A leadership expert has shared the five biggest signs that you’re at risk of burn out from an out of kilter work-life balance.
Drew Povey, author and founder of the Drew Povey Consultancy, says that not getting the right blend of time at work and at home can lead to poor physical and mental health which needs to be addressed at an early stage.
Speaking as part of National Work Life Week (5-9 October) he said: “The World Health Organisation describes burnout through exhaustion, increased mental distancing, cynicism and reduced personal efficacy,” explains Drew, who has worked with leading companies and sports teams in the UK.
“I suspect most people reading this will think ‘yes’ to at least one point in my list: a recent survey found that 40% of employees had experienced significant stress the previous day, so we know that people aren’t feeling quite right and they’re not getting the balance right in their lives.
“People talk about work-life balance like it should be a 50-50 split but to me, it’s about finding the right blend, not a balancing act.
“There maybe times when your family has to take up a bigger part of your time and others when you need to focus more on work. Work will affect your home life and home will affect work.
“How we manage both of these environments will influence how we perform – and how we perform will impact how we live our lives. They’re inextricably linked.
“So rather than a set of scales where we try to balance the two, what we should be looking at is a personal MOT where we can identify problems before they start to become issues.
“Peak performance isn’t created in the workplace, it’s created in our life outside of work.”
Five signs you need a reset
- Constantly low energy
If constantly feeling drained and low on energy is becoming the normal rather than the exception, it’s a clear sign you need a reset. This is linked to how your body is responding to a stressful situation. If you cannot fight or run away from a problem, your nervous system runs out of energy and enters a low-energy conservation state to stop further physical or mental strain. Once stress hormones wear off, it leaves you with a feeling of exhaustion.
- You’re starting to disengage
If you’re not really feeling as connected to work or to life or to even friends as you could be, that can lead to burnout. Some of that disengagement often comes down to feeling overwhelmed with the sheer amount or complexity of something you’re doing. When life demands too much of you it shows up in symptoms like mental fog, a feeling of numbness and pulling away from friends and isolating at home.
- You’re bored
You might not be experiencing overwhelming amounts of work or pressure, but things are still not feeling quite right and this is manifesting itself in those same symptoms. This disengagement could also be down not to burn out, but bore out. You’re just going through the motions and doing the same thing. It’s difficult, but it’s the same. Or it’s not a challenge, so it’s boring. That means it’s also time for a reset.
- You never truly switch off
If work has physically finished but never truly leaves you mentally, other areas in your life will start to suffer. These are usually the same areas you see when you are mentally exhausted – poor sleep, not exercising and not having the motivation or energy to see family and friends. Life can just feel like the leftovers from when you’re not working, rather than the bit which is what makes you who you are.
- Performance shift
Are you seeing changes to your performance? Are you struggling to concentrate or perhaps you’re not as patient or creative as before? Perhaps the motivation is not there and you don’t feel like you can make a decision? Or maybe the decisions you are making aren’t very good?
Five mistakes people make when they try to reset
- Trying to do too much, too soon.
If you want to make some improvements, start with one or two things that link together and bring those changes in through habit stacking, which is where you add something to a regular activity you already do. It could be as simple as having a glass of water after you’ve brushed your teeth every day.
- Don’t treat the symptom, treat the cause
The cure to burn out isn’t going on holiday for a week. When you come back, it will just start all over again because the holiday won’t fundamentally fix the unsustainable routine that made you feel so exhausted.
If you’re constantly running on about 20% charge, then a brief top up isn’t going to stop your battery dropping again when you’re back. You need to address the cause, whether it’s workload, pressures or juggling too many things. Otherwise the cycle will keep repeating itself.
- Don’t assume the answer is always less
Sometimes we need less pressure but sometimes we need a bit more purpose, or maybe a new challenge, or maybe higher levels of connection. This is particularly true if you’re feeling burned out or low because of bore-out. Rather than backing off a bit, you might need a shift in what or how you are doing something.
- Creating an unrealistic plan
The classic example in this genre is New Year’s resolutions where we tell ourselves we’re going to give up drinking, run a marathon and start a new business all by the start of Spring. It isn’t going to happen and you’ll give up.
What I advise is to build something that works even during difficult weeks so you can build up consistency. If life is hectic, that marathon training and teetotal lifestyle isn’t going to feel too appealing, whereas a plan of going for a walk and setting aside time away from screens in the evening is much more doable.
- Not tracking progress
Change which lasts happens gradually, which means you need to track your progress to see that improvement over time. If you’re looking to improve aspects of your physical and mental health, you need to keep track to know if you’re keeping on track. Or it might be that you want to spend more time with family or on hobbies or improve your finances.
There are lots of different ways of tracking progress but starting with giving different areas of your life a mark out of ten and imagining them as segments on a wheel helps. A wheel doesn’t need to be perfectly round, but it does need to be balanced. So if those segments are wildly out of kilter, you’re going to struggle to move forward.
