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More and more often we come across the concept of professional burnout of employees. It affects people of different ages and positions. It is most often associated with a sense of meaninglessness, worse performance of one's own duties and irritability. Occupational burnout can be divided into stages. If you become aware of it early enough, you can deal with it effectively.

Step 1: physical and emotional burnout

This stage is often not recognized by the employees. This is because I am connected with such typical ailments as tiredness, sleepiness, or headaches and spinal pains. The person at this stage of professional burnout is tired not only of the work itself, but also of constant thinking about it. She lacks energy to act, and her basic duties are performed worse, although the amount of effort put into them is greater than in the past.

Stage 2: Doubts and shame

In the second stage of professional burnout, mental symptoms deepen. There is much less involvement in the proper performance of their duties. The employee has the impression that work overwhelms him and enters his private life, taking away his joy from his private life as well. Such a person tries to reduce the amount of his/her duties - often unconsciously. The worker therefore extends his breaks, starts to be late for work and leaves work at exactly the same time as the end of the work, which is particularly noticeable for those who were previously able to stay a few minutes longer to complete the work.

In addition, there is a sense of meaninglessness in the activities performed. An additional problem is that the employee notices that his work is currently much less effective and that many duties are neglected by him. This leads to a sense of shame and a reduction in self-esteem. At this stage, longer leave may or may not be sufficient. It is often a better idea to change your job or duties.

Step 3: Cynicism

The environment and other employees become a threat at this stage of the employee's professional burnout. Superiors are no longer authorities, and all attempts to talk to such a person are treated as an attack. Relations with other employees who start to avoid such a person are significantly worsened. In addition, mental symptoms start to have a very strong impact on health. At this stage, elevated blood pressure, headaches and insomnia are observed. Too long stay in the cynic phase can result in serious cardiovascular diseases. This stage usually ends with the employee resigning or being dismissed. This is mainly due to the fact that the changes in the system are so strong that even longer leave cannot be reversed.

Step 4: Surrender

This is the last stage of professional burnout, in which the employee feels trapped in an exitless trap. Such a person lives in a constant sense of hopelessness and lack of purpose. He sees his own life as a failure. The biggest problem is that the employee's self-esteem is extremely low. He is convinced of his low qualifications and that it will be impossible to find another job. This stage requires the help of a therapist. It is not only necessary to change the job, but in many cases it is also necessary to change the type of job. For such an employee, the professional area itself is associated with the worst moments in life.

Occupational burnout - where does it come from?

There are many reasons for professional burnout, of course. We will try to introduce the most important ones, dividing them into those that depend on the employee, those that are related to the work itself and those that concern the organization of the company.

Internal factors of the employee - here, the priority is given to setting unrealistic goals related to, among other things, promotions and increases. Such people are often unable to separate their professional life from work - often work is their whole life. Too much need to be constantly appreciated leads to a professional burnout.

Work - it is also necessary to look at the factors that result from the work itself. It certainly includes too complicated and complex work that entails unclear responsibilities, as well as short- and long-term objectives. On the other hand, too boring and repetitive activities can lead to professional burnout.

Company organization - these factors are, of course, related to the previous ones. Here you can calculate the problem with communication and hierarchy in the company. It is not known who is responsible for the specific activities. A big problem is the lack of awards and praise, with a lot of emphasis on efficiency. People who complain about professional burnout also pay attention to the constant changes in requirements and unfair treatment by superiors.