by Zachary Mattison
A new law passed in August gave workers in Australia the “right to disconnect.” The law doesn’t prevent employers from contacting their employees after hours, but it ensures that workers can reasonably ignore those messages until they clock in once more. It’s a fantastic step forward for workers’ rights, and a great reminder to talk about the struggles of burning out and overworking.
Burnout can affect all of us, and it stretches beyond work into every corner of our lives. In today’s world, more than ever, it can become all-encompassing––and the symptoms are costly. The Mayo Clinic provides an extensive list of how burnout can affect us: it can leave us drained, damage our sleep habits, and even leave us more vulnerable to sickness and conditions like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
For many of us, being available when we’re not at work is just a part of the job, and it’s difficult to turn that part of our brains off. So, how can we get a handle when the stress becomes too much? It’s important to recognize the signs and take steps to catch it, before it can take over our lives completely. Thankfully, there is relief:
Take a break. Be it a bathroom break, a quick walk, or a stop for coffee, it’s helpful to remove yourself from that stressful environment for a moment. Even just stopping to take a few deep breaths can relieve the tension that’s pushing down on you.
Identify how you’re feeling. Burnout can come from external factors, but it’s important to ask yourself what emotions you’re feeling because of it. It’s a pretty good guess to say fear and anger are part of that mixture. Fear of falling short of the expectations being placed on you. Anger at being asked to do too much. Knowing what those emotions are, and what’s causing them, can help you keep them under control.
Take action. What can you change today to stop feeling overwhelmed? Maybe that’s asking a co-worker to pitch-in on your current assignment, making sure your deadlines are realistic, or even taking the stress of prioritizing off your shoulders by asking your boss what needs to be done first.
Prioritize yourself. Above all else, it’s important to take a lesson from this ‘right to disconnect’ law whenever we can. Burnout breaks down our boundaries, and taking time away helps us to build them back up. Monique Valcour, an executive coach/management professor, suggests spending a week and assessing how you spend your time.
So it’s important to take the opportunity to make sure you are also doing things that bring you joy, in between the more stressful tasks.
Sources
Australians get ‘right to disconnect’ after hours – BBC News
Job burnout: How to spot it and take action – Mayo Clinic
Beating Burnout – Harvard Business Review
