working to keep their job. These individuals often work to the point of physical and emotional exhaustion, sacrificing other important aspects of their life for their work.
Some common symptoms of individuals with this type of burnout:
- Lack of time for self-care or non-work activities
- Constant physical and emotional exhaustion
- Strong motivation / sense of need to work
- Spend increasing amounts of time and effort on work
2. The Under-Challenged Type
Those working in monotonous and non-stimulating professions may also experience burnout. Known as the under-challenged subtype of burnout, this type of burnout often develops in persons with repetitive and routine tasks. These individuals often show reduced dedication and motivation towards their work, and perform work in a superficial manner.
Some common signs in this type of burnout:
- A sense of cynicism and indifference towards one’s work
- Boredom and lack of motivation towards work
- Work absenteeism or escapism
- Avoidance or suppression of work-related negative thoughts (“stop thinking about things you can’t do anything about”)
3. The Worn-Out Type
A third kind of burnout is known as worn-out burnout. This type of burnout is used to describe individuals who are burnt out to the point of disregarding their responsibilities at work. They often neglect their work and may feel that they lack control over the results of their actions at work.
Some common signs in this type of burnout:
- A sense of no longer caring about what happens at work
- Lack of motivation to complete basic work responsibilities
- Feeling that one has no control over work results, or unacknowledged
- Feeling unsupported at work
Why Care About Burnout?
Apart from the serious financial and economic impacts of burnout on the organisational and societal scale, burnout seriously hurts the individual, too.
Psychological consequences like depression, poor self-esteem, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and addictions often occur with burnout. Studies have also observed physical consequences like headaches, reduced immunity, chronic fatigue, and increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Finally, behavioural consequences such as attentional deficits, absenteeism, substance abuse, self-isolation and existential crises may result.
What You Can Do About Burnout Now
For those of us who are not burnt out but are at risk, here are some evidence-based burnout prevention strategies:
- Physical exercise
- Mindfulness training
- Self-assessment and monitoring of possible signs of burnout, such as through a diary
When one is burnt out, there are several strategies that can be employed to increase individual well-being:
- Psychotherapy for burnout, which typically involves learning the skills to manage burnout symptoms and developing healthy lifestyle habits
- Time management to better juggle work and personal needs
- Communicating with employers to modify job demands to better suit personal needs, knowledge and skills
Beyond the scope of this article, there are many things that can be done to reduce burnout on an organisational level such as workplace restructuring, provision of training, use of rewards and incentives and improvement of job requirements.
Conclusion
Contrary to popular belief, there are many types of burnout, and burnout can often silently creep upon us before we know it. Nonetheless, there are many things that we can do to prevent and aid recovery from burnout.
If you believe you are vulnerable, start taking action today.
I am a psychologist and founder of superwellpsychology.com. If you would like to learn more about psychology, visit my website and subscribe to my writings.
