Preventing Stress & Job Burnout

In this hectic world we live in today it is really easy to get over stressed and burned out. This especially includes getting burned out on the job.

I for one know how easy it is to get burned out working in a job you don't like. Just like so many other people I have worked at jobs I didn't particularly like because I needed the money. One job in particular that was really stressful for me was when I worked for a life insurance company. I worked as a sales assistant and my job involved collecting overdue payments. The job was so stressful because my boss put a lot of pressure on the sales team to collect as much money as possible. I can remember working a lot of 50 and 60 hour weeks. It was during this time that I developed my own personal strategy for reducing stress which helped me not get burned out.

The first thing I did was tell my boss that I could no longer work 50 and 60 hour weeks. I told him that I was willing to work through my lunch hour one or two days a week during crunch time, but that was it. Before going into his office I wasn't sure how he would respond to what I had to say. However to my surprise he was very understanding. I think this was mainly due to the fact that three sales employees had quit earlier in the week. They all quit because they were stressed and totally burned out. 

At that point my boss realized that if I quit he basically would not have any sales assistants left. This was something he could not afford. Even if he hired other people to replace us, there would be no one left to train them. Once I started working normal 40 hour weeks again, I immediately felt my stress level go way down. I also noticed that I had a lot more patience and I was not as uptight as I had been over the past few months. All this made me feel like a new person with a new outlook on life.

Other tips I have developed for preventing stress and job burnout include going out for lunch at least once a week and treating myself to something I really like. This might be a chocolate covered cupcake or a cup of frozen strawberry gelato. Or, if I am feeling really stressed I will walk around the block a few times or I will do a little shopping. It really helps me feel better when I get out of the office, get some fresh air and do something I really enjoy.