When You're Tapped Before Age 30: 5 Behaviors That Burn Us Out

A version of this article was originally published on Forbes. Sign up for Caroline’s newsletter to get her writing sent straight to your inbox. In all likelihood, you know what burnout feels like: Exhaustion, disinterest, poor performance, irritability, lack of empathy. The media often claims it’s caused by bad work environments; bad coworkers; bad bosses. This is partially true: Employees with large caseloads experience burnout more often. And individuals whose jobs revolve around people—such as social workers, customer service representatives, teachers, nurses and police officers—are particularly predisposed it. Yet research also shows that some employees are more likely to burn out than others in identical work environments. Burnout is weakly correlated to stressful life events but closely linked to traits such as neuroticism and low self-esteem. The evidence for burnout’s internal risk factors is, indeed, well established: A study published in Work and Stress concluded that “Employee personality is consistently related to burnout.” Common burnout prescriptions—like rest, medication and vacation—can temporarily relieve our symptoms. But until we permanently alter the behaviors exacerbating our exhaustion, we’ll remain rutted in perpetual recovery . Because, after all, what we do is inextricably linked to how we feel. Below are five changeable behaviors that fuel burnout: 1. Lack of focus Millennials are particularly vulnerable to existential distrac...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news