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Has anyone managed to recover from а serious burnout without taking a sabbatical? How? (kbin.social)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I've noticed (with the help of family members and my SO) that I've become very negative, cynical and drained lately. Reading about burnout, I find all of the symptoms to be true for myself.

My job requires me to work on a single project full-time, and a couple of small side-projects. The management of the project is very chaotic and I feel more and more inadequate for my position. Priorities constantly change and just looking at the week's schedule in Monday, I can tell the we're not going meet the set goal by Friday. It has been like that for more than a year. It doesn't help that I've become very pessimistic about the main project's future.

Outside of work, I don't have much free time. The little I have, I try to spend with my loved ones. Hobbies and other interests are on the back burner.

As the title implies, I don't have the option of quitting or taking a sabbatical at the moment.

I know kbin is not a replacement for therapy but I was just wondering if anyone has been through this and found anything helpful other that distancing from their current workplace.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This may seem simple and kind of dumb but you will need to start caring less about certain things at work. It is a form of therapeutic reframing where you understand that you cannot change external forces but only your own actions and view of things. You don't have control of this projects and this is stressing and burning you out.

Just understand that nothing you ca do will change the projects final results and whether it succeeds or fails it won't really affect you. Business thrive people naturally care about things which they use to guilt people into working longer and harder hours since they feel connected to it. The fact is that with the current leadership on this project it cannot succeed and you are just there when you are there. Your time is sacred and honor it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Thank you for the advice!

Caring less might certainly help. It just feels wrong to me to take the paycheck and not put my heart into the work. Maybe some kind of a balance could be found.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It just feels wrong to me to take the paycheck and not put my heart into the work.

I felt the same way, until after the second corporate buyout. The company I started with my career with is gone, the company that bought them is gone, and the company that bought them is gone as well. The product I worked on for six years is gone and the company website only exists in the internet archive and a few archived press releases.

I put my heart into it and it's just.. gone entirely.

It's one of the last times I put my heart into my work, because all that happened in the long run is the board of directors got more wealthy.

The subsequent buyouts (and layoffs) I've been through have gone much better for me, personally, because I wasn't as emotionally involved in the company/product.

I'm at the point now where I'm in a more senior role, doing consulting, and I dgaf about the client's business or project beyond getting my work done on time and to the required quality. I start at 9, log off at 5pm, get my work done by noon, and enjoy spending more time with my kids in the summer.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing!

I went through a corporate buyout and was laid off from my last job. The company changed direction and didn't need the whole branch I was in.

I'm happy you've found your rhythm. That sounds great!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Just remember that working and a career is a marathon and not a sprint. You can't win a marathon in the first mile but you can lose it by going too fast. Treat it that way. Don't burn yourself right away.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have so many thoughts! I think your experience is very relatable, I bet many people reading this are thinking “wait does this person work on my team or for my company?”.

If you have a trusted friend or a therapist you can talk with I think that’d be helpful to sort out how burnt out you are and how much longer you can sustain this. But even just based on your original comments alone, it really seems like a change up would be helpful. If you have friends or even friends of friends in a similar field but different company, ask around about work culture and try to find an organization that does things differently. I do think work stress management techniques are useful no matter what kind of role / company you work for, but still…. Seems like it’s time for you to get away from your current situation. Best of luck to you and I truly hope you land yourself in a better spot!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah, that's sound advice! Thank you very much!