During the introductory interview, Jelle already indicated: "I can't believe I have burnout. I do have all the symptoms: nothing interests me anymore, I am always tired and lifeless, I look forward to going to work and I avoid all activities outside of work. However, my job is not really that challenging. I rather have the feeling that I am bored at work, that I strangely cannot put my energy into it."
Jelle had not heard of bore-out.
Do you know the difference between burnout and boreout?
Burnout occurs because you have been in your effort zone for too long. You have chronically overstepped your limits so that you eventually become overstimulated and burn out. At that point, your body will literally signal that it has been too much. Research shows that perfectionism can lead to burnout, but ultimately everyone is susceptible to it. Low self-esteem, not being able to say no, setting the bar high for yourself and this within stressful circumstances at work whether or not combined with the pressure you experience at home, can be a strong combination for developing burnout.
A bore-out occurs because you stay in your comfort zone for too long. You have too little challenge, you can't evolve, you may have no prospects at work, so you don't have the challenge to push your limits. Consequently, you get no satisfaction from your work and boredom strikes. Chronic boredom also requires a lot of energy and can lead to bore-out. After all, it is not easy to bring this up with your boss or your colleagues. How do you explain that you are bored? Moreover, we also see a social phenomenon here. It is still more accepted to work too hard (burnout) than too little (bore-out). Hiding the boredom, shame and guilt takes a lot of energy and eventually produces the same symptoms than burnout. It constitutes a drain on your mental and physical health and job satisfaction. Boredom ultimately demotivates you, reduces your vigor, your self-confidence and ultimately your self-respect.
What are the symptoms?
- Irritation: you can't tolerate much.
- You sleep poorly and are overtired.
- You feel listless and don't feel like doing anything.
- You have mood swings
- You struggle with focus and concentration problems
- You become introverted and avoid social contact.
- You are desperate for a challenge.
What can you do about it?
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Talk about it.
You can discuss it with your partner, with your doctor, but also see if you can have a conversation with your employer. By starting the conversation, additional opportunities may yet come your way and your employer can also help you think about next steps.
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Do what you love to do and what consequently energizes you
Career counseling can help you identify your own job and your competencies. This way, you can find out if there might be additional tasks or challenges that you can take on. This jobcrafting can ultimately be a win-win for both you and your employer. Yet the insights from career counseling can also encourage you to change jobs anyway. Either way: choose a job content that stimulates you, that excites you, that you can be enthusiastic about and that consequently energizes you.
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Increase your resilience through a positive mindset.
A positive mindset increases your resilience and strengthens your outlook on life. "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." (Wayne Dyer)
Are you bored with your job? Are you bored? And do you want more energy in your work?
In career coaching, we work with the E=mc² formula to regain energy from your work. With this method we can help you prevent burn-out or bore-out.