Burnout Is Real 🔥

2021 offers little escape. Here are coping strategies.

The world and your career are on fire, and not in a good way.

You're not imagining it, and you're not alone. That knot in the middle of your chest during Zoom calls is not the behemoth burrito you gobbled down between meetings; it's burnout (and probs the heaviness of world affairs, too). 

A slew of studies over the last six to eight months have consistently found that employees are increasingly experiencing the symptoms of burnout, even if they cannot put a name to the weight they feel. In May about 40% of employees working from home self-reported they were experiencing burnout. In July that number jumped to 69% of employees. A December survey found that number increased to 76% of American workers. 

Of note to the above:

• All surveys consistently found more women experienced these symptoms versus men. And mothers had even higher levels versus fathers. 

• More limited surveys of healthcare workers found their stress and burnout levels are significantly higher than employees in other fields.

A long list of factors explains why burnout is so common right now

• Longer work hours

• Less work/life balance

• Fewer childcare options

• Job insecurity

• Financial anxiety

• Political tensions further heightened by far-right insurgency

Instead of focusing on what we can't control, here are tips to help us mitigate stress

I'm making a mental note to follow these best practices too, as my, like the nation's, antacid consumption is off the charts. Here's a list from easiest to most complicated.

• Move around and exercise more. Getting your heartbeat up has repeatedly been shown to reduce stress. And moving through different physical spaces, taking short walks along different streets than normal, or working in different locations throughout the day has been shown to help reduce brain fog and increase memory. ➡️ Shameless plug to my travel newsletter.

• Get a hobby. Stave off the stress and do something fun. I recently unpacked my craft corner and found my way back to bookbinding.

• Turn off notifications. I started doing this a few months ago and am never going back. I've blocked all work notifications after 6 pm and set up my phone to go on silent mode and block all notifications after 11 pm. 

• Take time off. Americans are notorious for taking less vacation than the rest of the world, and this year workers left almost all of their vacation days on the table. Take a day, or even better, the whole week off.

• Say NO more often. Here are researched-back methods that are most effective. 

• Quit. It's never completely off the table. If your job is toxic or making you sick, the experts recommend leaving—quickly.

Reading List

• Does burnout recovery always require radical change? - BBC

• Work less and be more creative — a radical prescription - The Financial Times (subscription may be required)

• I teach a course on happiness at Yale: this is how to make the most of your resolutions - The Guardian

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