How Kindness at Work Can Help You Avoid Burnout

How Kindness at Work Can Help You Avoid Burnout

Kindness can make us less jaded and more connected to others
Work burnout can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including a general lack of excitement for your work, cynicism about your coworkers, or the overall lethargy involved with turning up every day to a job that has taxed you to exhaustion. Depending on the severity of the problem, remedies might range from quitting the organization entirely to establishing stricter boundaries between work and home. However, before making major adjustments, a few simple modifications may have a greater impact than you think: According to studies, small acts of kindness toward yourself or your coworkers can really help minimize symptoms of burnout.

"Being good to other people can assist with burnout by making you feel more connected," said Yu Tse Heng, a burnout researcher at the University of Virginia. As a result, one of the key symptoms of burnout is cynicism, which can be reduced.
How simple acts of kindness can help you avoid burnout

How simple acts of kindness can help you avoid burnout

Burnout has three primary components: tiredness, inefficacy, and cynicism. Exhaustion is frequently caused by overworking, inefficacy by a general sense of being unsuited for a job, and cynicism by coping with tough work interactions. Burnout is generally caused by a single big factor, such as toxic coworkers or working in a profession that does not match your talents, but it has a way of spreading until it impacts other elements of your life.

According to Heng's research, modest acts of kindness to others in the workplace might make people feel less pessimistic and more productive at their employment. Small acts of kindness might include checking in with a coworker to see how they are, fetching a desk-mate a cup of coffee while you grab one for yourself, or expressing a genuine praise.

"Doing good tends to feel good," said Amit Kumar, a University of Texas at Austin professor whose study focuses on the effects of kindness. As Kumar points out, those who are kind tend to feel good about their actions, while those who are kind tend to feel good as well, to an extent that the people who are kind frequently underestimate. "What looks insignificant to the person doing the kind might mean a lot to people on the receiving end," Kumar explained.
Self-compassion is also crucial

Self-compassion is also crucial

Meanwhile, actions of self-compassion, such as eating a pleasant meal, napping, or making time for hobbies, might help lessen feelings of weariness, the third important component of burnout. As Heng points out, actions of self-compassion are sometimes more difficult to perform than we admit.

"It is simpler to be empathetic to a friend than to yourself," Heng explained. "Self-compassion allows you to take a moment for yourself." What this act of self-compassion looks like will vary depending on your preferences, but it is important to try and find time to do something nice for yourself, even if it is as simple as sitting in a quiet room, free of the usual high-pressure demands of daily life.
Burnout is a widespread problem

Burnout is a widespread problem

Although acts of kindness might help, the fact is that workplace burnout is a systemic problem. This might be due to a workplace culture of overworking, which leads to weariness; a workplace system that puts employees in direct competition with one another, leading to a toxic atmosphere; or an employer who does not adequately utilise their employees' abilities, leading to feelings of inefficacy.

"Burnout is typically something that the business should address rather than the person, who has less flexibility and capacity to do so," Heng explained. Although kindness at the individual level can be beneficial, creating an atmosphere where kindness is the norm can only be accomplished at the organizational level. "The issue is that employees frequently have to take matters into their own hands," Heng explained.

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SOURCE: lifehacker

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