Sometimes people use the phrase “burned out” when they feel tired, down, or simply unenthusiastic about their current situation. But burnout in the workplace is much more serious than that. It’s a condition that has real physical and emotional symptoms, and one that can have a long-lasting negative impact on both employees and employers.

In a 2021 survey of 1,500 American workers, more than half said the demands of their professions left them feeling burned out.1 Another survey found that nearly 90% of respondents in 40 countries felt that their work lives were getting worse during the pandemic. As a result, more than 60% identified themselves as “burned out” either often, or very often.2

But even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, workplace burnout was a growing problem in many professions. In 2019, the World Health Organization defined burnout as a syndrome, associated with chronic work pressures that go unaddressed.

It starts with stress.

Stress — in personal or professional life — can have profound effects on health, especially when it continues unabated. When people are under stress, their bodies produce higher levels of hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. These chemical changes are useful in the short term — they give us the energy to persevere in difficult situations. But when they are present over a long period of time, they start harming the body instead of helping it.3

Stress can evolve into burnout.
If an employee isn’t functioning well, they are missing deadlines, seem frustrated in meetings, or are irritable with their colleagues, it’s easy to assume that they are simply stressed out, or going through a temporary rough patch. But burnout is much more than having a few bad days. For the employee, it’s a growing sense of being physically and mentally unwell and having difficulty coping with everyday life due to unmitigated stress. As a workplace phenomenon it is characterized by long periods of exhaustion, cynicism, detachment, reduced efficiency, and feeling a marked lack of accomplishment.

How burnout affects the body.
When someone is suffering from burnout, the amygdala — the brain’s danger detection system — might “hijack” the frontal lobes, triggering a fight-or-flight response. This makes it difficult to think clearly, draw conclusions, and recall memories.

In 2017, a research article in the journal PLOS One examined the physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout. The authors reviewed 61 prospective studies and found associations between burnout and serious health problems such as increased alcohol consumption, coronary heart disease, depression, sedentary behavior, obesity and musculoskeletal pain. Burnout is also linked to hormonal imbalance, hair loss, and changes in menstruation.4

Here are 8 common signs and symptoms of burnout.

  1. A Pessimistic Outlook
    Someone experiencing burnout may have an overwhelmingly pessimistic view, not just about their job, but also about the world around them. At work, this means they may have a more negative attitude toward clients, projects, processes, and management. Or, they may be more irritable overall, according to an article published inWorld Psychiatry. They may also appear annoyed or apathetic, as if there is no sense of purpose in their work.5Employees who are burned out frequently switch from trying to do their best all the time to doing the bare minimum in their jobs.
  2. Trouble Sleeping
    Another common symptom of burnout is restlessness and insomnia. Research suggeststhat chronic stress interferes with the neurological and hormonal system that regulates sleep. When researchers in Italy surveyed frontline health care workers with burnout during the first wave of the pandemic, they found that 55% had trouble falling asleep, and almost 40 percent had nightmares. Unfortunately, this is often a vicious cycle, because not sleeping often exacerbates the problem.6
  3. Stomachaches or Headaches
    Headaches and stomachaches can also be caused by burnout. One studyof people in Sweden suffering from a medical condition similar to burnout found that 67% experienced nausea and indigestion, and that 65% had headaches.7A 2017 study in PLoS One confirmed this finding, linking burnout-related headaches to psychological stress. And the American Psychological Association confirmed that stomach issues, such as pain, bloating, and nausea, tend to be more prevalent whenever you’re stressed.8
  4. Muscle Pain
    Aches and pains can also be a physical sign of burnout. When stressed, an individual’s muscles automatically tense up to guard the body against pain and injury. Usually this muscle tension lets up when the stress passes, but chronic stress causes the body to hold onto that tension. Typically this tension manifests in pain throughout the shoulders, neck, head, and back.

    5. Lowered Immunity
    Catching more colds may also be a symptom of burnout. Stress typically triggers the body’s inflammatory response, leading to chronic inflammation, which can compromise the immune system and damage tissue in the body. In addition to more frequent colds, with a weakened immune system employees may be at higher risk of more serious conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.9

  5. Changes in Eating Habits
    Eating either more or less than usual can also be a sign of burnout. In the study of Italian health care workers, 56% reported changes in food preferences and eating habits. While some ate less because they were too busy or distracted, some had specific cravings for comfort foods in order to feel better. Research suggests, too, that stress hormones can affect appetite, making people feel less hungry than usual when they’re under a lot of stress, and more hungry than usual when that stress alleviates.10When people experiencing burnout gain weight, it’s often due to the combination of reduced sleep and depression.
  6. Isolation
    People who are burned out can feel like nothing they do is appreciated or makes a difference. As a result, they may withdraw from their coworkers and isolate themselves from others. In a social vacuum, they may begin to question their self-worth, their resiliency, their talent, and their ability to cope with challenges.
  7. Using Food, Drugs, or Alcohol to Cope
    In some cases, people self-medicate to help cope with burnout, turning to junk food, alcohol, or drugs since they deliver feelings of instant gratification and relaxation.11

Your employees take burnout seriously. Do you?
Quartz research found that 81% of workers believe recognizing and preventing burnout should be a top priority for employers.12 As the evidence above makes clear, burnout exerts wear and tear on human beings physically, emotionally, and cognitively. That’s why it’s so important to address the problem, for the well-being of the individuals in your workforce, and for the overall productivity and culture of your company. In part 2 of this article, we’ll examine healthier habits and stress reduction strategies that workers can adopt to combat burnout, and changes that management can make to ensure that all employees thrive.

BASIC Can Help

BASIC offers an Employee Achievement / Award Account, Wellness Reimbursement Arrangement and a Wellness Rewards Account from dozens of benefit offerings that can be configured into custom plans that meet employee needs – and can change with them. The Consumer Driven Accounts (CDA) platform lets you design a custom benefit package, which participants can access from the web or our mobile app! Combat employee burnout by providing benefits that employees actually want.

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Sources

  1. “Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out,” by Melinda Wenner Moyer, New York Times, February 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html
  2. “Burnout Isn’t Just Exhaustion. Here’s How To Deal With It,” by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, March 2021: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/08/974787023/burnout-isnt-just-exhaustion-heres-how-to-deal-with-it
  3. “Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out,” by Melinda Wenner Moyer, New York Times, February 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html
  4. “What Burnout Really Means, and What Bosses and Employees Can Do About It,” by Angela Haupt, Washington Post, June 2021: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/burnout-prevent-recover-work-advice/2021/06/14/d897dc1a-cd4c-11eb-8014-2f3926ca24d9_story.html
  5. “8 Unusual Signs of Burnout,” by Moira Lawler, Everyday Health, November 2021: https://www.everydayhealth.com/burnout/unusual-signs-of-burnout/
  6. “Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out,” by Melinda Wenner Moyer, New York Times, February 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html
  7. Ibid.
  8. “8 Unusual Signs of Burnout,” by Moira Lawler, Everyday Health, November 2021: https://www.everydayhealth.com/burnout/unusual-signs-of-burnout/
  9. Ibid.
  10. “Your Body Knows You’re Burned Out,” by Melinda Wenner Moyer, New York Times, February 2022: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/well/live/burnout-work-stress.html
  11. “8 Unusual Signs of Burnout,” by Moira Lawler, Everyday Health, November 2021: https://www.everydayhealth.com/burnout/unusual-signs-of-burnout/
  12. “Three Ways Executives Can Prevent Employee Burnout And Promote Wellness,” Citrix, January 2020: https://www.citrix.com/fieldwork/digital-wellness/prevent-employee-burnout.html