[chimera17]

I am suffering from burnout. I feel weird 'complaining' about my job - it is pretty great, with a good supervisor (although that is recent - I've had several years of absolutely awful for totally MIA supervisors), flexible hours, great benefits, and reasonable salary for having worked here 12 years.

But I am almost always on edge. I'm stressed out, cranky all the time, and while I used to put in 60+ hours a week and have a ton of energy, now I'm hardpressed to put in 40 full hours. I know I am burnt out. I've tried to mix things up - I've had a few children while at this job, and maternity leave has helped re-energize me, but I'm all done having kids and just totally 'meh'.

Five months ago, I decided I needed a change. I went out and found a job. I almost left, but when I went to turn in my notice, my employer wanted to counter and convince me to stay. They played on my ego (you are the only one with the skills, experience, and enthusiasm to do this crazy new thing we want to do!), and so of course I stayed. I also was a bit scared of changing my schedule - 7am conference calls with small children in the house didn't seem like a good idea, and giving up some of my PTO would be a challenge too - I get a LOT of paid time off currently, and with doctors and illnesses and family too far to visit without taking a week or two at a time, I use all of it pretty much every year now.

But that got me scared - will I ever be able to move on? Am I stuck here forever? What if they fire me because I'm burnt out and just not as perky as I used to be? How do I get back to enjoying my job and my coworkers? I can barely trust anyone anymore, I always worry they are undermining me, or something. And I feel totally unappreciated by people I used to manage who are now in positions of leadership. I'm miserable and frustrated and I know I am bringing my coworkers down instead of building them up, and that is the worst. I thrive when I'm the cheer leader. I'm the optimist, I always find the bright side, even if its gallows humor. But lately I'm just not feeling it. At all.

Is there any way to solve burnout without quitting??

[Little Lulu]

It is so smart that you recognize what is going on and not jumping into a 'solution' or change that you might later regret. Knowing what is happening is half the battle.

Are there any special projects where you work that you could get involved in? Or a job/title change within your company? If there aren't any options other than staying where you are, then working on your 'outside' life might help. Maybe you and the kids (if they are old enough) could take on something special in the evenings for the winter like a crafty project, read a book together, or do something that benefits others.

Remember that it is winter and maybe some of this is the 'after Christmas' blues.

[JustJenny]

Hi there,

PhD student here. First time burned. It all started with not being satisfied with my work and ended with anxiety, depression and constant crying (even in public).

This is the 3rd month on my sick leave now. Only after approx. 6 weeks I started noticing that my anxiety and excessive worrying are going down. I am still not sure what will happen to me career-wise, but at least I seem to be getting better. I try to stay optimistic.

I advise seeing a psychiatrist about your problem to determine the severity of your burnout. In my case I had to take a sick leave because I couldn't function normally anymore.

[nervous puppy]

I think I feel your pain. I don't want to highjack your thread so I'll keep it as short as possible. I've worked in my job for over 25 years now. I've been going "downhill" for years but I didn't know what to do about it besides get up and go to work everyday and suffer through it. I have bills to pay, after all. I finally realized a couple of weeks ago that I've hit "critical mass". I can't take it anymore and my burnout has burnout. All I am doing is throwing gasoline on the ashes to try to make it work. It's not.
So I finally talked with the boss (owner of the company). He won't let me quit either. We are trying some changes and see if it helps. We are reducing my customer account load, trying to cut my hours back (from 47 to 50 hrs per week to 35 to 40 hrs per week), and overall try to reduce the stress load.
Nothing could change until I said something. I did want to quit, but I was crazy scared to do it. But something had to give or I was going to have a serious meltdown. I still might. We have to see how this goes.
You need to do something to make a change. Let them know. If they don't understand that burnout is serious, then you know you need to leave.
Your sanity and well being is what is most important here.

[hvert]

What would have to change to make staying seem like a no brainer? What would have to happen to make leaving seem like a no brainer?