Coaching
Burnout At The Work Place
By Thrity Engineer-Mbuthia
What a year 2024 has been. And here we are, once again, on the edge of the end of a year, and the beginning of another year. December is here and with it comes the festive season. But like many Kenyans, it is also a time for reflection on how 2024 has been.
Is it me, or is the earth spinning a little faster? Is there a lot happening in the world? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by everything around you? When was the last time you just sat and did nothing? Yes, that includes not using your phone to scroll mindlessly through social media.
Social media might have been designed to help us connect with people, but right now, it doesn’ t quite feel very social. It feels like a pocket billboard of everyone sharing their best experiences, their achievements, their awards and their high-powered successes.
Back to burnout. According to the health website WebMD, in an article reviewed by Dr Jabeen Begum( 2024), burnout has been described as“ a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped.” Probably sounds very familiar to you.
The emotional, mental and physical toll all rolled into one, results in an intense feeling of pressure, leading to high levels of stress.
Some people might say life is hard and stress is inevitable. Some may even argue stress can be a good thing, because it gets you to keep moving and meet deadlines. We have all heard someone say,” I perform better under pressure” as an excuse for getting things done at the last minute. But burnout is different. If you are in a state of burnout, you have nothing left to give. No emotion, no interest in the work and no ability to move forward.
Burnout isn’ t caused by one incident. It is the prolonged exposure to stressful scenarios that leads to intense fatigue and emotional emptiness. Society expects us to have the best shock absorbers such that we can take everything thrown at us. How would you know if you are suffering from burnout? There isn’ t a specific medial test for it but there may be symptoms that can point you to that direction.
The most obvious is high levels of stress. This could also be at the workplace, often referred to as job burnout. Do you shudder at the thought of having to go to work? Do you struggle with tasks at work? Do you feel irritable when around your co-workers? Do you question the value of your work? Do you feel you are no longer as productive as you used to be?
What leads to feeling this way at work? It could be too much to do with a lack of support and not proper work-life balance. It could be conflicts at the workplace and no clear expectations of what needs to be done. It could be excessive micromanagement. Both team leaders and team members can experience burnout at the same time, especially when unrealistic expectations are imposed on them.
There could be other symptoms like not wanting to engage with others, low energy and feeling fatigue or exhaustion all the time. Another reason for burnout could be not getting enough good sleep. Good sleep is uninterrupted sleep for at least 7-8 hours and helps in providing the brain with rest. It could be that you don’ t take breaks or you eat while standing or watching TV. Even frequent physical illnesses like colds and flus can point to possible burnout.
Burnout isn’ t caused by one incident. It is the prolonged exposure to stressful scenarios that leads to intense fatigue and emotional emptiness. If you are in a state of burnout, you have nothing left to give. No emotion, no interest in the work and no ability to move forward.
If this happens at the workplace, it will lead to lower levels of productivity, more sick days and less engagement as people look for alternative jobs. In fact, according to a 2023 Nairobi Law Monthly article written by Anthony Mutunga, Kenyans are experiencing some of the highest rates of burnout globally with 85 % of respondents in a survey saying they felt they were constantly connected to work. So what are the options for people experiencing burnout? Here are five things you can do if you think you are suffering from workplace burnout.
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