At times, work turns into a routine yet some jobs require much time to accomplish given tasks. In the long run, workers feel physically and mentally exhausted. This can eventually lead to burnout where one can be extremely fatigued that they feel like they are almost shutting down. What this means, is that you need to slow down and take care of yourself. Getting time to balance work and other personal duties is what every worker needs, for this can not only help you love your job again but also make you happier in your time off work. One of the signs of a burnout is that after a long night’s sleep, someone doesn’t wake up feeling rested. ‘Psychology Today’ indicates that this could be due to chronic fatigue, insomnia, forgetfulness, impaired concentration and focus, increased illness, loss of appetite, depression and anger. Career experts say that one of the ways to properly recover is to disconnect yourself from your work environment for a while. For instance through taking a vacation as it could bring you back fresh and lively. Jean Makara, the senior coordinator, and a professional skills trainer at Andela Rwanda says that it is important to draw back for a while when possible. This could be a time off or quick leave of absence that allows you to dis-engage from your everyday routine. The idea is to go back to your ‘why,’ the real reason you are in your business or career and determine if what you are currently doing provides you an opportunity to use your gifts and abilities and also allows you to see the positive impact you have to those you love and those you serve, he adds. “One should know their limits. Taking on more tasks than you can handle is a way to trigger a burnout, and it is also the easiest way to get bitter towards your boss and work in general. It’s better to explain to your boss when you can’t deliver and why, than forcing to impress them yet imposing too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes it’s okay to say no,” he states. When you are burnt out, it may feel difficult to make decisions, largely due to what is happening in your brain. The amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, actually has an increase in grey and white matter when battling burnout, depression or anxiety. This increase in matter clouds your ability to make decisions. Himanshu Arvind Kapadia, a consultancy partner at JALI Partners Ltd notes that physical and mental exhaustion is part of every individual who works for someone including those who love or treasure their work. To him, everyone suffers from economic pressure and their needs are increasing with their income and running tirelessly to cope with changing economic environment and often look for time for relaxation. “However, changeover is not always an option if we burnout or are too exhausted with our current work. This is the time to reassess everything we do on a daily basis and must understand this is the time to slowdown and curtail some of our activities, “For example, accept the fact that you are burnout or exhausted. Once you accept that, you need to slow down through clearing up your desk and note down everything you want to complete within the next months,” he says. Kapadia further notes that you should take some time out for social activities. Even an hour in a day will be useful to regain all the energy. It can be through spending time with your friends, watch sports, have a drink or do whatever makes you happy and bring out the work stress. He also stresses that you should analyse your skills and limits. In most cases, employees burnout because they are in a race of doing better than their co-workers-which imposes unnecessary stress on them. He instead urges them to accept work within their capacity and study or gather enough information about any new assignment and not being afraid to talk to seniors about their limits. Where necessary, Kapadia advises taking some time off as it will give you enough time to assess what you need to do while back in your business and love the job again. He urges talking to your mentor about the agony you are going through. Discuss the issues and the mentor will guide you on the way forward, but also understand the benefits of gratitude. Find out the reason you are grateful about your job and that’s the factor that can excite you to return to work.
