Have you ever found yourself suddenly struggling to balance your responsibilities? Some days may pass better than others, but generally, you feel stuck in a never-ending loop of anxiety and self-doubt. Your work days are agonizingly long, and afterward, you already begin to dread what’ll come tomorrow—and how you’ll have to repeat the cycle.
We’ve all been there. Some of us are probably weathering the storm right now.
Constant exhaustion, worry, and pessimism are all telltale signs of work burnout, even if we don’t always recognize it. And for women navigating imbalanced, often male-dominated environments, everyday stressors can feel doubly burdensome. In fact, a 2022 Future Forum report suggests that women are 32% more burned out than their male colleagues.
If left untreated, burnout can be detrimental. It erodes your quality of life, bleeding into your job performance, personal relationships, and mental health. It can leave you feeling isolated, disconnecting you from things you love and enjoy.
Fortunately, you don’t have to fight the battle alone. At CCWomen, we believe in empowering women in every step of their journey, no matter how daunting—and job burnout is no exception. Here, we’ll provide insights and tools to help you triumph over various hurdles and find new ways to thrive.
By definition, workplace burnout is a state of being.
While occasional stress is completely normal, it becomes a larger issue when you feel it on a chronic level. According to the Mayo Clinic, burnout is “a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.”
In other words, you may be burned out if you’re tired all the time—not just during work hours. No amount of sleep or self-care seems to be enough, and you eventually struggle with day-to-day tasks that once felt so simple. Your job, which you found both challenging and exciting, now feels like another mountain you can’t climb.
It’s not a pleasant picture, but it happens to the best of us. Knowing the symptoms can help you determine whether you’re inching dangerously close to work burnout or are already knee-deep. Some common examples include:
- Heightened irritability: Do you quickly get annoyed when facing situations with a relatively easy fix? Or are your coworkers pushing your buttons more often? If you’re quick to anger, it usually means an underlying need isn’t being addressed.
- Cynicism: Once you’re irritable for an extended time, you may eventually wade into cynicism or a lack of care for your role and company. You stop focusing on your growth trajectory and become detached from your goals, reaching a standstill in your career.
- Procrastination: Procrastination is a coping mechanism that helps people avoid stress-inducing decisions. It provides short-term relief, but immediately follows with more consequences, digging you deeper into your burned out state.
- Decreased productivity: When your job loses meaning, you begin to wonder why you need to try at all. What once used to excite you no longer has any appeal. When you finish your assignments, you feel no sense of accomplishment, so you slow down. Eventually, it reflects in your overall performance.
- Weakened immune system: If your body and mind are under constant stress, it becomes more susceptible to sickness. Not only do you feel a strain on your physical health, but your mental health suffers, too. People with burnout also often struggle with anxiety disorder or depression.
So, what can we do when we find ourselves exhibiting these symptoms? Is there a clear roadmap to take us out of burnout and into recovery?
Understand why burnout happens before searching for a fix.
Firstly, understanding the cause of your burnout is crucial in addressing it effectively. There might be one pervasive reason or several overarching issues—but only when you explore them can you work out a solution that best fits your needs.
Here are a few contributors:
- Overwhelming workload: Say that your company is in a rush to meet its financial goals. Your director asks you to work longer hours, juggle double your responsibilities, and meet all deadlines promptly. No matter how hard you try, there never seems to be an end. When you have to take on more than you can handle, exhaustion is inevitable.
- Lack of direction or growth: Your role becomes ambiguous without any clear goals. You may feel unsure of where you’re headed, gradually losing a sense of purpose in your work. This makes it easy to disengage from your job entirely.
- Unhealthy work environment: A positive, balanced workplace makes a world of difference, organically producing inclusivity, fairness, and respect. An unsafe one has the opposite effect. If your leaders don’t try to foster a supportive and inclusive space, you’ll be less likely to advocate for your needs, leading to high-stress situations and poor relationships.
- No seat at the table: Women know how it feels to come to the table with fresh, innovative ideas only to be ignored. But when being undervalued becomes routine, it creates disillusionment. And with no opportunity to improve communication or make your voice heard, whatever passion you bring to the job can quickly fizzle out.
5 ways to recover meaningfully
Remember: work burnout doesn’t define your worth, nor does it control your narrative. While it can be discouraging, it’s a vulnerable state almost everyone stumbles into at some point in their careers. And despite there being no easy one-size-fits-all solution, there are opportunities for you to heal and develop habits that build long-term resilience.
1. Reestablish your value.
Take the time to revisit your skills and experience. If it’s been a while, your old professional goals might feel stale—so don’t hesitate to revamp them. You may have also outgrown your current role and are ready to move onto a new chapter.
Bringing up your needs in a conversation with your manager can be difficult. But if you have accomplishments under your belt, and the potential to achieve more, you have every right to advocate for yourself and demonstrate your ability to succeed. (Wondering how to negotiate higher pay and better benefits? We have a toolkit that can help.)
2. Create healthy boundaries.
Constantly being “on” for your job will wear you down, so finding a balance that feels best for you is important. And sometimes, that means adapting your schedule to accommodate your personal life to avoid feeling drained.
For instance, if you’re a new parent ending paternity leave, you’ll likely still be adjusting to a new schedule. It might require more flexible hours that allow you to be present with your family while still being productive. Or maybe you need to completely disconnect once the clock hits five, whereas previously, you allowed team members to reach out for last-minute tasks.
Implementing new boundaries enables you to prioritize your well-being. The goal is simple: regain control over your work-life balance and reduce the stress that contributes to your burnout in the first place.
3. Be comfortable taking up space.
As women in business, we’re often told to minimize our voices and allow others to speak over us. But if we shrink to fit into a mold, we’re more likely to be misunderstood. And when we feel unseen, we become more vulnerable to job burnout.
Taking up space is an essential step toward self-advocacy. It’s a conscious, empowering act that declares our right to exist loudly when, previously, we were encouraged to stay in the shadows. If someone’s exhibiting an unconscious bias at work, address it. If you have an accomplishment you’re proud of, celebrate it. Even amid your burnout, being wholly seen can help you get the support you need to recover.
4. Rediscover your why.
Remember the excitement you felt when you first outlined your job goals or landed that dream job? Over time, after hitting learning curves and mastering specific skills, your enthusiasm may have waned—before cooling entirely into an everyday routine.
It may be worth returning to your personal why: the core purpose of your work. What was your original vision, and why did it inspire you to excel? Where did you notice yourself falling off, and what changes can you make to get on track? By going back to the blueprint of your career, you can realign your passions with your current trajectory and propel your growth again.
5. Tap into your community.
Your community is your lifeline. While it’s normal to want to look your best, it’s vital that you also know how to unveil your absolute worst self around people you can trust.
Navigating work burnout is a challenging feat. Going through the motions of self-reflection and decision-making is taxing in many ways. A reliable support system helps you persevere through these moments and gives you a safe space to just be messily human. There can be a mix of anger, confusion, or even a desire to reinvent yourself completely. Whether you must address imposter syndrome or practice intentional self-care, your loved ones ensure you feel heard—even if your healing doesn’t look perfect.
Looking for a supportive community? CCWomen can help.
There’s no denying it: burnout is hard-hitting, and recovery is just as intensive. The good news is that there are others who, after traversing their own ups and downs, are ready to be a source of support.
At CCWomen, we celebrate and connect with women who want to make an impact. From negotiation advice to building a strong voice, we cover various topics that can help you transition from burnout to abundance—and confidently engage the world by being your healthiest, most authentic self.
If you’re in search of an impactful community built by women, for women and allies, look no further.
Become a CCWomen member today!
