Chronic fatigue, with stress, in a bad mood or difficulty concentrating, are some of the symptoms that people with burnout. In Mexico, this syndrome has a high prevalence among workers, since at least 75% have experienced some form of job stress or anxietyaccording to data from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
First of all, what is burnout?
Burnout is a syndrome characterized by the presence of a feeling of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and decreased personal fulfillment at work. This condition can be debilitating for those who experience it, and can lead to long-term physical, psychological, and emotional health problems. Companies must be aware of these signs in their employees and take steps to prevent and address this condition.
According to Barometer of the mental health of workers in Mexicocarried out by Affor Health, at least 49% of the Mexican workforce shows signs of stress, 37% register problems falling asleep and, even more worrying, about 33% have some type of depression, regardless of whether it is long-term or episodic.
Why does this “melting down” syndrome exist?
This study also details that the companies in which evaluations are carried out sensitive to the detection of physical or psycho-emotional affectations, more than 33% of the workers present intra-work and extra-work conditions that generate discomfort, while 23% manifest an open affectation in the state general emotional, anxiety stress detection. Under these conditions, it becomes essential for a company to know how to identify what a worker with burnout looks like.
Emotionally, burnout workers may feel unmotivated, apathetic, and have low self-esteem. They may also feel trapped in their work and have difficulty finding satisfaction in what they do, or feel less engaged in their work. On the other hand, psychologically, burnout leads to other disorders such as depression and anxiety, as well as a deterioration of interpersonal relationships and the ability to communicate effectively. Burnout workers often feel emotionally distant from their colleagues and customers, which negatively affects the quality of service they provide.
And then how to detect it in time?
Companies have the great challenge of preventing psychosocial risks that lead workers to manifest this syndrome, but for those who already present it, the challenge is to mitigate the symptoms and recover the mental health of the worker. For this, it is important to first identify what an employee with burnout looks like.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers burnout within its International Classification of Occupational Diseases and adds that it is characterized by three aspects:
- Feelings of exhaustion or depletion of energy;
- Increased mental distance from work, or feelings of work-related negativity or cynicism
- Reduced professional effectiveness
In addition to psychological or mood symptoms, burnout can trigger physical health conditions such as heart disease, inappropriate alcohol and substance use, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and vulnerability to disease.
Measures that you can implement in your business
According to Affor Health, these are some measures that companies can implement:
- Implement information campaigns on mental health at work.
- Promote permanent programs for the detection of psychosocial risks.
- Provide employees with psychological assistance with experts in labor issues.
- Include practices and values aligned with mental health care
- Take care of and respect the spaces for work disconnection and care for the mental health of all collaborators.
- Foster a work culture that respects the work-life balance.
Burnout has a multifactorial origin; nevertheless, It is an affectation derived from chronic work stress and that to a large extent is due to the lack of organizational strategy, high workloads or lack of definition of roles in companies. For this reason, it is important that companies act on different fronts, both in prevention and care to take care of the mental health of the team. It is also important that company leaders are aware of signs of burnout in their employees, and take steps to address any problems that arise.
The position What does a person with burnout look like? appeared first on Entrepreneur | The leading medium for Entrepreneurship and Business.