I know, you're busy and you have work to do, but you also need to take some time off to recharge those batteries. So, should you plan one big holiday for the year? Or should you sparse out your days for multiple holidays throughout? Quantity can sometimes beat quality.
Feeling stressed? Tired? Skipping out on work might seem wrong, but according to one neuroscientist, it could end up making you more productive in the long run.
Fatigue is usually a problem we associate with jobs like truck driving or nursing, where physical demands and 24-hour rosters must be tightly monitored. In the corporate world, fatigue gets swept under the rug; it’s just part of the game.
But left unaddressed over a prolonged period, and combined with other stress factors, this can lead to burnout - a more serious problem that can cause long term psychological damage. Here are five warning signs that employers and workers need to watch out for - and how to fix existing problems.
Work hard enough for long enough and eventually, you'll hit burnout. It happens, but it's never convenient for your boss. So, how do you let your employer know that you need a break before you break?
Everyone has annoying coworkers to deal with, but how you deal with them and adapt will define whether you have a good day at work or a bad one. A new study says that if you can, the best way to deal with your coworkers' nonsense is to just ignore it -- and take pleasure in ignoring it.
Being a productive, hard worker doesn't mean you need to accept an unreasonable workload. If you're feeling overwhelmed, here's what to say to your manager to get their help choosing your priorities, and prevent you from burning out.
Employee burnout is like a virus you can catch at work. Anyone is susceptible to catching this bug. It comes on gradually and before you know it, you’re down for the count. Thankfully, it's possible to take preventative steps before it's too late.
In an ideal world, you shouldn't have to hear from your boss once you clock out. For some jobs, especially salaried positions, that may be a pipe dream. When a job demands attention at all hours, we tend to have three ways of dealing with it.
It's Sunday morning and you're relaxing at home. Have you checked your work email today? If so, you're probably contributing to your own burnout.
Anyone who's ever worked more than 50 hours a week knows what burnout feels like. To add insult to injury, you're probably not even getting any more work done by staying late.
The signs are all there: you feel depressed, anxious, and detached; you keep getting head and back aches; your job performance and relationships are suffering; and your weight continues to fluctuate. If this sounds like you, odds are you’re burned out. Here are 11 online TED talks that can help.
Perfectionism is often treated as a virtue -- especially in the workplace -- but research shows that the self-imposed pressure perform flawlessly just leads to eventual burnout. Perfection simply isn't how you should measure success.
Once you recognise you're burned out, you can pull yourself back from the ledge, but it'd be best to never get there in the first place. Luckily, the signs are usually right in front of you: you just don't want to see them, or you're too busy actually working to recognise them. If you keep an eye out, you'll be able to cut off burnout before it takes hold so hard you can barely get up for work.
Sometimes you have to crunch and work overtime. This can give you a productivity boost and help you get important projects over the line. However, studies show that doing this in the long term -- past four weeks -- can actually make us accomplish less.
Before you plan a holiday, productivity blog Lifehack suggests deciding what you want to get out of your free time first. This way, you're better able to use your time effectively.
Feeling overworked is a really common problem. You can't always change your work environment, but there are steps you can take to deal with many of the issues associated with an overloaded work life.
Burnout is a serious problem with many possible causes, but Googler Marissa Mayer's theory: Burnout is caused by resentment.
If you're on the brink of being burned out creatively, the simplest solution could just be to change your environment in some way. Tech blogger Scott Berkun has more: What do you do at work when you feel stuck (not burnt out, but just stuck on a problem)? Are there things you can do to your cube or office to help you deal with those times? Posters of work that inspires you? Things that make you laugh? Music that helps you think through a problem? You spend 8 hours a day in that space: it's worth taking a couple of hours to improve it by even 5 or 10%. What is your coping mechanism for getting through burnout? Let's hear in the comments.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." —John Bay
Those of us who are busy all the time can experience burnout, exhaustion and fatigue from spending long periods of time in focused concentration. I call this syndrome "Brain Drain." I used to call it "SAT head" because many students report after taking the SAT tests, they feel an odd mental exhaustion caused by too much focused thinking. Brain drain, if gone unchecked, can result in depression, stress and even anger if you push after the drain has set in. So even though you need to keep your project going nonstop, you would be much more productive if at the first sign of brain drain, you took a break and did something about it.
