Burning Out

I'll be speaking today about something thats close to my heart at the moment.
And before any of you smartasses say anything, no its not our resident darling receptionist.

Its about career burnout.

Its been my first year of work, and I think we've all felt it to some extent regardless of how long we've been working. Its that feeling you get when you just don't get anything out of going to work anymore. You can still feel ok at work and maybe even fine about going to work in the morning.
Doesn't mean you're not burnt out.

Okay just answer this honestly.
Have you felt in the last few months that your work is underappreciated and underpaid, that you're not getting to where you want to be, you question if you're better off somewhere else or that you just don't feel satisfied that you're getting what you want out of work anymore.

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you're probably burning out.
And this is ok. Really it is. We're all prone to it, I don't think anyone is 'weak' because they are burning out. Its a byproduct of our society that we're all more likely then ever to burn out. We've got such high expectations of ourselves and our families/friends reckon we're able to do more then what we really can do.

I've read this fascinating article on burnout, and I'll summarize it a bit. There are so many misconceptions about burning out that its worth clearing them out. First and foremost, burnout is less about overwork and more about Expectation to Reward. If you have high expectations (like most high achievers out of university), you're almost guaranteed to burnout. Sometimes you get lucky and do something that rewards you, with promotions, money or gratitude, but most of the time you'll work your butt into the ground and at the end of it you'll go... thats it? Thats all I get?

And I think you need this shock to the system. Everyone of us do. For its at this point that the crucial decision happens. You do one of three things, 1) quit, 2) keep going unhappy or 3) re-prioritize your life. As obvious as it looks, no.3 is the way to go.

Corporations are really quite daft in a way. They like the idea of people who are committed to the job and where their work is the most important thing in their life. What they don't realise is, this is one the primary reason they either lose said individuals when they burn out, or get suddenly a far less effective worker. By working too hard, you can actually get poorer quality workers.

One of the other misconceptions is you can love your job and still burnout in the process. So never think, I'm in the wrong place because you don't like what you do anymore. Think about WHY you don't don't like your job anymore.
Most likely its because you're not feeling appreciated anymore, or the work has become too much of the same. You need to chat with your boss/coach and let them know whats going on with you. If you do and they don't do anything, you're probably in a company who doesn't care about you. This is a good time to start looking elsewhere. Not only are you getting out of dodge, but its a chance to find new challenges.