Will try to understand the causes of emotional burnout, the phases of its development and ways to overcome it.
In everyday, everyday understanding, the phenomenon of emotional burnout consists in the fact that at first a person worked well, willingly and productively, and then something happens, and the person who is called burns out: work becomes uninteresting, he is late and tries to leave work early, at work he is bored, the employee is lethargic and lack of initiative.
Unfortunately, although this would be an undesirable option for the employer, in general, such a manifestation of emotional burnout could be considered very vegetarian (weak). In the Netherlands, burnout is officially considered a work injury, which is treated at the expense of the employer, and if the treatment does not work, the organization is obliged to pay benefits.
In fact, burnout affects not only a person's behavior at work, but also outside it, as well as health.
Psychological reactions include:
- giving up a hobby;
- lack of imagination;
- constant feelings of guilt;
- mood swings;
- apathy.
Psychosomatic reactions:
- indigestion;
- dependence on alcohol (caffeine, nicotine);
- back pain;
- insomnia;
- sexual dysfunctions;
- a general decrease in immunity.
Behavioral reactions:
- suspicion;
- blaming others;
- ignoring your role in failure;
- conflicts.
The five-stage model of the development of burnout, authored by Greenberg, has become widespread. In the first phase, a person takes on work with pleasure, treats it with enthusiasm, stress at work does not have a strong effect. In the second phase, fatigue and sleep problems appear, however, declining productivity in this phase can be compensated for by good stimuli and extrinsic motivation. In the third phase, physical exhaustion sets in and a feeling of constant lack of free time. The fourth phase is an obvious crisis: Partial or complete loss of working capacity is possible. The fifth phase, if it comes to it, turns out to be a serious threat to the continuation of a career and to the general health of a person.
You need to understand that emotional burnout does not depend only on the employee himself. Of course, there is a predisposition of some individuals to workaholism, but an equally significant factor is the improper organization of work, which can lead employees to exhaustion (large amount of work, lack of rewards, attention to mistakes, inconvenience of the workplace, deliberately impossible plans, etc..), therefore, to overcome emotional burnout, you need to work equally in two directions: personal and organizational.
From personal behavior, psychologists single out sociability, optimism, adequate self-esteem, emotional distancing, a constructive approach to problems (it is necessary to remove worries about "what to do now, what will happen now", instead, a positive-constructive question should be posed: "What can be done in these circumstances? ").
Organizational factors are addressed by eliminating unjustifiably high standards of work, plans must be feasible and rewarding, the workplace must be comfortable and ergonomic, rest and vacations must be timely and fulfilling.
