THE AFRO — Burnout, while not medically diagnosable, can cause people to loose their sense of self and feel as if they are not achieving enough. The American Psychological Association discovered that the risk of exhaustion has increased for workers since the advent of the COVID-19 epidemic due to additional stress, higher domestic demands, and extended working hours.
By BlackPressUSA
Megan Sayles is an AFRO Business Writer.
Report for America Corps Volunteer msayles@afro.com
We’ve all heard the old adage, “hard labor pays off.” However, working too diligently can sometimes cause more damage than benefit.
“Burnout” is a type of work-related stress in which an individual feels physical, emotional, or cerebral exhaustion as a result of the duties of their employment. According to the World Health Organization, it can also cause employees to feel disconnected from their employment and foster negative attitudes towards them.
Burnout, while not medically diagnosable, can cause people to loose their sense of self and feel as if they are not achieving enough. The American Psychological Association discovered that the risk of exhaustion has increased for workers since the advent of the COVID-19 epidemic due to additional stress, higher domestic demands, and extended working hours.
This emphasises the importance of individuals understanding the symptoms of exhaustion and how to deal with it. Natasha Charles is the creator and President of Intuitive Coaching with Natasha Charles, a full-service life counselling and consulting company. She founded the company after working in top management for 20 years.
Charles was inspired to start the company in 2018 by a wish to establish a business that inspires continuous improvement. She works with individuals and executives to help them build lifestyles they enjoy and provides personalised solutions to crucial work and business problems. “It’s really about thinking about yourself, the individual, and everything that you are,” Charles explained. “People tend to be very focused on one part of their life, which is often their job, so it’s really about creating room for all of your goals and dreams.”
Burnout can occur when someone is actively doing their job while also fretting about their other obligations and goals, whether personal or work-related, according to Charles. She also emphasised that burnout can occur regardless of what job you are in or how much you are compensated. According to Charles, aside from the physical and emotional effects of stress, burnout can have a financial impact if it causes an employee to take prolonged amounts of time off or skip work. It may also lower their output.
The phrase “quiet quitting” first appeared in early 2022, and some people use it to prevent exhaustion. It entails people reaching the bare minimum of their work descriptions, putting in no more time or effort than is required.
Quiet quitting, according to Charles, indicates that a person is dissatisfied with their employment and should consider shifting jobs or professions. “I understand that individuals aren’t always able to up and leave, and it can take time to find the next position,” Charles said. “I would approach it from the standpoint of urging the individual to consider what that is. What do you eventually want to be doing with your time and seeing your work?”
According to Charles, one of the most important steps in minimising and avoiding burnout is teaching yourself about the condition so you can recognise the warning symptoms. She also stressed the importance of companies discussing it with their workers. Awareness can help people avoid the humiliation and remorse that comes with exhaustion and enable them to forgive themselves.
After determining whether or not a person is suffering fatigue, they should consider how they want to deal with it. This could include practising self-care, asking for additional help at work or at home, and drawing clearer lines between their personal and professional lives. When burnout is affecting your performance, it’s time to contemplate a job change, according to Charles.
To ensure that your job life does not interfere with your personal life, Charles advises people to evaluate their objectives in all areas of their lives. Setting goals makes it simpler to devise a strategy and establish the required boundaries to accomplish them. Charles also stated that it is critical to set aside time for yourself where you are not continuously checking your phone or email for business purposes.
“There is living after employment. “There’s a whole universe out there waiting to be found,” Charles said. “There is a world within us as well that needs to be found, and I urge everyone to engage in finding those pieces.”
This article originally appeared in The Afro.