{"id":627330,"date":"2026-09-17T09:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T09:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627330\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T09:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T09:10:11","slug":"what-are-the-signs-of-burnout-at-work-and-how-can-i-recover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627330\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the signs of burnout at work and how can I recover?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When work pressures start to pile up, it\u2019s common for the term \u201cburnout\u201d to crop up in conversation.<\/p>\n

But what does burnout actually mean? And how can you distinguish between being simply being busy and experiencing genuine burnout?<\/p>\n

We spoke to some experts who pinpointed some key differences to look out for, and also suggested practical ways to manage and overcome this state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion.<\/p>\n

How is burnout defined?<\/p>\n

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) assesses burnout using three core dimensions, which are measured through a set of different questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first criteria is emotional exhaustion and a sense of energy depletion on a regular basis,\u201d says Dr Somya Pandey, specialty doctor in psychiatry at Cygnet Health Care.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a diagnosis, we\u2019re talking about emotional exhaustion at work, not in other areas of life, because burnout is defined by ICD-11 (the International Classification of Diseases) as an occupational phenomena.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second criteria is depersonalisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat MBI means by this is a feeling of being detached from work and becoming more cynical with regards to your work and\/or colleagues,\u201d explains Pandey.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the third criteria is a low sense of personal accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, you might feel like you are working harder but your performance is going down, and you don\u2019t feel as productive as you used to be,\u201d says Pandey.<\/p>\n

What are the key differences between busy and burnout?<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople experiencing burnout sometimes lose their sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople that have had a tough week or a busy couple of weeks will generally bounce back very quickly. They will recover after a relaxed weekend of downtime and will come back with all guns blazing,\u201d says Dr John Briffa, author of\u00a0The Performance Prescription: The Science of Sustainable Success.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, people with burnout generally don\u2019t bounce back quickly because they are so depleted that a couple of days of rest and sleep doesn\u2019t really revive them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Briffa adds that individuals experiencing burnout also sometimes lose their sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people generally become a bit detached and a bit cynical about having to work too hard, and can even lose their sense of purpose,\u201d says Briffa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas, people who are just busy and tired don\u2019t normally lose their purpose. They can see why they do what they do and can see the value of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A significant fall in productivity can also be distinguishing factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people often become very unproductive and are not able to maintain the output that they were previously \u2013 and this change can be very sudden,\u201d says Briffa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey often cannot get themselves either emotionally motivated or physically into a place where they can manage the work so that their output reflects the effort they are putting in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas, with people who are just a bit tired and busy, if they need to push through and work through the night, for example, they can manage this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Does burnout lead to any physiological changes?<\/p>\n

Briffa explains that chronic stress can alter the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen stress, threat or a challenge is sensed by the hypothalamus, it activates the adrenal glands to produce stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the adrenals are only really designed to cope with a relatively short defined period of stress, so if someone is in a constant state of stress this system can weaken.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He uses the analogy of a battery and a bank account to explain this process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happen is that these people have run out of battery charge or their bank account has become overdrawn,\u201d explains Briffa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, they need to restore the money in their bank account or get the charge back up in the battery and need to spend less than they earn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Is there anything we can do to overcome burnout?<\/p>\n

\"BurnoutBurnout recovery comes from sleep and proper rest<\/p>\n

\n Sleep\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\u201cRecovery comes from sleep and proper rest which can add charge back into the battery,\u201d says Briffa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it can helpful to manage sleep and optimise this as much as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Breathing techniques\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain breathing techniques that can be very helpful for deactivating the stress system in the body,\u201d says Briffa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, slower breathing with an extended out breath.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Prioritise and schedule tasks\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\u201cPrioritise what tasks need your attention, and then plan when these things are actually going to be done,\u201d recommends Briffa.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis technique helps tell the brain that the task will get done at a certain time, so you don\u2019t have to keep thinking about it or reminding yourself about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrioritising and scheduling tasks can make the difference between someone staring at the ceiling at 2 o\u2019clock in the morning, or drifting off to sleep at half past 11, which makes a huge difference to recovery.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Incorporate cognitive rest\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThink about how you can incorporate cognitive rest into your life, and what that might look like for you,\u201d advises Pandey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about when your brain feels like it\u2019s resting and isn\u2019t ‘switched on’ all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat activities make you feel that way? Is it painting? Is it guided meditation? Is it music? Is it a sports activity, like swimming or tennis?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When should people seek professional help for burnout?<\/p>\n

\"IfIf you believe you are experiencing burnout, seek some counselling or support<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you feel tired all the time, feel like you\u2019ve lost a part of yourself, and take annual leave but that doesn\u2019t help you recover and these feelings persist for days, I would recommend seeking out some counselling or support,\u201d advises Pandey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you keep thinking that you can manage everything by yourself and it keeps getting worse, that could lead to complications of burnout, such as depression and anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When work pressures start to pile up, it\u2019s common for the term \u201cburnout\u201d to crop up in conversation.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[14613,103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-627330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-fitness-exercise-work-life-balance-healthy-eating","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}