Mental health in the workplace: 7 proven ways to beat burnout
Are you feeling constantly tired, mentally drained, and demotivated every single day at work? If so, then you are among millions around the world experiencing work burnout. But that’s okay. Work burnout is very common, and there are many different ways you can beat it without having to take a month-long leave.
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In this blog by Pacific Prime Dubai, we’ll take you through 10 simple ways to beat work burnout and get you back on track to working productively (and happily) again!
1. Know the difference between stress and work burnout
Ways to beat work burnout can be very different from ways of coping with stress. By knowing whether you suffer from burnout or workplace stress, you will be able to implement the correct measures to help you feel better.
With that said, here are the key differences between burnout and stress:
| Burnout symptoms | Stress symptoms |
| Apathy and emotional numbness | Feeling emotionally overwhelmed |
| Lack of motivation and ambitions | Loss of energy |
| Disengagement from work, leading to poor productivity | Over-engagement at work, leading to mistakes |
| Sense of helplessness | Sense of urgency |
| Symptoms resemble that of depression | Symptoms resemble that of anxiety |
If you believe you are suffering from workplace stress, make sure to read this blog on how to cope with it. On the other hand, if you think you are suffering from work burnout, check out the rest of our tips to find out how to beat it.
2. Reevaluate priorities
When work burnout occurs, you can start feeling like nothing matters. A great way to change this thought pattern is to stop what you’re doing and start asking yourself what actually matters in your life.
If your children come to mind, focus your energy and attention on your children throughout the day. This will give you a new sense of purpose when performing your daily tasks at work and get you motivated again in no time.
Here are some examples of priorities in life which you can set to help beat work burnout:
- I’m saving up to buy my dream car
- I want to give my children a good childhood
- I’m aiming to get a promotion in 6 months
- I want to help improve my local community by donating more to charity
3. Set boundaries
Work burnouts can happen when you are overworked for extended periods of time. This leaves little time for you to rest, enjoy your hobbies, and be with your family. By setting boundaries at work, you will learn to say “no” to requests that are not within the boundaries of your responsibilities.
This will allow you to perform your main tasks better, make work more fulfilling over time, and give you more time for you to recharge. By setting boundaries correctly, there’s no doubt you will be able to beat work burnout.
4. Get plenty of sleep
Getting enough shut-eye may sound like a no-brainer, but there’s more to sleeping than you think. Here are two impacts for sleep that you need to know:
- Nighttime sleep: By reducing nighttime sleep by only 1.5 hours, you can become 32% less alert during the day.
- Day nap: Research has found that napping for only 40-minute naps can improve performance by 34% and alertness by 100%.
Weirdly enough, sleeping and napping are an integral part of work. If you feel constantly, drained at work, the chances are that you are not getting enough sleep. Check out these tips on how to get a great night’s sleep to become well-rested when you wake up each morning.
If you’ve had plenty of sleep but still feel extremely sleepy throughout the day, be sure to consult a medical expert. Sleep therapies can help you get quality sleep at night, making you more alert and productive during the day.
5. Practice deep breathing
There’s nothing worse than people telling you to simply “do nothing.” That’s frustrating to hear, and it doesn’t really help you beat work burnouts. What you should be doing is to make better use of your free time to rest and heal. That’s exactly why you should try deep breathing.
Research has shown that deep breathing or meditating will:
- Enhance self-awareness
- Lengthen attention span
- Reduce age-related memory loss
- Improve sleep
- Decrease blood pressure
- And more
By practicing deep breathing in your free time, you can reduce both feelings of stress and burnout. The best thing about deep breathing is, you can do it anywhere.
Deep breathing is simple. To get started, sit in a relaxing position, close your eyes, and focus your attention on your breathing.
No, it’s not sleeping, but don’t feel bad if you accidentally fall asleep (we all do). Start by doing this for around 5 to 10 minutes and slowly increase the amount of time you spend meditating each day.
Afterward, you’ll feel refreshed, energized, and ready to crush your work performance records!
6. Set a fixed work schedule (and stick to it)
How often do you check your work email outside of work hours?
A survey in the US found that 81% of employees check their work emails outside work hours. By taking your work home, along with psychological baggage it carries, you will quickly drain out all your energy and experience work burnout.
To recover, you need to set strict schedules for when you start and stop working each day. Start by only checking work emails or discuss work-related matters until 45 minutes after working hours, and slowly adjust to stop checking emails altogether after you leave the office each day.
By removing anything associated with work during your rest time, you will be able to recover from work burnout at a much faster pace.
7. Consult others, get professional help
The final way to beat burnout is to talk to others about your work burnout experience. Sharing your feelings with friends and families can help your healing process. Furthermore, you may even get more tips from those that have been through similar experiences, on how to cope with burnouts.
Consulting a mental health expert can also speed up your recovery with proven scientific methods, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and more. However, if UAE wellness programs are not included in your private health insurance plan in Dubai, mental health consultation sessions can be extremely expensive.
To learn more about wellness benefits and international health insurance in Dubai, feel free to contact our team at Pacific Prime Dubai for a free consultation session or visit our website for a no-obligation, free quote today!
In his free time, Phuwit enjoys reading and playing badminton. He also loves a good cup of coffee.
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- Mental health in the workplace: 7 proven ways to beat burnout - 5th March 2020
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