5 Signs of Job Burnout | Experiencing joy or frustration at work?

Trust me, you are not alone in your feeling of job burnout.

In this article, I’ll share 5 signs of job burnout.

Are you experiencing job burnout? Does it feel like you’re trapped? Do you find yourself daydreaming of better days?

I know what it’s like to sit eyes glazed over wondering how much longer you can stomach the conference calls and co-workers who insist on competing.

I’m also aware that a paycheck is necessary if I want to eat, have a home, and afford Starbucks. 😉

Nonetheless,

Here are 5 signs that you’re experiencing job burnout

1. You Incessantly daydream

Recently, I’ve found myself escaping the workday and sitting in the parking lot of Panera Bread as my mind runs wild with fairy tales of freedom.

Below is a snapshot of where my mind goes when I’m feeling the effect of job burnout.

Classical music gives the perfect voice to crazy—the disconnect from our truer insanity that incessantly stacks pens and pencils…

Re-arranges PowerPoint presentations ad nauseam. 

Yes, this prodigy was an angel sent to earth, connecting our experiences to hint that our life does matter. 

Corporate America isn’t art. 

It’s the ultimate illusion that we’re in control.  The paycheck that doesn’t pay. 

9 to 5 is the true pandemic—cubicles masking our contagious desire to roam free. 

And yet our freedom we still always own.

Beyond the fear that we’ll contaminate others or catch something from those who insist on stoking the wildfire of creativity. 

Discontent with status-quo spreads uncontrollably as our institutions crumble.

We realize there was never really a foundation, only a compulsion to be financially free. 

So, if you find yourself in serious la-la land most days at your job, there’s a good chance you’re experiencing job burnout.

2. Your mental health takes a beating

As of late, especially with the pandemic, mental health has taken center stage. Many large corporations give extra benefits to ensure employees can improve their wellbeing.

If you’re one of the population who receives these benefits, you’re lucky.

The robust mental health benefits are awesome.

However, I find with this type of employee benefit that if you work a 9-5 high pressure job, it is very difficult to prioritize going to counseling appointments or the doctor.

Yes, you’re allowed sick days–but if you have children, many times you spend your sick days on taking them to routine visits.

Also, once an employee lets their mental health get so bad, the process of setting up these mental health appointments is too overwhelming. Catch-22.

From experience, I think there are multiple reasons for increased mental health issues among employees who work in an office or behind their desk 9-5.

• Employees are exposed to less natural light
• Employees are stuck in cubicles, constantly on display in Agile environments, or holed up in their office for at least 8 hours a day
• Companies only give lip service to promotions as a result of working hard, so you become sluggish and start to second guess your abilities
• You are afraid to be honest with your manager about conflict on the team
• You sit in on meetings that are unproductive and poorly managed
• I think the list could go on…

Compromised mental health is one of the sure signs of job burnout.

3. You start checking out of meetings

With the pandemic and a lot of employees working from home, meetings have increased in number.

Also, the focus of meetings has become blurred. It seems there is a lot more socialization.

Which, don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have a good rapport with co-workers, but for some of us, work is work. Let’s cut to the chase and keep it business focused.

Sometimes you’re on meetings and you realize you can say absolutely nothing and no one misses you.

This is not an indication that you’re a useless employee. It simply means you’re not needed in the meeting.

However, if you don’t show up, you are no longer seen as a team player.

I know that it’s within our power to speak up, decline meetings, and be more forthright.

But I also think this is more complicated in the remote environment where you can’t gauge your co-workers’ responses.

Some are better than others at dealing with colleague interactions at a distance.

When you’re not experiencing job burnout, these awkward scenarios are easier to deal with.

But when you experience the social strain day after day, it’s the perfect recipe for excruciating apathy and totally checking out.

Going habitually silent during meetings is one of the signs of job burnout.

4. You get unreasonably impatient with co-workers, maybe even angry

It seems that with more employees working remote, co-workers are feeling more inferior about their value to the company.

In my experience, it’s been much easier to innocently misunderstand emails and pings.

At the same time, it seems some employees have intentionally gotten downright ugly and manipulative.

We might be much more likely to throw someone under the bus, passive aggressively albeit.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not just pointing my finger at co-workers. I have four fingers pointing back at me.

Though it’s hard to see our own ego at play, when you’re experiencing job burnout, it’s a lot easier to go off on a co-worker.

At times, I’ve found myself rolling my eyes and coming up with smart aleck replies that I never actually say out loud.

This suppressed aggression will seep out at some point, and you may even blow your top.

5. You wake up every day barely able to get out of bed

Granted, this can also be a sign of depression. But, I believe waking up every morning with a sense of dread for the day ahead, can also be a sign of severe job burnout.

This feeling of not wanting to wake up and start your day is a misery.

If you wake up with the sense that it’s groundhog day for more than a week at a time, then you might want to consider that you’re experiencing an intolerable case of job burnout.

Continuously hitting snooze and barely making it to your first meeting of the day is one of the signs of job burnout.

Possible Solutions to Job Burnout

Let me be clear that the only reason I feel brave enough to share my experience with job burnout is because I recently quit my job.

Should you quit your job?

I’m not recommending you go out and quit your job.

You likely have a family to feed and bills to pay.

But I do suggest actually using your vacation days, 2 weeks at a time if possible. Trust me, the machine will go on without you.

Also, think less about job security and think more about the future you.

Do you want to look back on your life and regret that you spent most of your days with dread for the next day?

Your job burnout will catch up with you if you don’t address the root cause.

Sometimes the cause of job burnout can simply be that you’re not challenged in your role.

You realize there are few opportunities for advancement unless you rub shoulders more than you’re productive.

You’ve stopped learning because the organization moves too slow and your brain isn’t stimulated enough to spark inward ambition. Your additional education and certifications go unnoticed.

Live with less, so you can feel good more often

I know there are some who would rather die from job burnout than choose a simpler life.

Personally, I downgraded my home during the pandemic and paid off all debts, putting enough aside to give myself the chance to overcome the feeling of job burnout.

I also had other ambitions, such as writing, which could not be effectively pursued unless I freed up more of my time.

Additionally, I’ve been helping my children with virtual school all year and this has compounded the feeling of job burnout.

So before I conclude, I’ll share a few more of my rambling thoughts prior to my decision to leave my job last month.

I hope you’re able to find a solution for the job dissatisfaction you feel because life is too short to waste our days in apathy and depression.

This disease is a gift. 

The fuel of creativity. 

Not what you deem reality. 

But the verge of all that could be. 

The hint that life is so much more. 

Realization that we’re all just before running away into a field of endless elation with the ultimate amalgamation of perfected scents set free by the breeze. 

Acceptance is preferring to be ill so you can see. 

Knowing that life has no luster outside of our insistent companion of dysfunction. 

To be on the outside looking in is superior to being trapped by a body only capable of mechanical reactions programmed as an extension of what others think.

LoveLifeLinks.com believes you can find a solution to heal your feeling of job burnout and experience more joy at work.

Remember, you can feel love anywhere. Anytime. All the time.