Do you need to quit your job or are you burnt out?
Here’s why it is ESSENTIAL that you understand the difference between the two.
I’ve talked recently on my Instagram about the incidence of burnout amongst healthcare professionals…
It’s high with some reports saying rates are approximately 30% and others saying it’s as high as 73%.
The truth is that rates of burnout are increasing across many professions, it isn’t isolated to the medical world.
It is typical for individuals with burnout to start questioning their career choice, this is one of the presenting features as you start to disconnect from your professional & personal responsibilities. As a result, we are finding in the medical world that a considerable number of staff are thinking about quitting (and they often describe burnout as being a reason for this).
There are a couple of problems with this situation:
There are individuals who want to quit their job but don’t realise that they are burnt out and this will be influencing their decision to quit (when in reality they might actually have found the right career for themselves).
There are individuals who know they are burnt out and want to quit their job but have overlooked the fact that they are also contributing to their burnout and if they aren’t careful, their burnout will simply follow them from one career to the next.
It is really important that anyone who is having doubts about their career carefully considers if they are burnt out because any time invested in trying to find another career could be time wasted.
The question (which I’m going to help you to answer today) is...
Do you need to quit your job or are you just burnt out?
The first step to answering this question is understanding burnout.
Burnout is a phenomenon which results from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed (by both the individual who is carrying out the work & the organisation responsible for the workplace). It encompasses emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, & a reduced sense of accomplishment.
The symptoms of burnout can overlap with various other conditions but on the whole they can include:
Chronic fatigue
Irritability or mood swings
Detachment from work or colleagues
Illness or physical symptoms (including headaches, gastrointestinal issues, flaring of chronic conditions such as eczema, psoriasis etc.)
A feeling of ineffectiveness or helplessness
There are so many factors which contribute to us developing burnout (I’ll save these for another post). The key today is to realise that both things we do as individuals will be contributing as well as things our organisation is doing (e.g. long hours, lack of support, excessive workload).
The unfortunate truth is that many healthcare professionals can find themselves grappling with these feelings, often without realising that they are experiencing burnout rather than a fundamental dislike for their roles.
Here are a few ways to help you establish if you are burnt out or if you do actually have a fundamental dislike for your work.
Questions to help you decide if you are burnt out:
How do you feel about your work over time? It’s important to reflect on whether your negative feelings about your working role are consistent or if they fluctuate with workload spikes. It really is normal for us all to have a love-hate relationship with the things we do for work but the key is to establish what that ratio looks like & what other factors are influencing it. Try where you can to keep a log of how you are feeling about your work and your work load/stress levels. Are you noticing that your dissatisfaction with your job role only occurs when your work load or stress levels are higher? This could be an indication that your feelings towards your job role are being driven in part by burnout.
Has your motivation to carry out your role has changed? Try to consider how your enthusiasm for working as a healthcare professional has changed over time. Do you actually dislike the work you are doing? For example: do you wake up dreading it or do you wake up just feeling tired? I think the key here is to ask yourself if you feel like you want to take a holiday. This could be more of an indication that it isn’t necessarily the job itself that is a problem, more that you have found yourself near or facing burn out.
How do you respond to work-related stress? We will all respond to work stress in different ways and it’s key that you’ve considered your own coping mechanisms. Are you taking steps to destress in and around your working day? It might be that if you aren’t already taking these steps that you have found yourself nearing or facing burn out. Are you thinking you want to quit your job simply to escape the stress?
Has your work-life balance changed? Your job might be impacting your personal life, relationships and hobbies. Try to reflect on how much work consumes your time &/or energy. If you feel that work is consuming more & more of your time it could be that you are burnt out but it could also be that the job has demands that don’t meet your expectations… You need to really carefully consider here are there things that you could do to better adjust your work-life balance. Try to be as objective as possible when considering this for yourself. As an example: you might feel that your work-life balance has changed if you used to have time to go to the gym after work and then meet up with friends. Do you find yourself unable to do these things anymore because you are still at work working or do you find yourself too tired or unmotivated to make these plans? The latter could be more of an indication that you are burnt out.
Questions to help you decide if you need to change career:
Do you have a lack of interest? This could be a lack of interest in your role, your future career prospects in that role or just towards things that are happening at your place of work. It could be that you need to reassess your career path if you are consistently feeling dispassionate about the work itself.
Do you feel there is a misalignment with your values? You need to reflect on whether your current role aligns with your personal and professional values. A disconnect can lead to dissatisfaction that burnout alone cannot explain…. This does mean you need to have actually considered what your professional & personal values are (I would strongly encourage you to do this as if you are considering another career you need to make sure THAT career aligns with them).
Do you have a desire for different challenges? It might be that you are craving a different professional experience or challenge. Do you want more of a leadership role? Do you want to spend more time teaching? Do you want to develop different skills? It’s important to listen to what you feel is missing. A desire for different challenges could indicate a need for growth & a career change rather than just relief from burnout.
Do you have persistent feelings of incompetence? You could be feeling like you just aren’t that good at your job…. It might be that burnout is influencing this but if you feel burnout isn’t a factor it could signal a deeper incompatibility between you and your working role. This could be more of an indication that you do need to change your career or specific job role.
I would argue that it’s important that ANYONE having career doubts asks themselves these different questions related to burnout AND career doubts. It could be a huge mistake to change your career without even checking to see if burnout was influencing your decision. You could find yourself back in the same situation later down the line but just burnt out in a different role.
Similarly, it might be that you are already in a role suitable for you but burnout is creating friction and this is something that you can try to address in your existing role without changing careers!
Once you understand where you stand, you can start taking steps to make a more informed decision.
Do you feel that you are burnt out? Seeking support and implementing changes can help you rediscover your passion.
Do you feel you genuinely don’t enjoy your career anymore? Try exploring new opportunities or paths within your current role to see if you can make your existing career better align with your values - the best person to talk to about this would be your employer.
I hope you have found this post helpful. The terms “burnout” and “career dissatisfaction” often intertwine, which can create a lot of confusion but I hope this post helps you to differentiate between burnout and genuine career misalignment. This really is such an important step before making significant career decisions, such as leaving your current job or even the entire field! Please don’t hesitate to drop me a message via email elle@gabrielletodd.com if you have any questions about this post. It isn’t easy making a career change or starting a business but it isn’t impossible!
Did you know I offer 1:1 coaching to help others make changes in their lives? This can be related to careers, starting a business or forming healthier habits. Please just send me an email directly to elle@gabrielletodd.com if this is something you feel you would benefit from & would like to learn more about.
