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                                              WAYS TO MANAGE JOB-BURNOUT

  

Is it work? or a bad day? It isn't the ideal day, for sure. Siting on my drawing room chair , thinking and introspecting myself. I really  felt the need of some meditation. And I did it!!! I felt a little better. I asked myself what had really happened? A few annoying messages, lack of acknowledgement and appreciation for  all the hard work I am putting up, a few trips to various places within city and catching up with everyday tasks, my incomplete write up, people taking your professional work for granted and being thankless, parenting two kids, catching up with their school assignments, household management and chores, chalking out scripts for my videos on mental health awareness, failing to keep up with my mood and losing control. If I describe it by writing in words, it would be "Exhausted, Irritated, Restless and Drained. It had been terrible day and I don't know why?

Journaling, connecting with people I trust, exercise and  reading has always been a great source of comfort for me. It had given me  expression and trip to self-exploration. Writing described everything what I was feeling about it. It was about willpower, control over self , and a psychological theory known as ego-depletion. The theory posits that willpower is a fixed source. Like energy or strength, the more will power we use throughout the day, the less we have later. It's due this that it's harder for us to got to gym after work. We are mostly agitated and irritable in middle of week as opposed to the beginning of it. Having lack of patience with people around us towards end, even though we are not judgmental or neurotic than when we first started the work. 

The theory of ego depletion was first conceived by social psychologists by Roy Baumeister and Mark Muraven. They conducted various experiments to measure self-control of individuals after completing tasks that required them to exert willpower. The pattern in their experiments emerged and concluded that the more we silence and suppress the stuff we want to, do the stuff we don't want to, the less self-control we have later. Our will-power and self-control is like a tank of gas. A tank which is full makes it to function well just like a kind, patient and motivated person you want to be. It let's to maintain our health diet, exercise routine, keeping you from snapping at your social circle. At a certain point two-thirds of the gas is gone and you begin to feel the strain of it. The work stress surpasses the point of ordinary stress and becomes toxic in nature. You have no longer the patience with everyday tasks and find it harder to commute without feeling frustrated. Soon you are running on empty. Due to such kind of emotional and psychological state, the point of ego depletion arises. Ego-depletion is the crux of our irrational behavior.

The mood wasn't due to my job, this mood was depletion. It's the result of continuous action and forced suppression but the effort it took from my end to get through the day. When I was depleted, life felt harder.

Depletion is about absence. Once I started noticing it that it was as a result of  action and  suppression. I was completely ignoring the basic physiological needs of hunger and sleep. I wasn't eating properly rather less and not having enough sleep. When we ignore ourselves, we think about the world differently, almost like being in a different emotional state. It's hard to get through when you feel depleted. Instead of refilling it, I was squeezing every last drop out of myself. Instead of taking breaks, I was using these moments to run errands. Rather than taking less, I was taking more. 

Seeking validation from some particular people regarding my work was also the psychological distress I was going through. Why I want that approval from people on my social media and group chats? When I figured out that emotional state within me, I came across that it was also as a result of depletion. I was putting so  much an effort for my goal of raising awareness. I need to create some boundaries and manage my seek of approval from people within my social media and understand myself and others too. 

EGO-DEPLETION IS THE CAUSE

1) We're Cranky When we Tired- Being tired means you didn't get enough sleep. It means you didn't replenish your energy and will-power. You are now forced to go about your day with a small amount of willpower. Brain seems foggy because it's working from depleted state.

 2)  We make unintelligent decisions- When we're feeling drained we're less likely to take time to analyze and evaluate situations. We usually make our biggest mistakes when we're "too burned out" to do the important work

3) We can't Curb our Bad Habits- All of our bad habits are triggered by cues. We can only manage and avoid these cues, when our will power is high. We can actively fight those triggers. But when we are depleted, however, our willpower is too low to fight the automatic habits triggered by these cues.

JOB BURNOUT- KNOWING WHEN TO STOP 

SPOT THE DANGERS:-

1) Lacking people who support you, in the workplace or out.

2)A workplace that doesn't suit your skills, values, personality and interests.

3)An uncomfortable pace which is either very boring or very hectic.

4)Your sense of identity being overly bound up with your job

5)Working in an emotionally demanding profession such as healthcare, teaching or ministry

6) An unhealthy work culture which has toxic culture. Back-stabbing colleagues and bullying boss.

7)Excessive working hours which is giving you too little time to recuperate and creating a work-life balance. 

PREVENTING BURNOUT AND STRIKING A HEALTHY  BALANCE

1) PLAN YOUR TIME OFF- Do it well in advance, and keep it work-free. If you have to keep in touch, only check in specific, pre-agreed times.

2)LOOK INTO-Reducing your time for commute. Plan time wisely and avoid rush hours.

3)LIMIT- Mange your communications. If it's outside working hours and you don't absolutely have to send that email, let it wait.

4) HAVE A TIME EACH DAY- Plan and unplug yourself from contact via your electronic devices

5)KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING- Yoga, physical exercise, walk or any kind of breathing exercises along with physical activity for the production of hormones such as Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins, oxytocin and Melatonin for healthy physical and mental well-being. We should not sit for long hours and take a little walk.

6) MAKE SPACE IN YOUR LIFE- For laughter and play we should schedule time

7)MAKE TIME OUTSIDE WORK- For family and friends

8)CONNECT WITH A COMMUNITY- Or cause that reflects values that matter to you.

9)SPEND TIME WITH SUPPORTIVE COLLEAGUES-  One knows and trust, we can spend some time with them.

10)REWARD YOURSELF- Praise yourself and reward yourself-even if you have to reward yourself in small ways. 

11) APPRECIATE THE POISTIVES- Try to focus on pride in your work, your colleagues and their good points, and anything else tha makes you see the brighter side.

WORK SMART

S-  Specific- Choose goals that can be clearly defined.

M- Measurable- Have a way of tracking your progress

A- Achievable- Aim for realistic goals 

R- Relevant- Make realistic, resourced  and result- based goals

T- Time-bound. Set a date by which you intend to have your task completed.

Educate yourself and find ways to come to terms with the pressure and improve our ability to cope. Unrewarding and disempowering work makes us feel down. Sleep and eat nourished food. Prioritize your physical and mental well-being.