Navigating Uncertainty and Burnout
Taking care of our mental health can be a daily challenge for many of us, particularly when it comes to burnout. Although burnout is a bit of a nebulous term, a telltale sign is when you feel overworked to the point that even the smallest tasks feel like they are much more difficult than they should be.
What causes burnout? Burnout is experienced when busy work routines replace other important parts of our lives, whether time spent with friends and family, exercising, sleeping, or just doing nothing. Therefore, the best way of solving burnout is to find ways to achieve balance between work and the aspects of our lives that we often neglect.
This is easier said than done, especially in today’s “hustle culture.” Hustle culture is the social pressure to always be doing more and pushing harder with the typically false assumption that harder work yields greater results for most people. What this grind means can vary from person to person, but what is typically referred to as hustle culture is pushing far beyond the expected 40-hour work week in a way that becomes an obsession.
Even if we are not aware, hustle culture can sneak its way into our lives through the feeling of obligation to take on more tasks, the hesitancy to use sick days, and the necessity to answer calls and emails well after normal work hours. Hustle culture is especially relevant to women who have been historically underestimated and frequently feel the need to prove themselves far beyond their male counterparts for equal treatment and pay. Beyond the workplace, social media amplifies hustle culture as it feeds us the sensation that all others around us have seemingly perfect lives and we need to work harder to achieve just that.
Burnout is not only a concern for our mental health, but like many mental ailments, it also has potentially severe negative impacts on our physical wellbeing. Some of the most notable physical symptoms include exhaustion, lowered immunity, frequent headaches, and a change in appetite. However, the risks could be even deeper than this in the long term with working more than 10 hours a day being associated with an increased risk of heart disease and alcohol abuse. Beyond the potential physical risks of burnout, some of the more frequent symptoms are emotional and could include depression and isolating from loved ones. Not only is burnout bad for the employee personally, but a burned-out worker is not very good for their boss either with evidence to suggest that little productive work takes place beyond 50 hours a week.
It’s important to remember that work is not the only outlet in life that is worth pursuing. Hobbies, family, friends, and self-care are equally important but are sidelined in the pursuit of the hustle. For sources of inspiration to achieve this balance, we can look to other countries. Denmark for example has a higher standard of living than the US, which can largely be attributed to the cultural significance of work-life balance and the institutions that make this possible. Employees rarely work beyond the typical 40-hour work week and hours are frequently flexible based on family and personal needs. This has resulted in a far greater gender equality in the workplace than in the US. It is a common sight in Denmark to see people outside and enjoying nature as early as 3 or 4 PM after a highly productive and shorter workday.
While these solutions might not be easily accessible to most Americans or possibly even out of your control, it is still worth reassessing our lives and what is really important for our wellbeing to avoid burnout and other health ailments. As the artist Banksy once said, “If you get tired, learn to rest — not to quit.”
