Besides affecting your health and your passion for your job, burnout at work can potentially make you a hazard to your coworkers and others. What is burnout? Forbes defines burnout as “physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.”[1]

How can you identify burnout? Forbes released a list of early signs of burnout which are provided below. If you have any combination of these early signs for any significant duration, it is time to take some time to yourself. Along with this list, we have provided insight about what these signs mean for your career.

Constant stress and anxiety: Our bodies were not build to endure constant stress. You may have a stressful job, but it is important to find a way to cope with that stress. See our blog here about finding your Zen at work.

Lack of engagement: As mentioned before, burnout can affect your passion for what you do. Why give so much of yourself if you don’t love what you do? If you love what you do, why ruin your passion by ignoring your needs and not performing at your best?

Increased cynicism: By feeling disconnected from your passion or those you once felt close to, you keeping yourself from refueling and recharging to give your best at work. Why spend time away from those strong personal connections if you are unable to give your work your all?

Distracted eating: While eating in front of your computer or at your desk may seem a good decision, or the only decision you can make at the time, making that decision a habit can hurt you. Not only are you not enjoying your food (and potentially over eating and making poor dietary choices), you aren’t giving your mind and body the short break needed to tackle the rest of the day with verve.

These signs are only a few of the warning signs that you are approaching burnout. Join us next week for a continuation of these signs and what they mean for your job and, more importantly, your health. These signs may seem par for the course, but ignoring them only makes your job that much harder.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2015/01/30/how-to-prevent-burnout-13-signs-youre-on-the-edge/#450646594e3d