When Meaningful Work Backfires

It’s easy to let high stress steal our full attention. Often, high stress leaves us vulnerable to a dysregulated, unproductive state. This means we need reliable resources we can connect to in order to renew and maintain our mental, emotional, and physical energy, and to help us recover from work stressors that, left unchecked, can make us vulnerable to burnout. As a burnout researcher, my work has been focused on pinpointing the most reliable and effective resources people can connect to in order to protect themselves from burnout. I’ve conducted hundreds of in-depth interviews with people who experience high stress at work, but they are not burned out. From my research, I found that those who have a deep, lasting connection with their purpose and a sense that they are engaged in meaningful work are significantly less vulnerable to burnout. Yet, while having a high level of engagement with your work can protect you from burnout, being over-engaged in meaningful work can come with some potential risks. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] In fact, some of the people who are at the highest risk of burnout are those who genuinely love their work and who routinely go the extra mile. This is certainly no guarantee of developing burnout, but it’s very important to be aware of the hidden downsides of devoting yourself to meaningful work and to the ways it can potentially backfire. Perhaps the most common way is that your work life simply becomes ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized freelance Source Type: news