Are You Feeling Burned Out?

In these crazy times I've started hearing stories about how people are becoming burned out. It seems like as many companies are struggling and laying people off, those that are surviving, or even thriving are hesitant to add staff because the future is so unknown. The financial outlook of their company is stable at the moment but every day feels like the bottom could drop. 

If you are an employee, you know what is going on in the world. Many people are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts with unemployment rates still very high. You don't want to rock the boat. You like your job and you certainly don't want to lose it so a little more work expected of you is accepted based on the comparison to the alternative. 

As I was thinking about burnout and doing some reading I came across this quote by Marissa Mayer where she said burnout is really about resentment. How right that is. If you've ever felt burned out, or having that feeling of wanting to find something new or different, chances are at the heart of it is some feelings of resentment. Resenting not having time to do what you want to do. Resenting the fact you don't feel like you are respected for what you bring to the table. Resenting the fact others are getting the promotion you've wanted for some time. 

For me, I can remember times in my life where I felt burned out, but reflecting on it now it was mostly times where I didn't feel like I was on the same side as my manager. It is easy to see that resentment, but we are afraid to address the actual issues and try to resolve them, so we just talk about being burned out. If you are feeling burned out, time to start asking yourself the hard questions about what needs to change. But don't be surprised if the answer isn't the obvious ones we think.