According to Microsoft Work Trends Index, Australian workers reportedly suffered a higher level of burnout at work compared to anywhere else in the world[1]. 62% of Australian workers and 66% of Australian managers experienced burnout, compared to the global averages of 48 and 53% respectively.
As Dolly Parton once said, ‘Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life’…
And we couldn’t imagine a sentence that more perfectly sums up the importance of work-life balance.
A great place to start to understand the true meaning of life might be to take guidance from those at the end of their lives.
In Bronnie Ware’s ‘The Top Five Regrets of the Dying’, she discusses witnessing the following most common regrets:
Unsurprisingly, ‘I wish I had worked more’ didn’t make the list!
But has work-life balance become just a fantasy for the majority?
The World Health Organisation defines burnout as ‘a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterised by three dimensions:
If you’re currently experiencing burnout or think you might be at risk of developing burnout, it’s time to pause and reflect on what is driving the workplace stress you are experiencing.
Once you identify the root cause of what’s driving your burnout, you can develop a strategy to get back to a healthy relationship with work.
Driver – Financial
If financial demands or burdens have put you on a path to burnout, it’s time to re-evaluate. This might include:
Driver – Achievement
If you’re constantly feeling the need to ‘push, push, push’, consider why this is.
A healthy amount of passion and drive is a great thing. However, an unhealthy obsession with achievement might signal deeper-seeded issues around feelings of self-worth.
Working through and healing these feelings can help to shift your relationship with work.
Driver – Workload
If your workload has made you a slave to your job, it’s time to act:
It is essential to check-in with yourself and your relationship with work regularly to ensure you are maintaining and working towards that work-life balance. It’s also important to seek further support when needed, such as speaking with your employer or a health professional, to assist with preventing and managing burnout.
[1] https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/australian-workers-suffer-most-burnout-in-world-microsoft-work-trends-index/news-story/b2e047251cf1009b57c9de4b3d30f95f
[2] https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
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