Burnout Should Not Be Normal
“Even after just being at Princeton for a short time, I have already experienced burnout. It made me not only feel exhausted from doing basic things, but it also made me feel like I wasn’t as good as other students here.”
Burnout is a pressing issue for a wide variety of individuals across a spectrum of occupations, institutions, and age demographics. From college students to corporate executives, navigating the ins and outs of balancing work and relaxation is challenging. This is especially true for Americans, wherein 61% want to leave their current jobs, and only 20% are passionate about their chosen careers (Zippia). According to an article by Mark Perna in Forbes, “Only 3 in 10 college students feel confident about getting their desired job once they graduate.” Many graduates choose to enter careers that make money and ensure financial security over more suitable but low-paying occupations that cater to their personal interests but offer a lower standard of living. Corporate executives and business owners also risk the encroachment of burnout due to the demands of a fast-paced, highly scheduled lifestyle, which requires them to always be “on.” The pressure to constantly perform at a high level can lead to leadership fatigue and mental exhaustion, wherein time more than money is a scarcity they cannot obtain.
Work and its selection is a critical choice for students and professionals, considering that 90,000 hours, or one-third of the average person’s lifetime, is spent working (One Third). The pressure to be successful can result in chronic stress, leading to burnout (Burn-out an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’). The World Health Association characterizes this in three dimensions, “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job and reduced professional efficacy.” When students become tunnel-visioned and overwhelmed by the work in required courseloads, their stress can rise, resulting in unhealthy habits that negatively affect their health.
In the aftermath of their first experience with midterms at Princeton University, three freshmen offer insights on how they initially responded to their new and rigorous college curriculum. The names of the students have been changed to protect their privacy.
When asked if he had ever encountered burnout in his academic work, Alex agreed, saying, “Even after just being at Princeton for a short time, I have already experienced burnout. It made me not only feel exhausted from doing basic things, but it also made me feel like I wasn’t as good as other students here.”
Another freshman, Shaun, who is interested in pursuing a career in government, responded differently to the question. He says, “[I don’t experience] burnout for myself. At least I don’t consider [it] as burnout. Stress for sure though. When I am stressed, I stress-eat, I pull my hair, and I am constantly worried [while] thinking about my assignment[s].”
The third interviewed freshman, Sue, is interested in physics and reflected on our question by referencing a prior encounter with burnout in her academics. She says, “Yes, I had burnout that had a huge impact on me in my second year of my high school. Exhausted after the first year, I couldn’t push myself into the work as I did before. […] The vicious circle exhausted me physically and mentally.”
Worry and stress cloud the everyday lives of many college students who, concerned for their grades and future, spend long hours and late nights focused on achieving high grades that will impress employers for internships and full-time employment. While professionals and executives have long since graduated from college and have progressed considerably in their careers, the high stress and grinding demands experienced in their roles have led them to reconsider their futures. “A recent Deloitte survey revealed that almost 70% of executives are considering leaving their jobs for workplaces that care more for their well-being” (Wiley). Challenged by work encouraging high-performance metrics at the sacrifice of personal relationships with long hours, many professionals overextend themselves in unhealthy work-life balances. For their hard work and dedication, the question arises of whether pay and compensation are enough to band-aid the personal lives professionals are giving up and missing out on. Indeed, promotions are important to move up, but what can anyone say about their lives and notion of happiness if work is their life?
Weighing in on the issue, the Mayo Clinic describes “job burnout [as] a special type of work-related stress. [It is] a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.” To lose ourselves in our work, no matter how passionate we are about it, will not contribute to our productivity but only our misery. As the adage goes, “too much of anything is bad for you.”
In an article by Angel Pérez published in The Center for Association Leadership, one interviewed CEO shared her story on burnout, saying, “[D]espite my passion for the job, all things that historically brought me joy faded. I continued to work hard, but I was going through the motions. I kept up my workout routine to muster up endorphins and still had little energy. What worried me even more was my lost interest in most things outside of work. All I did was go home, sit on the couch, watch TV, and do it all over again. The deeper my fog became, the more I worked; it has always been my coping mechanism. I thought, this must be what a mid-life crisis feels like.”
Burnout is not normal and should not be normalized or tolerated in our schools or places of work. It does not help or add to productivity; it drains the individual and makes their lives devoid of joy. It is a reaction to an extensive period of unmanaged chronic stress that can lead to depressive tendencies and feelings of low energy and motivation. So, what are the best strategies we can use to avoid burnout?
Reflecting on their recent experience with academic stress, the Princeton freshmen each offer advice on coping and navigating moments in their academic life when they feel they’ve been working too hard. Alex, who is interested in a career in humanitarian law, says, “I find that planning my work ahead is a great way to prevent burnout. […] I also make sure to take many breaks while doing work so that I’m not exhausted from it.” Shaun’s strategies involve actively taking a step back to reconnect with himself and others. He says, “[I] nap, have conversations with people, and just get things done, one way or another.” Sue advocates for staying self-aware and monitoring your feelings, saying, “I look back at myself and my feelings every Sunday! If I feel I’m close to burnout, I try to relax more next week.”
Some other strategies to keep in mind are knowing yourself and understanding your limits, setting and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, arranging your priorities from highest to lowest, and reaching out to your support system or seeking professional help when you need it.
First, know yourself. If you know yourself and your limits, you can catch the first early signs of stress when you feel your plate is too full. If you understand when you’re beginning to feel overwhelmed or strained, then you can take immediate steps to stop the onset of chronic stress, halting burnout before it happens. Even though work or school is important, your health should always come first. Our bodies are the only ones we have; if we lose them, we lose the foundation that allows us to function and live the lives we lead.
Second, getting enough sleep and maintaining a proper and consistent sleep schedule is extremely important to your well-being and productivity. Pulling all-nighters to finish projects and assignments harms more than it helps, and the lost sleep will catch up with you during the day, impairing your focus, attention, and engagement with your job or classwork. This, in turn, makes it difficult to complete new tasks and easy to make mistakes. Reset your sleep schedule to go to bed and wake up at set times to allow yourself to be awake, refreshed, and ready to tackle your day.
Third, learning how to prioritize tasks can make our lives more organized. Identify the most critical task to complete, then schedule objectives and other tasks as micro-goals to finish in the day at set times. Accomplishing tasks in chunks with alternating pre-scheduled breaks and productivity sessions is a great way to manage time and regulate stress levels. You ensure everything gets done without straining yourself in the process.
Finally, reach out. Don’t be afraid to talk to friends and family if you feel burned out. Speaking to people you trust can be the first step to identifying key solutions that can lift your burden through clarity and strategizing ways to take a break to rest and recharge. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “recovering from burnout can be much easier with the help of a therapist.” Soliciting professional help is a great way to recenter yourself with a trained medical practitioner dedicated to helping you on the path to recovery.