A few months ago, an article scattered across the Internet about the effects of burnout on productivity. Anne Helen Peterson, one of the authors of the site Buzzfeed, published an essay that not only resonated in the hearts of many millennials, but also made them start to worry. In the essay, Peterson gave examples of the so-called burnout culture - when the latter becomes the norm. Millennials are a generation of burnout. When even a simple task seems impossible, they begin to consider themselves "lazy" and "spoiled" - because it seems to them that if they do not work, then they "smoke".
"And once I realized the root of my problems. Why can't I do what I need? Because I burned out. Why did I burn out? Because I learned the installation, that I have to work all the time. Why did I learn it? Because I everyone around us has been saying this since childhood. Life has always been difficult, but many millennials cannot cope with the specific difficulties of life, "- Ann Peterson.
Burnout generation
In society, there are more and more reasons for people to burn out - you need to get an education, you need to pay debts, you need to take on more responsibilities, you need to put a career in the first place.
Around the same time, with the publication of the essay, different people began to write an unusual “treatment”. When they came to the doctor with symptoms such as nervousness, stress, chronic fatigue and a serious lack of vitamin D, they received an interesting recommendation - rest. Take a break from endless work responsibilities. Most of these people worked a large number of working hours. And “you need to work hard” is no longer a sign of a profession, but rather a generation.
Balance of work and personal life? What is it?
The idea of a balance of work and personal life is completely unclear for millennials. We consider this a “blurry goal” that does not even inspire us. Our lives can easily become a “complement” for us, a business concept that follows on the heels of us, but never shows.
Why don't we take a vacation anymore? Remember how school holidays motivated us to get up in the morning? Why have we become so obsessed with work and career advancement?
To answer these questions, you should turn to social networks - it seems that they are always the sources of all problems. Leafing through a feed on Instagram or VKontakte, it’s easy to think that every person seen is a “working bee”, never resting and moving non-stop towards a (career) goal. The achievements of others - promotions, expensive holidays and things - become the envy of the millennials, which motivates them to never stop working.
Envy of others' success and work rivalry arouse fear of lagging behind others. If you are a person who spends 80% of the year on vacation, you are unlikely to be a candidate for promotion - this is logical. But it seems that 10% of the year "take" the increase directly from your hands.
I have a weekend with guilt, thanks
Dr. Lana Butner, one of New York’s most popular naturopaths and acupuncture specialists, often works with clients who have problems due to cortisone, the stress hormone. She advises taking (at least sometimes) breaks from office work and more often going out into the sunlight. Each client who contacts her experiences stress and burnout, and about 40% of them are millennials.
She says that there are activities that will help millennials "separate" themselves from regular work. "Electronic devices that you can carry with you anytime, anywhere are terribly popular. And so sending work letters, as well as redirecting tasks to colleagues is the key to having a personal life."She also added that although there can be many causes for stress, the main one is work. "Now it’s fashionable to work to exhaustion, especially in industrial, entrepreneurial cities. But also taking care of yourself and your health is in trend, so it's time to find a happy balance between them."
How important is it?
“Taking care of your mental, physical, and emotional health is critical,” says Dr. Batner. “It also greatly enhances your productivity. Even if you spend only 15 minutes in the fresh air or take a meditation break, you will immediately notice the changes. Physical symptoms of stress and burnout can include: tense muscles, indigestion, problems with weight loss or weight gain, protein absorption. "
Balance can be found
However, not everything is so bad. For example, in the UK, companies adopt a policy of caring for their employees. Many London companies have a “use or lose” system: if an employee has not used his annual 25-28 days off, he loses them - they are not carried over to the next year. Employees are encouraged to take days off, because otherwise they just spend company money. They are often reminded of this system, and the HR manager can firmly “advise” them to take a vacation.
Dr. Batner agrees that, indeed, companies are trying to strike a balance. "The only thing that pleases me is that I am starting to see that the policy of most companies on this issue is beginning to change. Yes, people still want to work more and achieve greater success, but taking care of themselves is almost in the same place."
Plan Your Vacation This Year
It’s easy to start thinking of yourself as a hero because you never stop working. You can hang the Workaholic medal on your neck, which gives a special right to excessive bragging. But all this becomes less convincing and important when it begins to destroy health and interpersonal relationships.
When was the last time you were on vacation? On vacation, on which you did not have a laptop? If you had to think about it, it means too long.