Work can be good for our mental health. It gives us purpose, structure, and opportunities to connect with others and develop useful skills. But sometimes, if our environment isn’t right, it can affect our physical and emotional health. This can lead to burnout. Here I explore what burnout is, and steps you can take to help.
When you’re stressed for a long time and this stress isn’t managed, you may experience burnout. It’s an “occupational phenomenon,” which means it’s not a medical condition, but it’s something that people might seek help and support for. It describes feelings caused by work-related pressure, rather than from other life stresses.
If you’re experiencing burnout, you may:
Burnout can also be linked with depression. These feelings can spill over into your life outside work, so it’s important to recognise the signs and take action.
It’s thought that there are six key areas that can contribute to burnout:
Workload
If you can’t keep up with your workload, you won’t have the opportunity to rest and recover, and this can lead to burnout. Being able to manage your workload allows you to give tasks the time and effort they need, and even expand on and develop new skills.
Control and autonomy
Maintaining autonomy means setting clear boundaries, saying no when needed, and designing your workday around your energy and priorities. It’s also about ensuring you have the right tools, information, and support to do your job effectively.
Recognition and reward
A lack of recognition can make you question you competence, especially when projects end abruptly or feedback loops are short.
Finding ways to feel valued — whether through client testimonials, peer recognition, positive community feedback, or tracking your own achievements — can protect against burnout and keep motivation high.
Community and relationships
Feeling connected helps people to avoid burnout. When there’s a sense of community, you may feel more supported and engaged. However, if tensions are running high or there’s a lack of support, there’s a risk of burnout.
Fairness and respect
Being treated fairly is important because if you feel you aren’t respected or paid fairly might cause you to feel angry and hostile. This negative association can get you down and cause burnout.
Values
If you feel compromised in your personal values and work ones, work may start to feel like just a trade of time for money.
You may have identified areas in that list that affect you, but it can take time to address them. Luckily, there are other more immediate steps you can take to help reduce the effects of burnout.
It’s important to take time off work so you can relax. And remember to take breaks, too – they can improve your mood and performance. Try to schedule them on your calendar so they’re given the same importance you might give to meetings. Or you might find the Pomodoro technique helpful. This technique sets aside short bursts of focus time and encourages regular breaks in between. When we have a lot of work to do, it can be tempting to try and do it all in one go. But this isn’t always a productive use of our time, and it can wear us out.
Set clear boundaries — for instance, define a finish time, separate your workspace from your living space, or create small rituals to ‘switch off’.
When you’re overworked, your sleep can be one of the first things to suffer. Perhaps you stay up late or get up early to make a dent in your to-do list. However, after 17 hours of being awake, your attention and cognitive control may be almost the same as the legal blood alcohol limit for driving. Sleeping well is also important for your health.
To help stave off burnout, try to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night. And if you’re having difficulty sleeping, consider seeking help from a medical professional.
Being physically active is one of the best things you can do to improve your physical health, but it also has benefits for your mental health. Large studies have found that physical activity and exercise can reduce stress and improve your mood. Exercise also has some protective effects against conditions like depression, which can be a long-term consequence of prolonged burnout. But don’t worry if the gym isn’t your thing – there are lots of ways you can add more activity into your life. Why not try slotting a 15-minute body weight workout or some high-intensity interval training into your day?
If you feel overworked, you might lose time with family and friends. But humans are inherently social creatures, so spending time with people you like may improve your wellbeing. Connecting with fellow freelancers through communities like Malt, local meetups or online groups can help you feel supported and understood. And feeling connected to other people is good for both your physical and mental health.
Therapies that use creative techniques – such as art, music, dance or drama – have been shown to reduce stress. Emerging evidence suggests that these creative arts can be an effective way of managing stress. Taking part in these creative activities may also give you something to focus on outside of work. If you don’t know where to start, try something like daily journaling. Expressing yourself through writing can help manage symptoms of stress and help you figure out what’s causing it.
Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment and being an impartial observer of thoughts and emotions as they pass by. Studies have linked mindfulness with improved wellbeing, and it’s been shown to reduce anxiety and stress in healthcare professionals. Just taking a moment to focus on your breathing when you feel stressed could be helpful.
If you’re worried about your mental health, Bupa's direct access service aims to provide you with the advice, support and treatment you need as quickly as possible. You’ll be able to get mental health advice and support usually without the need for a GP referral.
Learn more about Bupa by You offer for Malt freelancers.
Co-authored by Lucy Kapoutsos, Health Content Editor at Bupa UK
