21 Nov How to Build Up Your Morale and Avoid Burning Out
Anyone, no matter how much they love their job, can burn out. This is when you reach a state of fatigue both mentally and physically. You begin to lack motivation and activities and tasks that once interested you, become a chore to even begin. A few signs that you have reached this state include displaying a negative attitude about your responsibilities, having little energy, dragging your feet to begin a project, and becoming frustrated and irritated with the smallest thing.
While these feelings are very common, they are easy to avoid. You can build up your morale and enjoy going to work every single day. Let’s take a look at a few ways to build up your morale and avoid burning out at work.
Manage your stress wisely
More than $300 billion is lost each year for stress-related health care and missed work in the workplace. High levels of stress are common and will likely impact every employee at some point. How each individual manages it is what’s going to affect their overall well-being. To help manage your stress and feel energized each day at work, you want to master stress-relieving techniques. These include meditation and mindfulness exercises, engaging in some type of positive social interaction, and keeping the body active.
Celebrate your own accomplishments
Take time to give yourself a pat on the back when you have done a great job on a project or met a deadline ahead of time. Our natural tendency is to point out our flaws and our weaknesses. When we refocus and concentrate on something we’ve done well, we improve our self-esteem, our confidence, and our morale. If you struggle to find the good in yourself, each day before you leave, write down one good thing that you did during your workday. This could be something as simple as you finished a time-consuming project, were praised by a co-worker, are on schedule to meet a deadline, etc.
Take advantage of your breaks or vacation time
If you push yourself too far each day and don’t give yourself time to relax or re-energize, you will find you burn out much faster than those who do. Take advantage of your breaks throughout your workday and even more importantly, use your vacation time. Research shows that 54% of Americans don’t use their earned vacation days throughout the year. While this time off is known to improve the mental and physical health of individuals, studies also show that it greatly improves an individual’s overall satisfaction with their life.
Ask for feedback
If you haven’t received any acknowledgment or praise in quite some time, it can be disheartening, and make you feel like you aren’t doing a good job. If you want to know how you are doing, simply ask. Schedule a meeting with your manager and ask for feedback on what you are doing well and where you can improve. Although, keep in mind that you will likely receive criticism but this can be instrumental in helping you become even better and more accomplished.
Building up your morale and preventing burnout is not something you can accomplish in an afternoon, but by implementing the above ideas, you will feel less stress and frustration, have more drive and enjoy greater satisfaction with your employment and overall life.
