Leadership

Work burnout is a scary thing – it takes dedicated, passionate employees and turns them into frustrated, detached time bombs. Burnout is a key component of employee turnover, and turnover has high costs both fiscally and for morale.

So it should go without saying that burnout is to be avoided at all costs. But do you always know when you’re at risk of burning out at work? Here’s a short test to help you find out…

1. How do you feel at the beginning of the workday?

a. tired

b. frazzled

c. raring to go

You probably guessed that “c” is a great answer to give. But if you think that option “b” is the prime indicator of burnout, you’re wrong. Feeling frazzled at work, especially at the beginning of the day, isn’t great news, but actual burnout results in a feeling of exhaustion before you even start. The reality is that you can be busy without being burned out. So just because you have a lot on your plate doesn’t automatically mean you’re at risk of burnout. It can lead to future burnout, so be careful. But don’t assume burnout just because you’re busy. It’s when you feel tired even when there’s a stack of work to be done that you’re at greatest risk. This element of burnout is called emotional exhaustion, and it’s one of the first indicators of burnout we might notice.

2. If you have to talk to your boss about something critical, what do you do to prepare?

a. I don’t bother preparing, because my boss trusts my judgement and will do what I recommend

b. I don’t bother preparing, because my boss isn’t likely to listen to my ideas anyway

c. I over-prepared, because my boss can be critical of my work

d. I bring a few supporting documents to back up my recommendation

This question is testing your depersonalization, another element of burnout. It might seem like “c” is the answer most common in burnout. But (like the question above) while “c” might be an indicator of a poor workplace culture, it’s actually not a burnout indicator. The burnout indicator is “b,” because it suggests that you don’t even need to try because whatever you say to your boss will be ignored. When a conflict or struggle goes on for so long that you have depersonalized the other person (see this prior blog post for more examples of risky workplace conflict), you’re at risk of burnout.

3. If you were invited to go to an Elementary School for career day, what would you say is the most worthwhile part of your job?

a. The paycheck

b. Helping people

c. Using my skills/smarts/strengths

No big surprise, here: the burnout indicator is “a.” Answer “a” suggests reduced personal accomplishment, the final burnout indicator. We can stand long hours, poor pay, silly uniforms, even rude customers, as long as we feel that the work we’re doing is worthwhile. For many years I worked in the nonprofit sector, where I often faced aaaaaallllll of the above indignities, but my job had purpose and that fueled my fire even when the days were long and the pay was piddling. If you lose the feeling of pride in your work, then the slightest struggle will cause you to lose your motivation and be at risk of burning out.

Want to know more about the burnout indicators? Check out this article in Workplace Psychology.

Burnout doesn’t just come from being too busy. You can absolutely be busy without burning out, so don’t fret just because you have a long to-do list. Pay attention to your emotional exhaustion, your feelings of engagement with your colleagues, and your sense of accomplishment and pride in your work. Those are the three factors that will let you know if you’re at risk of flaming out. Catch them fast, and don’t let burnout get to you!

No one wants to be stressed out at work, but do we have a choice? We’re all being asked to do more with less, and do it faster. So stress is a natural reaction to high expectations and pressure.

Stress can cause burnout, employee turnover, frustration and anger around the office. But research suggests there may be ONE upside to work-related anxiety that might surprise you.

Stress might cause you to make more accurate decisions.

This is Your Brain on Stress

That’s right – it’s possible that people who feel anxious might be better judges of possible outcomes and problems, and therefore make better decisions. (In this interesting gender-study, for example, men in particular made very risky decisions under pressure, while women tended to take fewer risks and make more accurate judgements, even under the same pressure.) But men and women both might get more eerily accurate at making decisions the more pressure they’re under. From hitting high notes while singing to hitting targets at the gun range, stress seems to correlate with precision.

Wonder why that is? Me, too.

It may have something to do with stress making us more pessimistic. For years we’ve known that pessimists make more realistic, accurate predictions about the future than optimists. Optimists can tend to think big and envision the future positively, so their expectations of the future aren’t always realistic. It’s possible that under anxiety, we all get a little more pessimistic, and because of that, our accuracy gets better.

Being the Boss of Stress

For whatever reason, it happens. Stress makes you more accurate. So… what are you going to do about it?

The next time you feel anxious, here’s how you can use it to your advantage:

• Reevaluate your current goals. Don’t cross any of them off in a fit of pessimism, but take a realistic look at whether your timeline needs to be adjusted.
• Be a star at work. Use your accuracy to your advantage and speak up in meetings where the team is making plans.
• Plan a vacation or other personal experience. Your accuracy will make you great at picking the best B&B! You’ll be less likely to get duped by flowery language or wide angle photography.

Stress is unpleasant, but it doesn’t have to be a completely terrible experience. One great book on using stress to your advantage is The Upside of Stress, by Kelly McGonigal. In her research, stress was most damaging only if you THOUGHT it would hurt you. In fact, if you follow her steps, you can actually use stress to your advantage.

So if you want to be better at your job, don’t freak out the moment you feel stressed. Lean in to the stress, show off your awesome, accurate decision-making, and make stress work for you.

There’s a reason we call it “work.” Frustration at work is natural – Our jobs can be stressful, our colleagues frustrating, and our bosses challenging. But to get ahead, we must be able to cope with that frustration and still achieve excellent results.

So how do you deal when you’re so frustrated at work that you just can’t take it anymore? These four strategies should have you shedding your frustration and accomplishing so much, even your most critical boss will be amazed!

1) Argue smart.

When we’re frustrated at work, it’s natural to be in a combative mood. And in fact, some office conflict is actually productive. But to keep conflict productive, you can’t just blow up at your colleagues. Healthy office conflict is what’s known as “task oriented” conflict, and it often results in high quality work outputs. To learn more about how to keep conflict task oriented, check out one of my previous blog posts HERE.

2) Find an ally.

Studies show that connecting with other people is one of the most helpful ways to cope in a stressful and frustrating situation. Finding an ally helps you feel less isolated, and it also gives you another perspective on what’s happening around you. Just be careful what you say to your ally: venting has been shown to keep frustration levels high, because venting language doesn’t provide any solutions of forward motion. When talking to your ally, stay productive and don’t get caught up in rumination.

3) Get some power.

One common cause of workplace frustration is a perceived lack of control. When you don’t feel like you have power to impact a situation, it’s irritating. But even worse – people who feel helpless often make inefficient employees who tend find themselves out of a job! The story you tell yourself about whether you have any power to impact the situation is called your “locus of control.” Developing a healthy INTERNAL locus of control will make you feel more powerful and confident at work. Check out this previous post for more information about developing an internal locus of control HERE.

4) Find clarity.

Often when we’re frustrated, it’s hard to see the circumstances clearly. We make assumptions about other people, we jump to conclusions about things happening behind closed doors… we might even be dreaming up worse scenarios in our heads than what’s actually happening! Instead of proceeding blindly, ask constructive questions. Talk to your ally for their perspective. Or simply get a little peace of mind within yourself by being mindful. Even in frustrating circumstances, you can help your brain FEEL less frustrated by not giving in and sucking up all the frustration around you.

Frustration at work is natural, but it’s not helpful. To succeed at work, you need healthy ways to manage your frustration and rise to the top. I hope these four are a good start!