Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi. I am in a tricky situation at work. There is temporarily a shortage of staff and I am doing 300% of my normal workload and working 200% of my normal hours (this maths = burnout) I'm in week 1 of 5 and I'm burnout already. To be honest, I was already pretty "burnt out" but I feel like now I am "officially burnout", complete with meltdowns and slowed down functioning.
How do you deal with this? I can't remove myself from the situation. I've asked for help and they've given it to me but it's not enough because this just happens to be an unavoidably bad situation and someone has to deal with it (unfortunately that person is me) I don't really have any stims that make me feel better. Stims just help me cope when I feel awful. And I don't really have any special interests that make me feel better. The things I get fixated on often make me feel even more tired and drained.
Every day that I make it through at work feels like I'm betraying myself and my needs. I feel like I need to take care of myself somehow, in some small way, just to prove that I'm still on my side and I still care.
Edit: OK so I get that "I can quit my job" or "I can refuse to do overtime" but for numerous personal and professional reasons which I will not be detailing on the internet, please take my word for it that I personally cannot get out of this situation and please provide any advice for alleviating the burnout or making my burnt out brain feel temporarily better if you are able to. Thank you.
Signing that contract of employment is a big commitment, and it is difficult not to keep that promise. How loyal would your employer be to you? I've found in the past it's got nothing to do with me and everything to do with the financial climate of the company.
If the company is in a bad place, think about getting a new job. I know it's not easy, but your health comes first. When I do staff support I always remind people "nobody has a tombstone that says 'they were a hard grafter' - usually a good parent/sibling/partner/friend etc.".
You might not feel in the best place to be looking for something new in the short term, but have a think if this is how you want to deal with the company's stress/financial position. It's just about where you are willing to make a compromise. You will get through this, but what happens next time? Only you can make the decision to slow down and do 100% of your workload in 100% of your hours - and no more. I remember being the one missing our company barbecue because a Saudi client had a problem, and my Indian colleague onsite was being beaten physically until we fixed the problem. I was the only one who had empathy for this person we'd never met, and stayed until I figured it out and fixed it. The thing is, your performance will decrease the more overtime you do. That's why professions like police, medicine etc. have rules about how their shifts work. And why they have union representation to back them up when employers push hard.
In terms of looking after yourself, it's all the usual stuff. Eat well (lots of good food and cut back on junk and alcohol), exercise even 15 mins walking, good quality sleep, time with friends/family/alone balanced to suit your energy levels, do something fun or interesting every day even if it's only for 2 minutes.
MelonCauliflower said: I can't remove myself from the situation.
You can. You just choose not to.
Management cannot make you work more than your contracted hours so while they may be pushing or even blackmailing you into it, you have the right to say no.
Does it mean a project will fail or the company will close clients? Probably, but that is not your responsibility - it is down to management to deal with this and bring in more resources or decrease the workload. By doing what you are doing you are enabling and encouraging them to be rubbish at their job.
I've been there (working 20 hours a day for weeks to deliver a project) and as you point out it is not sustainable.
My suggestion is to speak to managent, tell them you cannot sustain this and you need to return to a healthy work life balance or it will result in a breakdown where you are no longer able to work at all for what could be weeks or more.
Join a union if your contract allows it - they can be very useful in situatons like this.
Be assertive and point out you have given them blood, sweat and tears for ages and you cannot maintain it. Keep your HR/People team in the loop and ask them to return you to your contracted working hours.
If they try to blackmail you, record it in case you choose to sue them later on - it is not OK. Also keep records of all interactions around workload and keep copies of all correspondance at home just in case they cut you off.
You are being exploited and need to regain control and this is how I would personally go about it.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
Probably worth getting signed off sick for a week or so, you'd soon recover if you hadn't got the stress of work. But I know that's not Always possible and I'm the worse for never taking time off too as I feel way too guilty.
If you can work from home that helps, set out some time between work/meetings and go hide in a dark room and decompress. That's what I usually do when burnout sets in bad. Get some early nights and watch whatever you find relaxing on TV. Get out in nature and walk, places without people tend to be best!
I've found that rest is really is the only proper cure for mine though and that means quiet, no dramas, no work etc. which is so hard to get in todays crazy world.