Burnout Busters

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Burnout Busters

You can't reduce all the stress in your life, but some simple steps can help you lessen the impact on yourself, your coworkers and those you love.

HANK BERKOWITZ

It's the dead of winter. You're working late again in a virtually empty office. It seems as if everyone else in the world is cozy at home with friends or family or at the local bistro, movie theater or mall. But if you think you're the only insurance professional burning the proverbial candle at both ends, you're not alone.

The good news is that your work ethic, talent, reliability and perfectionist tendencies are what keep you in business. The bad news is that your work ethic, talent, reliability and perfectionist tendencies have gotten you into a vicious cycle. Everyone feels they can count on you 24/7 to take on yet another task and deliver on time and with flying colors.

Any of this sounding familiar?

Defining Burnout

Burnout is the result of chronic unmanaged stress, and symptoms include feeling worn down and depleted of one's physical, mental and emotional capacity and durability. As a result, sufferers often feel overwhelmed, exhausted and feel that work is no longer meaningful.

Experts say there are two types of burnout: short term and long term. Short-term burnout is a highly stressful time in your life that involves a move, a wedding, a huge project or a big conference. Long-term stress is more daunting because it has no finite end. Long-term stress manifests itself in a series of life patterns that can follow you from job to job or from relationship to relationship.

Admit It: You're Stressed

Most burned-out folks are going so fast they don't even realize it. It can be a big problem in any office when there's too much to do and not enough time to do it. Perhaps it's common sense to realize that honesty in the workplace, not work/life balance per se, is what helps people reduce stress the most. If you're in the lead role in your office, strive to create a culture where coworkers and superiors can be honest with each other about what's expected and what they're doing, and deal with any new problems on the horizon.

Stress Remedies

Some folks meditate or do yoga to cope with stress. Some run or take long walks. Others hit the heavy bag or whack a few buckets of balls at the driving range or batting cage. However you choose to burn off steam, experts say it's important to recognize the earliest signs of burnout and understand the coping mechanism that works best for you. We're learning that stress management is a "personal journey" that neither your human resource department nor a trusted coworker can really help you with.

Whether you work in a traditional office, a home office or out in the field, take lots of short mental health breaks throughout the day—and don't feel guilty about doing so. It's essential to re-energize and recharge regularly. The biggest issue is recognizing the problem and doing something about it that makes sense to you and that gets results.

Now Go Away

Congratulations if you've made it this far in the article. We hope it has helped. Now don't read any further. Don't save it, don't tweet it, don't print it out for coworkers and definitely don't do a blog post about it. Just log off your computer or tablet and get out of the office. Everything will be there in the morning for you when you have more energy to conquer the world.

Hank Berkowitz is moderator in chief at associationadviser.com.