{"id":9513,"date":"2020-08-31T09:18:43","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T09:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/?p=9513"},"modified":"2023-11-13T15:02:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T15:02:52","slug":"the-dangerous-reality-of-wfh-burnout-and-how-to-treat-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/future-of-work\/the-dangerous-reality-of-wfh-burnout-and-how-to-treat-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dangerous Reality Of WFH Burnout (And How To Treat It)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Around the world, managers\u00a0continue to worry<\/a>\u00a0about the\u00a0productivity of their unexpectedly-remote workforce<\/a>. With household distractions like children, pets, laundry, entertainment, and cooking, it may feel impossible to stay focused on work during business hours, so companies apply more and more pressure to maintain efficiency. However, it\u2019s not underperformance that leadership should be worried about \u2014 overperformance is what is actually killing the output of work-from-home teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The irony of virtual employee monitoring this is that, on average,\u00a0remote workers actually work longer hours than their in-office counterparts<\/a>, even without supervision or incentives. These longer work hours contribute to the\u00a0financial rewards that employers notice<\/a>\u00a0after distributing their teams, but can also lead to higher-than-average rates of worker burnout, which can eventually lead to long-term health and career regression.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to these unique circumstances, remote workers and virtual managers need to be extra vigilant in spotting and resolving professional burnout. Here are 5 common warning signs to look for in yourself or your teammates, that are easy to see in virtual channels like video calls and chat apps:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Red Flag #1: Avoiding Work<\/strong><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Is your inbox piling up? Are you letting phone calls ring through to voicemail? Are you consistently late to meetings? Have you caught yourself procrastinating? Often, when we\u2019re feeling burned out at work, we suddenly want to do everything\u2026 except work.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Red Flag #2: Declining Performance\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Have you been consistently arriving late to meetings? Is the quality of your work declining? If you make a mistake, do you try to blame others? In the early stages of burnout, our brains are constantly in a state of stress, which switches them into \u201csurvival mode,\u201d causing us to slip in our ambition and responsibility.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Red Flag #3: Apathy or Exhaustion<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Do feel a lack of pride about your accomplishments? Have you been neglecting your usual self-care habits? Are you staying silent during meetings and conversations? Is it difficult for you to focus or be patient with others? In general, if you\u2019re feeling bitter or you just don\u2019t care about things that you usually do, you\u2019re probably headed toward a full-blown burnout.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Red Flag #4: Inability to Disconnect<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto work-related calls or messages during personal events? Is the first and last thing that you look at every day your phone or work device? Too much of a good thing can be bad, including work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a remote work <\/a>environment, professionals don\u2019t have the benefit of officemates to notice subtle changes in behavior, prompting an intervention. Therefore, each professional is responsible for self-management, including a self-awareness of these symptoms and the discipline to enforce a solution before it sabotages their career.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, here are five easy strategies to nip remote work burnout in the bud, and revive the creativity, organization, and motivation that you need to professionally thrive again in your\u00a0location-irrelevant<\/a>\u00a0career:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Buster #1: Set Office Hours<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Human brains like structure, but remote workers seem to have a feast-or-famine problem with it. Either we\u2019re on the road with little-to-no control over our environment, or stuck in a home office without delineation between work life and personal life. The key is to find a balance. Implement office hours by silencing notifications and activating an out-of-office response outside of certain time blocks. This way, no matter if you\u2019re on the road or on the couch, your brain (and your clients or coworkers) knows that it\u2019s time for you to relax.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Buster #2: Take Time Off<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A little counteraction goes a long way. Refresh your clarity and enthusiasm for work by stepping away from it for a little while. Whether you decide to travel or just enjoy some time at home, make sure that you completely unplug. Turn off all notifications (or even your entire device \u2013 gasp!), forward your inbox and tasks to a co-worker or virtual assistant while you\u2019re away, and make a rule to not talk or think about work at all. After a few days, you\u2019ll feel recharged and ready for action.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Buster #3: Have a Hobby<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Intense work needs to be balanced with intense play. If work is the only thing that you feel passionate about, it\u2019s time to discover other parts of your personality. Join a sports team, learn a new art, or even just strengthen your self-care routine with challenging workouts and more creative cooking. (Bonus points if you choose a group activity, since it can help you combat remote work isolation!)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Buster #4: Update Your Job Description<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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If you\u2019re feeling stuck in a rut, steer yourself out of it. Schedule a meeting with your supervisor or mentor to discuss what you do and don\u2019t like about your current role, and brainstorm ways that it could be updated to better cater to your strengths and interests. Your scope of work may also need to be addressed \u2014 either simplify your tasks to streamline your productivity or diversify them to allow for more creativity and spontaneity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Burnout Buster #5: Tell Your Team<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Hiding your concerns will only make them worse. If you\u2019re feeling burned out, tell your boss and coworkers as early as possible. They can collaborate with you to redistribute your workload, update reporting rituals to provide more recognition and motivation, or provide sideline encouragement as you bust through blocks. Who knows, some of your teammates may be feeling the same way, so you\u2019ll be doing a favor for more people than just yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that location independence requires management independence. If you\u2019re wanting an untethered career, you need to be willing to integrate a higher level of self-discipline and self-awareness into your work day than you might be used to. But don\u2019t worry, by keeping a lookout for these warning signs of burnout and implementing a few daily ritual changes, you\u2019ll not only be able to keep racing forward as you continue in your remote career, but gain momentum along the way.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around the world, managers continue to worry about the productivity of their unexpectedly-remote workforce. However, it\u2019s not underperformance that leadership should be worried about \u2014 overperformance is what is actually killing the output of work-from-home teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":813,"featured_media":9514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[588,220],"ppma_author":[3654],"class_list":["post-9513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-of-work","tag-burnout","tag-work-from-home"],"authors":[{"term_id":3654,"user_id":813,"is_guest":0,"slug":"laurel-farrer","display_name":"Laurel Farrer","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/13e97f8f71df940497a20f15573f43f457e48e7523e51d9462ec2bb3aab9bba1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"http:\/\/distributeconsulting.com","last_name":"Farrer","first_name":"Laurel","job_title":"","description":"Laurel Farrer is CEO anf Founder at Distribute Consulting that collaborates with the world's top remote-friendly companies to strengthen virtual communication, streamline digital processes, and develop long-distance management strategies. She also writes about remote work for several online publications and education platforms and advises US governments, business conferences, and industry associations on how to share remote work resources with their audiences to stimulate economic growth."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9513"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34061,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9513\/revisions\/34061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9513"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}