The importance of taking time and switching off to avoid burnout
It can be tempting to spend more time than usual working, right now. Even with restrictions lifted, lockdown made us feel a bit out of sorts, left with nothing much to do. Work filled that void as a way to feel we’re taking control in a time of uncertainty.
Burnout
The danger of relying on work as a crutch for a normal life comes in the form of burnout. Formally recognised by the WHO and added to the International Classification of Diseases in 2020, burnout is a serious condition that results from too much stress.
There are some tell-tale signs of burnout, which you should be certain to look out for in colleagues:
- Sudden change in mood
- Drop in performance levels
- Uncharacteristic behaviour
- Reduced energy and efficiency
- Decreased motivation
These are all pretty insidious symptoms, which can really drag a person—and a team—down.
How to avoid that burnout
Now, you can do a lot of things at work to avoid burning out. Vary the work type, monitor workloads, offer help with work/life balance—these are all good steps.
The best way is simply to remind people of the time they’re entitled to spend on themselves and their families. Encouraging employees and colleagues to take annual leave during the glorious summer will go some way to lessening the burnout, exhaustion and potential resentment people will feel at the way their lives have been turned upside-down by coronavirus.
Even just taking a week off to sit in the garden, do some DIY or just play video games with the kids will refresh, recharge and reset people who had been stuck indoors for months, working remotely with no change of pace or scenery.
There’s a danger that, with the shift toward semi-permanent remote work, people’s work/life balance will get distorted. When you spend 23 hours a day in the same place, the idea of taking holiday time to spend even more of those hours there might feel alien and pointless.
But, as we say, burnout is very real. And the best way to combat it is to spend a little time - without the stresses of work on our backs - on ourselves.
The ICAS Student Assistance Programme is a suite of wellbeing services offered to support CA Students with a wide range of issues such as coping with exam pressure, managing working and studying, study patterns, legal issues or managing change. For more information please visit the CA Student resources hub.
