Emotional exhaustion can happen to any profession. Although it’s often seen in high-achievers, anyone with a job is at risk.
Emotional exhaustion, or burnout, is a chronic stress condition. It may result in a distrustful attitude, social withdrawal, feelings of incompetence and lack of accomplishment.
When you experience emotional exhaustion, you can no longer function at work. The dangerous thing is that burnout builds up over time. You don’t just wake up with it like a cold.
It grows on you gradually, making it harder to recognise and seek treatment. However, there are still certain warning signs.
Signs of emotional exhaustion at work
• Negative feelings
If you are emotionally exhausted, you may find yourself frustrated and irritated. Your negative feelings may be directed at your job, your co-workers, or your company policies.
• Feeling pressured and overwhelmed
People with emotional exhaustion have a hard time dealing with professional pressure. You may feel like you have to succeed at any cost but you can’t find the time to plan or to finish your tasks. Your work demands seem too high for you to meet.
• Negative thoughts
When you feel bad, you are more likely to have negative thoughts. Common negative thoughts associated with emotional exhaustion at work include:
(i) Thoughts of being alone
(ii) Judgemental thoughts directed at co-workers
(iii) Harsh thoughts about yourself
If you constantly think, “I don’t have to take all this garbage. This isn’t fair, they get the easier tasks. The supervisor is clueless”, you may be emotionally exhausted.
• Relationship problems
Negative feelings and thoughts about your job and co-workers may take a toll on your professional relationships. As a result, you feel even more estranged and isolated.
• Sleep disturbance
At first, you may only experience sleep difficulties for a couple of nights per week. Over time, it may turn into a constant problem you have to deal with every night.
Even though you are exhausted, you still cannot sleep.
• Cognitive impairment
Decreased attention span, lack of concentration and forgetfulness are all early signs of emotional exhaustion at work.
As time goes by, it may get to a point where you can no longer get anything done at all. It’s important to identify emotional exhaustion at work, especially in professions that employees may be put at risk when errors occur.
Although there is no exact cure for emotional exhaustion at work, addressing the problem and seeking help early gives you the chance to make positive choices about your career
The Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.