How do I recover from burnout?

Posted by et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 28 comments

I'm in such a pickle. I work in admin/call centre and I feel like I'm having a constant panic attack all day. It's not even a high stress job, however, my only other co-worker dropped her hours last year which means I have no one to share the workload with half the week. The people who have been asked to help out during this time either flat out refuse or do the bare minimum. I've reached a breaking point and any communication with my manager, results in maybe a week or two of improvement and then it's back to square one. I've been applying for all sorts of jobs with no luck and really don't know where to go from here. I know I can't afford to be picky but the thought of going to one terrible job to another has put me in some sort of paralysis and I have no energy. It's got to the point where every tiny part of my day triggers anxiety, even the parts that never used to.

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28 Comments

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Mrs_B-@reddit

First, you have to learn to say no and not feel guilty about it. If the work doesn't get done, so what. If they threaten higher management- bring it on. You get to tell your manager's boss that they allowed your co-worker to decrease their hours without a plan for the workload. Second, taking a sideways move is not a bad thing. Sometimes, you have to do that a number of times before you find the team/job that works for you Finally , what are you doing outside of work? Do you have a hobby or social group? If your life outside of work is good, you will feel less stressed, even in a shitty job.

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foregonemeat@reddit

Leave. Life is too short and something else will come along. I had a work environment like this and walking out one day just changed my life.

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Significant-Gene9639@reddit

Yeah go get signed off mate, you don’t want to go the way of full on burn out. It takes years to recover from. Take a break - that’s what stress leave is there for!

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Ben_JM@reddit

I fought burnout for months and unfortunately it continued to get worse until I got signed off for three months. Sometimes we need to take an actual step back and reset ourselves to get better, there’s no shame in that. I’d try to check what your sick allowance/package is, if it’s good then use it.

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TSC-99@reddit

I had 3 months off with it too

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

Unfortunately there's no sick pay until 3 years of employment and I'm not there yet. I have a week of annual leave coming up so I'm hoping I can get my head straight

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Previous_Vast4284@reddit

You need to need to learn to be more like your colleagues who refuse, or do the bare minimum. Take this time to learn about boundary setting and how to advocate for yourself. Continue the job hunt.

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

I've started to refuse to help out when I don't need to, but the work somehow still works its way back around to me. It then turns into a "if you're refusing to do what your manager asks you, it will be taken to higher management." Definitely need to learn how to advocate for myself though, thank you

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BrieflyVerbose@reddit

You might want to look into quiet quitting. It's basically doing the bare minimum, just enough to keep you from getting into trouble.

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TheTjalian@reddit

Do it, call their bluff. They won't do shit. They're not about to sack their golden goose and if they do, you can state this is constructive dismissal as nobody else is being disciplined for doing the exact same thing as everyone else. Your manager might talk big, but HR will get their back up.

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bumford11@reddit

They don't exactly have much leverage if they're already understaffed and other people refuse to cover.

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orange_lighthouse@reddit

If you're in a call centre, it is a stressful environment. Even if its a 'nice' one. There's a reason those places have a high turnover of staff.

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Comfortable-mouse05@reddit

Look after yourself and maybe use some leave to do some nice things, treat yourself

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Urbanyeti0@reddit

The work not being done isn’t your fault, the fact your team are under staffed / resourced isn’t your fault, it’s the fault of the management. As hard as it is, try to focus on what you’re responsible for and not blaming yourself for others failures. From the sounds of it, any job will be an improvement on this current shit show, so even if it’s only a temporary move whilst you continue to look for better opportunities it will still help alleviate a lot of the work stress

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

A shit show is what it is indeed... they've lost a lot of business BTS too

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CoffeeIgnoramus@reddit

Agreed. It's tough but you have to let things drop. You've told your manager that things can't be done without the support of others... Others aren't supporting you ***so*** things don't get done and management has to deal with that, not you.

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JWills1k92@reddit

For your own cover, put your concerns in writing to your manager (if you haven't already done so)- At the end of the day you can only do so much, you can't be expected to do 2 people's jobs, it's physically impossible. If nothing changes then I would speak to your GP and possibly look at getting some time off to help you recover. It's easy to say, but try not to take it home with you- you can only do so much in a day- just remember that. It's the company's issue if they don't resource jobs adequately.

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

Thank you. My co-worker has been on annual leave the last 2 weeks so I think it's just all built up. Some days I've been left on my own to cover the work of 5 people (due to annual leave, meetings etc.). It's insane to me how they think anyone can do that.

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JWills1k92@reddit

How you feel, the stress and anxiety, was it there before your colleague went on annual leave? Honestly, document the fact that you are being overworked- if they ever get funny you have some back up... direct it to your manager.

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

There's always been a low level of it but I think that was down to simply not enjoying the job. Then my colleague went part-time about a year ago and it started getting worse, and it's just reached boiling point these past few weeks. I think I need to start putting it in writing to them instead, thank you.

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wardyms@reddit

What’s the sick pay like at your work?

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

You don't get sick pay until 3 years of employment and I'm only halfway there

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PabloMarmite@reddit

You get statutory sick pay by law. It’s not a lot but it’s better than getting burned out.

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et3rnalsunsh1ne@reddit (OP)

Does that mean I would need a doctors note? I have a week of annual leave coming up so I hope it's enough to get my head straight at least

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nepeta19@reddit

Statutory sick pay kicks in from the third day off sick. You can self-certify as sick for up to one week, after which you would need a doctor's nots (fit note)

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PabloMarmite@reddit

For anything longer than a week, yeah.

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wrapsuptheweek@reddit

Anxiety and feeling tired all the time. Get your vitamin d and b levels checked.

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