So take a vacation, dammit. Now that the world is opening up again, consider heading for the beach, the mountains, Disney, whatever.
\nYou\u2019re not doing \u2026<\/b>
\nSo take a vacation, dammit. Now that the world is opening up again, consider heading for the beach, the mountains, Disney, whatever. You\u2019re not doing yourself or your career any favors by working extra hours or responding to e-mails and Slack on demand either, with experts saying that American workers are in danger of becoming burnt out. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge pandemic of emotional exhaustion,\u201d said Elora Voyles Ph.D., a \u201cpeople scientist\u201d at TinyPulse, an employee engagement software company on a mission to create happier employees. A survey conducted by the company found that more than 93 percent of human resources managers said they were concerned about their employees. Once you reach burnout, your productivity, performance and even the quality of your work suffers. You are also less likely to be promoted, get a big raise, or be assigned a career-making project. Never mind that your physical and mental health are at risk.\u201c Burnout disrupts your central nervous system. It takes a long time to recover and become productive again,\u201d said Cait Donovan, author of \u201cThe Bouncebackability Factor.\u201d That\u2019s why Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser won\u2019t let her team videoconference on Fridays, and working outside office hours will more likely earn you demerits rather than gold stars. \u201cWhen our work regularly spills over into nights, early mornings and weekends, it can prevent us from recharging fully, and that isn\u2019t good for you nor, ultimately, for Citi,\u201d Fraser said in a March memo to employees. Peter Shankman, a serial entrepreneur, author and popular keynote speaker, came to the realization that his job was killing him. \u201cHustle, hustle, hustle. I couldn\u2019t function like that anymore,\u201d said the Midtown resident. \u201cIf a girl treated me the way I treated myself, I would leave her,\u201d he said. \u201cThe longest relationship we have is with our body. We have to take care of it.\u201d Wedding photographer Keri Calabrese said she didn\u2019t know what burnout meant until the New York area went on lockdown last spring.\u201c Before COVID, self-care for me meant squeezing in an occasional shower,\u201d said the Bridgewater, NJ resident. The working mom of two young kids used to spend most weekends working hard. \u201cIt was really easy to ignore the signs my body was giving me and just push through, then crash all week,\u201d she said. This is the sort of thing that Chester Elton, co-author of \u201cAnxiety at Work\u201d (Harper Business) knows a lot about. \u201cMany people favor work at the expense of sleep, eating right and relaxing,\u201d he said, pointing out that that\u2019s what he and co-author Adrian Gostick discovered while conducting research for their book. He suggests adding stress-reducing runs, meditation, gratitude journaling and massages. But it\u2019s not only white-collar workers that need to improve self-care. David Jaffe, vice president of construction liability at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said that it\u2019s critical for manual workers, too. The NAHB has recently launched an awareness campaign with information and education specifically tailored to construction workers, managers, developers and business owners. \u201cThe goal is to create awareness that there are options beyond toughing out,\u201d he said. Overworking might not even be good for your wallet, according to Elton. \u201cWe often confuse hours with productivity. Working longer and worrying about your job are some of the factors that create stress and anxiety. By the time you reach burnout, your brain has shut down, things take longer to do, and you are completely overwhelmed,\u201d he said. Every expert agreed. \u201cGive yourself as much appreciation as you give your job,\u201d said Shankman. \u201cThat\u2019s the more important relationship and it\u2019s with you your entire lifetime.\u201d Shankman hits the hay at around 8:45 p.m. in a pitch-dark room. Almost seven hours later, at 3:30 a.m., the lights in his bedroom start coming on, simulating a sunrise so that waking up is natural, not alarming. \u201cAn alarm doesn\u2019t respect your REM cycle,\u201d he said. Clif Smith, author of \u201cMindfulness Without the Bells and Beads\u201d (Wiley) uses \u201ccatch and release\u201d to get rid of unhelpful internal dialogue. \u201cIf I can name it, I don\u2019t have to get lost in it,\u201d he said. Resentment is a big stressor. If you feel like your work doesn\u2019t matter, you\u2019re not being paid fairly, or that your values are mismatched with your company or boss, \u201cit\u2019s time for a conversation,\u201d said Donovan. Most things really can be dealt with later, especially on weekends, and after 5 p.m., said Elton. \u201cToo often they come at the expense of eating right, exercising, sleeping and spending time with family and friends. Take time to reset,\u201d he said. Sit in a chair, breathe slowly, imagine every inhale and exhale coming from your heart. \u201cDo it for two to three minutes,\u201d said Donovan.<\/p>\n