KERA News has a discussion about burnout in the workplace with Dr. Natasha Benatti, a psychologist with Parkland Health:
“What, exactly, is burnout?
- Burnout, coined in 1974, refers to a state of complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, and it’s characterized by three different dimensions:
- A feeling of energy depletion,
- Increased mental distance from one’s job or a feeling of negativism.
“And a reduction in professional efficacy. Not being able to do your job as efficiently as you used to before, and just no longer caring about the things that might be important or “experiencing an increased sense of hopelessness.
“Would those count as signs of burnout approaching? Or is there something else you should look for?
“We could look at feeling tired or drained. Most of the time that’s a sign. Feeling helpless or trapped and or defeated. Feeling alone or isolated or detached from the world around you may also be a sign. Having a cynical or negative outlook on the world, or your job specifically, and then feeling constantly overwhelmed.
“So what should you do to get through burnout when it happens?
“We want to look at our options, right?
“We want to be communicative and talk to our managers, and our bosses about our concerns and see if there are ways to work together to make changes to solve these types of problems.
“Setting realistic goals of what needs to get done might also be helpful and finding out what can wait, right? We don’t have to get through our wait list every single day.
“And if things at work are not likely to change, we might want to take a better, bigger step and maybe find something that might be a better fit. But having that conversation first is pivotal.”
To read the entire KERA News article, click HERE.