Here in the U.S., when we first meet someone, we usually ask what they do for a living. For better or worse, our jobs are part of our identities. According to a poll done in February 2022, only 65 percent of American workers said they are satisfied with their jobs, and just 20 percent said they were “passionate” about their jobs.
Think about that — a third of American workers are unsatisfied with their jobs. Considering that we spend a third of our lives at work, dissatisfaction usually leads to burnout. So what can you do to improve your feelings about your job and work life? Let’s look at some strategies.
The Mayo Clinic describes job burnout as a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. In the spirit of comedian Jeff Foxworthy, whose routine began, “You might be a redneck if …, ” let me put it this way: You might have burnout if you have:
● Excessive stress
● Fatigue
● Insomnia
● Sadness, anger or irritability
● Alcohol or substance misuse
● Heart disease
● High blood pressure
● Type 2 diabetes
● Vulnerability to illnesses
To put yourself back on a healthy path at work, consider the following approaches:
● Use your team, and delegate what you can. Often we feel like we need to do it all ourselves, and we overlook the team and support system our workplace provides. It can be uncomfortable to ask for help, but doing so can save time for you and your team — and reduce the negative effects of exhaustion and burnout.
● Manage your time better. Distraction is everywhere, and we can get sucked into it. Distinguish between the urgent and the important. Prioritize the things that are important and urgent, and avoid the things that are neither.
● Take breaks. Do you have an Apple watch? Do you find the “stand up” reminder annoying? Most of my job requires me to sit in front of a computer or be on phone calls all day long. My watch will buzz me that it’s time to stand up, and too often, I ignore it and keep typing and talking away. But my watch is usually right: the days I don’t get up and walk away for a few minutes are the ones that feel most draining. Breaks can change your whole day, even for 30 seconds or a minute every half hour or so. Try deep breathing, which promotes relaxation, improves mental clarity, relieves pain, increases energy, improves digestion and even detoxifies the body. Because stress and anxiety dehydrate the body, add a cup or more of water to each of those breaks throughout the day.
● Invest in relationships. One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou, who said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The most important factor in workplace satisfaction is culture, no matter how much a person is paid. Culture is created by the employees and plays out in everything, including how you walk into work, greet (or don’t greet) your coworkers, the chitchat before and after a meeting and a thousand other details and interactions. Culture directly affects how much you enjoy your job. Challenge yourself to get to know someone and make a point to grow your professional relationships. These enrich the benefits of work, even if they never show up on a pay stub.
● Balance your time. Leave work at work. Even the busiest, most influential people need not be available sometimes. Not everything can be a crisis. Because so much time is spent in our professional spheres of life, we need to give high-quality time to ourselves and our loved ones. This means unplugging and giving your full attention to the important people outside of work. Studies show that money isn’t the big motivator people think it is. There may come the point when people take pay cuts to improve other areas of work and life — and that can be a great decision and may even save your career.
These strategies work symbiotically. If you take breaks, you’ll have more energy which will improve your time management. With greater mental clarity and focus, you will deliberately step away from work at the end of the day and focus on giving your family and yourself the attention they need. The next day, you can show up to work refreshed, engage with your coworkers in a meaningful way and ask for help and support because you trust your team.
Where to start? Pick one area, and start small. Maybe that’s focusing on incorporating deep breathing or drinking more water. Ask a coworker how his or her weekend was and really listen to the answer. Actually share how you’re doing when someone asks.
As you employ these techniques, chances are you’ll find yourself among those who genuinely enjoy their workplace and responsibilities.
As a Christ-follower, good friend, expert laugher, dog lover, fitness spinner, writer and mental health advocate, Candyce Braker loves teaching people how to approach life with determination, integrity and optimism. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she addresses clinical areas including relational issues, emotional disorders, behavioral problems, mental illness and substance misuse. When not in front of her computer, she’s usually spending time with her family, testing a new recipe or trying to figure out where she last set down her phone.
