How Do I Know I'm Burnt out? Causes, Signs and Work-Life Balance

To date, with the abundance of resources, medical and technological advances, we are better off than ever before. However, society continues to see an increase medical and mental health conditions. In particular, the rise of stress-related conditions is on the increase, affecting million of people worldwide. The impact of severe stress leads to conditions such as depression, anxiety, high-blood pressure, coronary heart disease etc. In Canada, 14 adults over the age of 20 die from heart disease. Similarly, surveys indicate that 45% of Canadians identified their workplace as the main source of stress in their lives leading to burnout in the workplace. So, how do you know if you are burnt out?

In our current fast-paced society, surveys show an unhealthy relationship in the workplace and a lack of balance between work and personal life. Technology makes it easier to always be ‘on’, checking work emails, working longer hours and spending less time for personal or downtime activities. Employees now spent more time at their workplace than ever. This aggressive and competitive mindset to over-perform has been linked to the ‘work culture’ specific to North American cultures. In contrast, European cultures place more emphasis on personal and social well-being. This is reflected in the lower incidence rates of burnout in these countries. For example, in North America employees work on average 47 hours per week compared to a 35 hour work week in France or 29 hour week in the Netherlands. However, working harder and longer comes at a high-cost to one’s physical health and emotional well-being.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies burnout as a “state of vital exhaustion” which leads to physical, mental and/or emotional exhaustion.

Job stress and burnout are considered a major ‘productivity killer’ and are detrimental to the employer, as seen by increasing healthcare costs as well as possible loss of the workforce. Indeed, burnout is estimated to result in approximately 120,000 deaths and in billions of dollars per year in healthcare costs. Typically, burnout causes symptoms of exhaustion both physically and emotionally, depression and isolation making it harder to function at work or to handle one’s daily routines or responsibilities.

In the workplace, employee burnout affects the performance of their duties – from under-productivity to lack of motivation, sense of dissatisfaction or disengagement at work, increased risk of occupational injuries, fatigue, sick days or absenteeism, higher job turnover to a general sense of inefficacy.

The personal impact of burnout also comes at a high-cost to the individual– with a range of physiological and/or psychological symptoms such as fatigue, disrupted appetite or sleep, muscle tension, various aches and pains such as headaches, stomach or other gastro-intestinal issues, weaker immune system leading to frequent illnesses (e.g. cold and flu etc., increased anger or irritability, difficulties in concentration, emotional numbness or more severe mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression, hopelessness and/or isolation. Caregivers who experience burnout also have to struggle with conflicting feelings or guilt or resentment in caring for a loved one at the determinant of their own self-care. They can also experience feelings of hopelessness, despair and/or isolation.