Girl, I could not agree more.
According to a Montreal research study entitled, Annals of Work Exposures and Health presented several points on how men and women still have WAY many differences when it comes to health concerns primarily when we’re talking about mental health.
The paper notes that the number of women reporting ‘depression’ is incredibly higher than men. The paper also quotes that more women than men reported bullying or harassment in the workplace. It’s also very important to specify that while the research says that while men experience more violent events at work, women experience more post-traumatic stress reactions to workplace violence.
Recently, the caliber for overall health diagnosis especially mental health, World Health Organization has officially classified work ‘burnout’ as a valid workplace mental condition that needs as much attention as a physical injury obtained from work.
By definition of WHO, “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by 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.
Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
In case you are still in the dark or having a difficulty pinpointing if you are affected by burnout, here are some other signs that you probably need to take a break instead of grinding it out:
You just don’t feel motivated anymore
Working for a company whether it’s freelance or not, has some repercussions to both of your physical and mental health. Earning money and the work benefits aside, when you love what you do, there’s really no other motivation you need. But even if love for work is clearly present, you’ll be surprised how motivation runs out. When this happens, there’s always a decision to quit or ask your boss to give you that much-needed vacation leave.
You cannot think clearly
Remember the time your officemates called you the master of multi-tasking? Was there a time you were applauded for your efficiency? You can definitely attribute this to your superior cognitive ability because your brain does that and it can greatly improve your work performance. However, being a burnout at work can cause you to decline performance. Worse of all, there might even be episodes where you don’t have a clue what the hell are you doing resulting to messing up everyone’s day. This should already be a red flag.
You are forgetting to take care of yourself
There was always a time when going to work means heading to the bathroom as fast as you can and spending a little more love in front of the mirror. You are going to work and you want to look your best. But being in the burnout zone means more than skipping your looking good routine or that fresh smell of cologne. Most of the time it comes with health-destructive coping mechanism such as drinking too much, smoking, being too sedentary, eating too much junk food, not eating enough or not getting enough sleep. Self-medication is another issue and could include relying on sleeping pills to sleep, drinking more alcohol at the end of the day to de-stress or even drinking more coffee to summon up the energy to drag yourself into work in the morning.
As a mother, staying at home while taking care of my kids and running a business online can also be as mentally draining as working in the professional setting. I think a lot of moms would agree. So do not only post inspiring quotes to feel you better, sometimes unplugging and asking for help should be practiced.
Take care of yourself, girls. Most especially, take good care of your minds.
