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Identifying Job Stress Burnout

Definition

Burnout is a condition of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by long-term exposure to stressful work situations.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Examples:

• Research shows 60% to 90% of doctor visits are stress related - Harvard Business Review

• A 20-year study conducted by the University of London concluded that unmanaged reactions to stress were a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods – Neutralizing Workplace Stress: The Physiology of Human Performance and Organizational Effectiveness

• A study of 3,020 aircraft employees showed that employees who "hardly ever" enjoyed their job were 2.5 times more likely to report a back injury than those who reported "almost always" enjoying their job – Living with Stress Penguin Health

• Men with demanding jobs that give them little control have three times the risk of hypertension as co-workers. Men with demanding jobs with control show no ill effects – Behavioral Risk Management: How to Avoid Preventable Losses from Mental Health Problems in the Workplace.

Causes:

• Your job is monotonous. Requires too many hours. Conflicting directions – no win.

• Poor environment – crowding, noise, air pollution, toxic chemicals, etc.

• Job insecurity due to pressures from boss or possibility of takeover or merger.

• You work in a helping profession – health care, counseling, teaching or law enforcement.

• Intrinsically stressful job (customer service, moving production line workers, etc.).

• You lack control – lack resources to do your job, unable to make meaningful changes.

• Frustration – not being able to utilize personal talents or abilities effectively.

• Dysfunctional workplace situation – a boss who micromanages your work; undermined by co-workers; work under an office bully; given unreasonable demands or goals.

Physical Symptoms

Fatigue, insomnia, weight gain or loss, depression, anxiety, anger buildup.

Behavioral Symptoms

• Are you over cynical, critical and sarcastic at work?

• Have you lost the ability to experience joy?

• Do you feel bored, no longer challenged?

• Have difficulty getting started at work, difficulty concentrating?

• Do you feel irritable over small delays, details?

• Do you no longer feel satisfaction from completing assignments?

• Do you experience frequent headaches, neck pain or lower back pain?

• Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better?

Helpful Suggestions

• Don’t take work home – physically or mentally.

• Clear away clutter from your desk. Put projects away until you need them.

• Take a mental-health day off and enjoy yourself.

• Cultivate allies at work. Just knowing you have one or more co-workers who are willing to sympathize with you in times of stress will reduce your stress level.

• Search to find some positive aspects to your situation.

• Know when it's time to move on. Explore your options and leave the job if you need to.

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Sources: Vagal and Sympathetic Activity in Burnouts During a Mentally Demanding Workday Psychosomatic Medicine 68:583-590 2006 Burnout and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Study of Apparently Healthy Employed Persons Psychosomatic Medicine 68:863-869 2006 Job Stress Research National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: 1972-2002 Historical and Current Perspectives on Stress and Health 2002 Dec Pamela L. Perrewe and Daniel C. Ganster, Eds., 2:1-55  Stress Management in Work Settings: A Critical Review of the Health Effects American Journal of Health Promotion 1996 Nov;11(2):112-135 

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