Are You on the Road to Burnout
According to a recent study conducted by Montrael University, women are more likely to be burnout than men in the workplace. But why could this be?
Back in the 1950s families were ran with much clearer defined roles. One member, typically the man, would venture out to work to earn money to keep the family. The woman would stay at home to cook, clean and raise the children. The male would be the head of the household and the woman would be quite powerless in many ways.
Wind forward almost 70 years and roles are much more equal. Thank heavens! In a lot of families both men and woman are out to work, raising the children and keeping the house clean. Although, I will be bold to say that perhaps most of the child rearing does still fall with the mother and here in lies the problem. Not always, of course.
On top of effectively dual rolling in our lives, our society has “sped up”. Today we are bombarded with information overload. Technology was imagined to alleviate stress and free us up to do more leisurely activities. However, the complete opposite has happened. Now we are expected to respond instantly and life moves much faster!
And so no wonder many women are reaching burn out, our lives are constantly on the go as we are now effectively doing two “jobs”.
Women at work are more likely to be frustrated with their jobs as some of them are still pushing through that glass ceiling which causes stress and in time leads to burn out.
So what is burn out?
Burn out is the state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion which is caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
Ways to identify you are on the road to burnout:
Headaches
Exhaustion
Falling ill easily
Feeling a lot of self-doubt
Lack of motivation
Withdrawing from responsibilities
Procrastinating
Feeling hopeless
Disengaging with life
Ideas on how to manage burnout and recharge:
Learn to say no - It is obvious and we all know it but yet a lot of women are people pleasers and find it hard. Start sticking up for yourself and say no. I dare you!
Relax - At risk of sounding like a cliche, run a bubble bath or go to a meditation class. Whatever enables you to feel rejuvenated do it and do it often.
Ask for help - Yes I know you want to conquer the world and prove that you really can have it all but there is no shame in asking for help along the way. Success is built together.
Detox from Social Media - Take a break from social media and instant messaging. Set your phone to do not disturb for chunks of the day.
Confide in friends, colleagues and/or a therapist - Be honest about what is going on for you. Your colleagues would much rather know now than in 6months time when they have to cover you for 3months because you can’t get to work due to burn out.
Sleep - Never under estimate the power of sleep!
If you are ready for change and want some support then book your free 30minute consultation today to hear how therapy might help you.