World Mental Health Day: Here’s how you can cope with burnout at work

• India has more cases of employee burnout as compared to those in the UK, US and Japan.
  
• Doctors say that this condition arises when people go through intense amounts of stress and emotional exhaustion.
  
• In most cases, the reason for burnout is toxic workplaces, says a McKinsey report.
  
• A Deloitte report said that 33% of employees continue to work despite burnout and other mental health issues.

Stress, anxiety and burnout — employees globally have been dealing with all these problems since the Covid-19 outbreak. But Indian employees might have it worse.

If a report by Mckinsey is to be believed, as many as 38% of Indian employees reported burnout as compared to 28% in the US and 27% in the UK. Even in Japan which is known for its strong work ethic, the percentage of employees who reported burnout was at 31% – much lower than that in India.

In most cases, the reason for burnout is toxic workplaces, the McKinsey report says.

“There have been loads of people who have been suffering through this time in toxic work cultures, toxic bosses. The word corporate slave has become a normal phrase that we all use. However, kindness and empathy in a workplace is the need of the hour especially in leadership positions,” said Jasdeep Mago Jethani, co-founder & CEO, Invisible Illness India.

What is a burnout?

Burnout is a state of physical or emotional exhaustion in a person that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.

Around 80% of the Indian employees have reported to have mental health issues in over a year, as per a Deloitte report. It also said that 33% of them continue to work despite burnout and other mental health issues.


“In India, the corporate culture has always been known as one that follows the rule of stick to the head — which is punishment or reward,” said Jethani.

Doctors explain that this condition arises in people when they are going through intense amounts of stress and emotional exhaustion.

“People need to understand and become more aware of what is happening to them as they continue to push themselves. They need to slow down themselves when they realise the stress is getting worse,” Dr Kimna Chhibber, clinical psychologist, head-mental health and behavioral sciences, Fortis Healthcare told Business Insider.

What are the symptoms of burnout and how to cope with it?

Excessive stress, fatigue, insomnia, sadness, irritability and anger issues, apathy, feeling of helplessness, losing productivity are some of the common signs of burnout.

If burnout is left untreated, it can lead to self-medication or consumption of alcohol, clinical depression and poor physical health, according to Mayank Rautela, chief human resource officer, of Care group of Hospitals.

The best way to treat this issue is to discuss it with friends, family and colleagues.

“It's also important that if you are reaching that point where you're feeling you're burning out, you need to start communicating with people around you to be able to share what your experience is. So that you can gain a sense of perspective, because sometimes when you're in that situation where the stress has built up too much, you can develop tunnel vision,” Dr Chhibber added.

Here are some small ways you can treat burnout at home, according to Dr Vachna K, Consultant Psychiatrist, Apollo Clinic, Bengaluru —

1. Take good care of yourself by eating healthy food, exercising regularly, sleeping well and taking breaks.
   
2. Try doing activities which you enjoy which will help you to unwind from the stress.
   
3. Avoid drugs and alcohol as they seem to help but will only create additional problems later on.
   
4. Try taking screen time breaks if you feel mobile or social media is constantly adding to your stress.
   
5. Seek professional help if you feel the problems are continuing and worsening – especially if you get suicidal thoughts.
   

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