By: Samantha Matsumura

The World Health Organization have officially classified unmanaged chronic workplace stress as an occupational syndrome called burn-out. Burn-out is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It is characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from a job, feelings of negativism or cynicism, and reduced professional ability to produce results.

Burn-out can have negative affects to your overall health including other parts of your life. It can also have long term changes to your body making it more susceptible to illnesses. Here are some signs and symptoms of burn-out:

• Feeling tired and drained most of the time (physical)
• Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses (physical)
• Sense of failure and self-doubt (emotional)
• Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated (emotional)
• Detachment, feeling alone in the world (emotional)
• Withdrawing from responsibilities (behavioral)
• Isolating yourself from others (behavioral)
• Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done (behavioral)

To control burn-out, people must change their frame of mind by creating boundaries between work and home. One way is to set limits to yourself for how many hours is used for work then leaving work at work and not answering work emails or phone calls at home. Another way is re-framing the way you look at work and having a network of coworkers that are supportive. Lastly, you can re-evaluate your priorities and make exercise or eating a healthy diet a part of your routine to support your energy levels.