Catching the Early Signs of Work Burnout

Can burnout come this early? After just a few months shy of a year with a new company? 

Or am I just older than I was seven years ago—when working was a new and exciting chapter? An adventure of exploration and discovery in the land of early adulthood? 

The years of sitting at a desk may have been aging me for the worse.

After understanding my lower energy levels and why my job started to feel like a chore, I feel as if I am leaning toward the cusps of burnout. 

Here are the five things I have been feeling lately and how they align with the identifiers of burnout according to different business and psychology articles (emotions you may be feeling too but are too scared to admit).

1. You Are Tired

Exhausted. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally. 

A good sigh could mean so much as you exhale all the frustrations and worries of a day, a week, and maybe even a month. I am not just tired, I am exhausted, and a 2-day weekend flies by like a blink of an eye. 

There are 3 pillars to the burnout phenomenon, and exhaustion is one of them. According to Boston University, it is a weight.  It is not only a feeling but a burden.  And the weight of exhaustion is something a few naps cannot fix. 

Although I feel better with my lazier weekends and somewhat lighter work weeks, I need more time out of the office, away from the constant demands of work and the mundane demands of the workday.

2.  You Get Sick Too Often

Psychology Today and the Darling Downs Health by the Queensland Government AU agree that frequent illness is one of the many signs and symptoms of burnout—although not one of the main pillars of it. 

I am taking it easier—or at least trying to.  So now, I will try to sleep earlier, take the breaks I deserve, take vitamins, and do my best to not let the stress get to me. 

3. An Unreasonable and Even Unnoticeable Amount of Anxiety

The other week, I woke up one morning with fear pounding in my chest, my head dizzy from the lack of oxygen. I was anxious about something I was not 100% sure about. 

As the day passed, my heart felt less nervous, and the world felt more concrete than it did with a floating head. 

Something was nagging at my heart that I did not understand. Just writing about it now makes me oddly nervous.

There seemed to be more pressure for each simple task, and those few minutes before a meeting were feeling 10x worse. 

Even if I refuse to admit it, everything I had to do and the tasks I missed for work haunted me. Like a dripping faucet constantly drip dripping at the back of my mind.

Harvard Business Review identifies the feeling of hopelessness and anxiety as one of the Internal Passive Indicators of Burnout. Something we should be able to internally recognize ourselves.

Luckily, this week is an improvement from the last. Let’s hope it keeps getting better.

4. Beginning to Withdraw From People

With a burst of energy into a new role, a new company with new people to work with, comes the descent. 

Nothing lasts forever, highs are meant to dip, and lows eventually rise.  So my outright extroverted persona for this new exciting role is morphing into my true introverted self, only reaching out to others when ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. 

No more small talk. No more reaching out at work and in other areas of my life. Call it cynical of the intention and innate goodness of others, but lately, that is what I have been feeling. 

And now we have hit the nail on the head for the 2nd pillar of burnout or what the NIH calls the feeling of Cynicism and Detachment from the job (which also includes the work environment and the people surrounding it).  Small talk is all part of the job, of all honestly. Those great at mingling and small talk at the office seem to get promoted more than those who keep to themselves and their work. 

There may be an ulterior motive to the good morning and How are yous, so I am fading into the background a little more now. Even with my doubts, I am trying to be more thankful to those on my team, but it has been taking longer than I expected to get back on a gratitude horse. 

5. Work is No Longer Exciting

As work starts feeling more like homework, instead of a new world to explore and navigate, my drive to keep moving forward has come to a halt. Now I feel like I just need to stop. Even just for a while and see where the current will take me. After that, I can figure out what I should do next.