What It is:
Professional burnout refers to a type of burnout where your job is the cause of and/or affected by your burnout. While temporary work stress is more common (and often unavoidable), burnout refers to longer periods of distress or disconnection (usually weeks or months) and often does not go away even after an immediate stressor resolves. You may be especially vulnerable to burnout if your profession is high-stress or you have limited control or decision-making in your role. Burnout can affect your job motivation, the quality of your work, or your relationships with colleagues, employers or supervisees. It often also impacts your sense of self, including how capable or competent you feel at your job or how strongly you identify with your profession.
Though any jobs can contribute to burn-out, certain types of jobs can increase the likelihood that employees experience burn-out.
- High stress jobs where there is a very fast pace, you have significant financial or personnel responsibilities, or where mistakes can result in significant consequences are particularly prone to burn-out. High stress jobs are likely to contribute to increased anxiety, perfectionistic, and panic-related burn-out symptoms. Executives, physicians and medical professionals, and attorneys often describe this experience in their profession.
- High demand jobs where you are required to work long hours, are not permitted to set work/life boundaries, or where multi-tasking is required are also very vulnerable to burn-out. High demand jobs are likely to contribute to exhaustion, physical pain, and depression-related burn-out symptoms. Folks working in start-ups, helping professions (e.g., medicine), tech spaces, and attorneys often describe this experience in their profession. Individuals needing or wanting to work multiple jobs also commonly report this high demand experience.
- Low autonomy jobs where you are not able to control your schedule, have very little choice or agency in what you do or how you do it, or you are micromanaged are also very prone to burn-out. This can also occur when you are in a customer-facing profession where customer demands may dictate your job or your performance reviews. Low autonomy jobs are likely to contribute to disillusionment, numb, or disengagement symptoms of burn-out. Folks working in retail, food service, hospitality, or in very large corporate organizations often report this experience in their profession.
- Low stability jobs where job security is constantly or often in question, organizations that are in flux or reorganizing often, or organizations that use job security as a frequent threat are also quite likely to produce burn-out. Low stability jobs are likely to contribute to either anxiety and perfectionism or disengagement and disillusionment. They can also largely impact employee sense of competence, confidence, and feeling valued. Almost any profession can have a low stability job, and factors such as professional changes (e.g., introduction of AI to the workforce), the organization, or broader things like national recessions or global economic instability can contribute to burnout.
Does this sound familiar?
- “I hate my job”
- "There's not enough time in the day."
- "I keep dropping balls."
- "My work isn't fulfilling."
- "My job is so draining."
- "I'm just going through the motions."
- "No one here appreciates me."
- "I'm not making a difference."
- “I don’t know how (or don’t feel able) to leave work at work”
- “I am either working, thinking about work, dreading work, or preparing to go back to work. It feels like all I ever do.”
- “This job isn’t what I thought it would be”
- “It’s either be good at my job or have a personal life. I can’t do both”
Common Causes of Professional Burnout:
Environmental
Individuals are more likely to experience professional burnout if their work environment includes factors such as poor leadership, unclear expectations, or a lack of job stability. Burnout may also result from a toxic work culture characterized by micromanagement, favoritism, or unhealthy competition. In other cases, a lack of resources, an unmanageable workload, or unrealistic deadlines can contribute to a poor life-work balance.
Personal
Personal factors contributing to professional burnout can vary from individual characteristics such as perfectionism, difficulty setting boundaries or establishing priorities, to life circumstances that could include financial difficulties, relationship challenges, or caregiving responsibilities. Burnout may also occur when a person's job doesn't match their goals and values, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction and exhaustion.
Professional Burnout Symptoms
Emotions:
- Irritability or frustration
- Sadness (hurt, disappointment, disillusionment)
- Decrease in motivation
- Feelings of isolation, loneliness, or shame
- Emotional exhaustion
- Feelings of hopelessness or sense of defeat
- "Sunday scaries" or feelings of dread before the work week
Thoughts or Beliefs:
- Cynicism
- Apathy or detachment
- "Brain fog" (including difficulty paying attention to work tasks)
- Rumination
- Fantasizing about quitting your job
- Imagining how other jobs or lives would be easier, better, or more fulfilling
- Self-criticism
- Judging or blaming others
Behaviors or Habits:
- Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
- Perfectionism, obsessively checking email or work apps, or working longer hours
- Inability to relax or disengage from work tasks
- Decrease in performance (missing deadlines, frequent or abnormal mistakes)
- Negative interactions with co-workers
- Numbing behaviors (at work or at home)
- Uncharacteristic behaviors towards family members or close friends (e.g., increased irritability, judgment, or hostility)
Specialty Services at TAP:
Below are a list of empirically supported assessments or therapies that one or more of our specialists could provide. Click on an intervention to learn more!