Typically, people see job burnout as simple work fatigue—a psychological state caused by endless tasks and pressure. However, job burnout is far more complex than the tiredness brought on by busyness, with different forms and causes for different individuals, making it particularly important to accurately identify the type of burnout one is experiencing.
This article will analyze three different types of job burnout and their effective coping strategies:
Overload Burnout
People who work frantically in an attempt to succeed often suffer from overload burnout. This type of burnout can take a toll on an individual’s health and private life, and it’s the most common and well-known kind of burnout. It usually occurs in people who are extremely dedicated to their job, believing they have an obligation to invest significant time and energy, which leads to both physical and psychological exhaustion.
Professionals encountering this burnout tend to take out their emotions on others, frequently complaining about the burden of their tiring work. They often immediately enter a problem-solving mode, piling on more work and responsibilities for themselves, making the situation worse.
Signs to look out for include:
- Neglecting personal life needs to meet work demands.
- An investment in career or ambitions that goes beyond reasonable limits.
- Sacrificing health and happiness to achieve goals.
Coping strategies:
Researchers suggest that there are two main strategies to overcome overload burnout:
- Develop stronger emotional regulation skills, such as accurately identifying, processing emotions, and changing negative self-talk. For example, shifting from the thought pattern “Success can only come from continuous work” to “Enjoying life is key to success.”
- Learn to separate self-worth from job responsibilities, avoiding overcommitment at work, and thereby reducing job burnout. By cultivating diverse identities and activities, such as being a parent, spouse, or friend, strengthen the complexity and diversity of self.
For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of my clients regained his pilot’s license and volunteered in the civil air patrol, which helped him get away from the computer and rediscover his sense of identity.
Under-challenge Burnout
Surprisingly, insufficient workload can also lead to job burnout. Under-challenge burnout is usually the opposite of overload burnout, occurring in an uninspiring and challenge-lacking work environment, which results in a lack of motivation and a sense of lost value.
In such a state, employees can feel undervalued, leading to feelings of depression and frustration. If they lack opportunities for progress and significance in their job, or if they’re unable to establish substantive relationships with colleagues and management, they may come to view their work as monotonous, uninteresting, and lacking a sense of accomplishment. When faced with situations where their talents cannot be utilized, these employees often adopt avoidance strategies, such as distraction, disengagement, and even suppression of their own thoughts.
When employees wish to take on more challenging tasks, when they feel that their current work does not provide appropriate opportunities to cultivate and develop their skills, and when they view their current position as a barrier to personal growth and advancement, these are signals that require attention.
During times of low morale, you may lose interest in everything. At such times, you can simply try to spark your own curiosity. Setting a goal to learn a new skill in the next 30 days can provide motivation to move forward. Start with small things and don’t put too much pressure on yourself. For example, you could choose to spend an hour or two every week learning coding, or spend 20 minutes a day practicing a new language. When you find yourself interested in something and see it as meaningful, you will gradually make progress and gain the motivation to get out of your slump. Even if this skill is not directly related to your job, this positive energy can spill over and rekindle your enthusiasm for work—or inspire you to bravely try a new career direction.
“Job crafting” is another method, which reshapes one’s current job closer to an ideal. Everything starts small. Focus on gradual changes, which piled up can have a significant impact. For example, my client Alice, who is a product management leader, gradually felt her role mainly responsible for team performance management lacked challenge during the pandemic. I suggested she take two weeks to find activities that could put her in “flow.” She discovered that she felt particularly pleased when talking to clients and solving challenging workflow issues. Consequently, Alice proposed a new research project that combined these skills to innovate the company’s core product, and her boss was very pleased with it.
“Neglect burnout” is another form of burnout, which often occurs when one cannot get enough guidance and support at work, employees may feel it hard to keep up with demands, or feel they can’t meet expectations, and over time this may lead to feelings of incompetence and lack of achievement. Confronted with this kind of burnout, employees often exhibit “learned helplessness,” a psychological state when trapped in a dilemma, even if solutions are close at hand they are often overlooked. In short, people who fall into learned helplessness believe they cannot make any positive changes in the environment, they become negative when problems arise at work, and they give up trying.
Signs that require vigilance include immediately ceasing to try when work is not going well, giving up as soon as setbacks and obstacles are encountered, and feeling down when getting ready for work in the morning. In the face of these situations, take back control, for instance, by creating a “Not To-Do List”. Think about which tasks could be outsourced, delegated to others, or postponed. Identify work that needs to be rejected and set more stable boundaries for yourself.
First, note the times when you feel strong resistance, which can be a signal that you need to establish healthier boundaries. Additionally, consider communicating with your supervisor about your workload, sharing your current work situation, and asking if the work priorities align with the supervisor’s expectations and where adjustments can be made. Such conversations can help reduce work pressure and enable you to focus more on achieving key team strategic goals.
Knowing you’re proactively considering the big picture will please your boss. Most importantly, focus on things you can control. Take good care of yourself outside work hours. Establish routine tasks that ground you, like daily walks or journaling. When you feel powerless about changes at work, it’s necessary to find a sense of stability in other areas.
Burnout manifests differently for everyone, and the reasons vary. Identifying the type of burnout you’re experiencing is very important. You may encounter a combination of several types at once. Recognizing your state makes it easier to find targeted solutions and to tackle problems effectively.
