Americans work a lot. It is a cultural thing to always want to be the best and hardest worker you know. This is great but also not great at the same time. The problem is that some people are working themselves to the point they get sick. Burnout is a very real thing.
In addition to Americans’ willingness to work a lot, there is also the problem of employers making workers afraid to not work longer hours than they should. The result is that your productivity drops, your morale drops, and you end up seeing negative effects in other aspects of your life. In this article, we will go over several ways that you can avoid burnout and keep working.
1 – Limit your overtime
Admittedly, this advice doesn’t pertain to salary workers as there is no actual overtime. However, hourly employers are usually called upon to work more than 40 hours per week to help catch up on work. This is fine once in a while and is actually a good thing so you can make some extra money.
However, aside from the fact that there are Oregon overtime laws, you should limit working overtime except on exceptional occasions. If you work overtime every week then at a certain point you will feel burnt out. Going back to a regular schedule will help but it won’t solve the problem.
Put in your time and work as productively as possible within your regular schedule. This way you can be done on time and the work still gets done.
2 – Perform a personal audit
Take some time to take stock of the job that you do and look at it from all angles. When you feel like you are overworked and the work just can never seem to be done on time then this audit will help you organize your time in a more efficient manner so you can work and know when to stop.
Part of this analysis is identifying what your actual work is supposed to be so you can see if there are any tasks that you are being asked to do that aren’t part of your job description. Go to your manager and let them know that you won’t be doing those other tasks anymore so you can reduce your workload.
3 – Manage stress
It is virtually impossible to go through life and a career without getting stressed at points. That’s ok. What’s not ok is when you are constantly stressed out because you are tired and overworked.
Find a way to manage that stress and not let it affect your health. Leave on time instead of trying to put in more face time while the boss is there. If you got the work done then it shouldn’t be a problem.
Take a break during the week to get out of the office and go for a walk. An extra 15 minutes after lunch will have a big effect.
