How to Bypass Burnouts & Maintain a Healthy Work-Life Balance
The importance of leisure time for productivity
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization officially recognized burnout as a medical diagnosis. This means that, now, this stress disorder can be covered by health insurers and you no longer have to feel bad for needing to take time off to de-stress.
The term “burnout” originated in the 1970s by American psychologist, Herbert Freudenberger. It was used to detail the result of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions. A “helping” profession refers to jobs that involve sacrificing yourself for others such as doctors and nurses. These types of professions are inclined to leave people feeling exhausted and unable to cope, and feeling “burned out”.
It’s now not solely used for helping professions, but for anyone experiencing similar effects due to being overworked and overstressed at work.
Productivity on a pedestal
Productivity is the idea that you’re meant to be producing as many effective results as you can as quickly and efficiently as possible. And our society is obsessed with it.
Many companies use productivity to measure employee efforts and business processes. There is a whole industry that provides tools, tips, and tricks that can help companies and individuals be as productive as possible. (And we can’t say that we’re not playing along with this).
I get it, businesses want to be efficient. They want to get as much as they can with as few resources as possible. But placing productivity on a pedestal is what can pressure workers into taking on more projects, doing overtime, and working through their lunch breaks.
A healthy work-life balance
Regularly sacrificing break time is a sign that employees may be stretching their limits thin. They’re taking on too many extra tasks and projects simply because they’re afraid to say no and disappoint their bosses.
A survey conducted by Tork revealed that millennials, who make up most of the US workforce, feel more pressured than their Gen X counterparts to not take their lunch breaks. 16% of them said they would take a pay cut of 10% so they could actually take a lunch break every day.
The idea that 16% of millennial workers aren’t taking their lunch breaks every day is (while not surprising) disheartening.
Breaks are essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Think of your brain like you would a muscle, the more you work it without a break, the quicker it will get exhausted. This can lead to reduced focus and diminished motivation.
Going without breaks can also result to added stress as you’re not getting the time to relax and recharge. Constantly working without a break can be very stressful, and too much stress can potentially lead to a work burnout.
So really, forgoing your breaks to do more work is counterproductive in the long run.
Bypassing burnouts with leisure time
Having a healthy work-life balance, while not the be all, end all solution, is a key element to avoid experiencing a work burnout.
By placing as much emphasis and importance on your free time as you do on your job can give you a sense of purpose outside of work and a different appreciation for life.
I get it, work is important. We need it to pay bills, to not starve to death, and to have a roof over our heads. It also helps us to go on holidays, buy pretty clothes, and enjoy other luxuries. But it shouldn’t be your only reason for living. Even if you’re lucky enough to be doing your dream job, you need some kind of balance so that it stays that way and you don’t grow to resent it.
The importance of leisure time is mapped out in James Wallman’s book, Time and How to Spend It: The 7 Rules for Richer, Happier Days. It discusses how positive experiences can result in enduring, sustainable happiness and how spending your time in certain ways can lead to a more successful life.
Wallman himself notes that,
If you spend your time in certain ways, you’re more likely to be achieve the three things most of us want: happiness, resilience, and success. This is not only about how you spend your leisure time but how you spend all of your time.
The book provides a checklist that can be used as a framework for selecting activities that can help you avoid experiences that offer you no value. It is called the STORIES checklist and it stands for:
- Story
- Transformation
- Outside & Offline
- Relationships
- Intensity
- Extraordinary
- Status & Significance
Each element can help you figure out which experiences you should consider doing and how to make the most of not only your leisure time, but all of your time.
Excelling at work and doing your utmost best is high priority for many people, and so it should be. You don’t need someone like me telling you that you can’t place significance on your work. However, if work is the only thing you’re placing value on in your life, then perhaps you do need someone like me telling you otherwise.
At the risk of sounding incredibly cliché, you need a healthy work-life balance. Not only can it help you to curb stress, but it can also help you to be more productive in the long run. You’re no use to your company—and yourself—if you’re ill, unfocused, or burnt out.
So, take your breaks, learn to say no at work, make the most of your leisure time, and find worthwhile experiences. You may find yourself to be more productive and therefore more valuable at work.
How do you enjoy spending your leisure time?
Cheers,
Dinnie and the Zenkit team
