Suggested Readings
Are You Burned Out?
By Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer
Almost anyone who has held a job knows the twinge of dread on Sunday evenings as the countdown to the workweek nears its final hours. Friday afternoon becomes the light at the end of a dark, five-day tunnel.
For most people, this is a momentary feeling that comes along when work is particularly stressful or when it’s been too long since a vacation. Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t disappear for many workers. If you can relate, then you might be burned out on your job.
“Most people will experience temporary periods of burnout or imbalance,” says Jim Bouchard, author of “Dynamic Components of Personal Power.” “Long periods of imbalance can be dangerous to your health, destructive to your relationships and can endanger your job.”
How do you know when you’ve crossed from a rough patch into a burnout?
Burnout creeps up and you don’t know until you’re in the midst of it, says Dr. Todd Dewett, author of the book “Leadership Redefined.”
“It does not happen overnight. It happens in tiny little chunks slowly. This is why it is difficult to read any given instance for what it is, let alone judge where you are in the process of becoming burned out.”
If you’re not sure whether you’re just having a bad day or are experiencing something worse, here are some signs that you’re burning out, according to Dewett:
Your professional relationships don’t matter anymore.
If the breakroom chats and hallway conversations with your colleagues went from fun diversions to nonexistent, your heart is obviously not in the job anymore.
The quality of your work isn’t what it used to be.
When you’re disillusioned with your job, you’re not going to perform to your best abilities. Maybe you don’t notice the drop in quality or maybe you do notice but just don’t care.
You’re no longer goal-oriented.
When your motivation is getting to the end of the day instead of getting that new job title, something’s not right.
Recognizing that you’re burned out is a good first step, but it won’t mean much unless you take action to change the situation. Talk about it, both to yourself and to other people, Dewett suggests. When you share your newfound realization with the important people in your life, you make a strong commitment to doing something about it, he says.
Here are some other ways to beat burnout:
Spice up your routine. Figure out what new responsibility you are capable and willing to assume and ask that it be given to you. “You may have to apologize and/or show a rejuvenated effort at work in order to get what you are asking for,” Dewett warns, “but do it because new variety and stimulation is vital to overcome burnout.”
Rediscover your motivation. “Goals work. Be specific and set deadlines,” Dewett recommends. Analyze each goal and figure out what skills you will gain, what new experiences you will have and whom you might meet. “Make the goals at least modestly challenging, and feel free to share them with others to increase your commitment,” Dewett encourages.
Have a plan. Create a list of skills you need to obtain, people you need to network with, financial items to take care of, and overall steps you need to take to get into a job or business that you are passionate about.
Sometimes you need to remove yourself from the situation if you want to make any progress. If your boss has written you off entirely, if you don’t have the resources to improve your skills or you were never a fit for the job, Dewett says there’s no way to work from within the system. For example, if you’re an accountant whose passion has always been photography and not numbers, you can’t make yourself love your current job. So don’t be afraid to make the jump to a better career.
Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.
Copyright 2008 CareerBuilder.com. All rights reserved. Story Filed Wednesday, July 02, 2008 – 9:59 AM
Original article can be found at:
Dr. Beverly Potter commented on this article:
Stress and burnout are not the same. Burnout is a kind of job depression and is caused by feeling of powerlessness; it is not caused by stress – tho it is stressful. Stress is a taxing of the body.
Burnout is a motivational problem. A person struggling with burnout is demotivated, dispirited, depressed – down. Whereas a highly stressed person may be highly enthusiastic – tho driving their body.
Stress is the “fever” of burnout. As with pneumonia. A high fever must be reduced or there is a risk of brain damage – BUT once reduced the pneumonia is still there. Similarly with burnout – the stress must be reduced but reducing stress does not deal with the job situations rendering the person helpless. The person must develop a feeling of controllability.
Burnout is caused by feelings of uncontrollability. Powerlessness, damed-if-you-do damed-if-you-don’t situations. It is prevented by developing feelings of control over the job – which is an on-going process.
For considerable information on job burnout, the symptoms, burnout quizzes, and what to do to prevent it or turn it around – go to my site at docpotter.com
Good Leadership at Work Aids Mental Health
By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.
Senior News Editor at Psych Central
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on August 22, 2008
Friday, Aug 22 — New research finds evidence that good leadership has positive effects on employee health and well-being, including lower rates of anxiety, depression, and job stress as well as decreased sick leave and disability.
Finnish researchers searched for studies of the effects of leadership on key measures of employee health and well-being.
Qualities associated with good leadership included treating employees considerately and truthfully, providing social support, and providing inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation.
The report is found in the August Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Based on the 27 best-quality studies, the review provided “moderately strong” evidence linking good leadership to increased employee well-being.
Workers with good leadership were 40 percent more likely to be in the highest category of job well-being (ie, with low rates of symptoms like anxiety, depression, and job stress).
There was also moderate evidence linking good leadership with reduced sick days and disability. Good leadership was associated with a 27 percent reduction in sick leave and a 46 percent reduction in disability pensions.
Some studies found that good leadership was associated with increased job satisfaction, although this evidence was relatively weak. There was no evidence showing a significant effect of leadership on measures of job performance.
Several characteristics of work can affect employee health. Studies have shown that factors like job control and support influence measurable health outcomes, such as sick leave. Leadership is thought to be one of the most important factors mediating the relationship between work and health.
The findings support the “job well-being pyramid model”: a theory suggesting that a strong foundation of leadership, healthy work environment, and good working conditions reduces worker health problems.
The pyramid model may provide a useful framework for monitoring occupational health within organizations, Dr. Jaana and colleagues believe. Companies could use routine follow-up data on employee well-being at work as part of efforts to develop and evaluate steps to improve working conditions and work ability.
The researchers note the “relative lack” of high-quality studies targeting the association between leadership and employee health. However, the few good studies found an important link between the role of leadership and employee job satisfaction, job well-being, sickness absences and disability pensions.
The relationship between leadership and job performance remains unclear. Dr. Jaana and colleagues conclude, “If the association between leadership and health and well-being described in this review represents a true relationship, it would be extremely important that leadership function was considered, measured and evaluated, and good leadership practices were promoted in all work environments.”
Article Source: American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Original article can be viewed at:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/08/22/good-leadership-at-work-aids-mental-health/2806.html
