Burn-Out Recipe

Ling. 577 Syllabus Ling. 572 Syllabus

Ingredients:

One person with most (or all) of the following qualities:

• Idealistic
• Energetic
• Ambitious
• High ideals
• Impression that he/she is indispensable and irreplaceable
• Avoids rewards and praise
• Lacks skills in time management
• Sets unrealistically high goals
• Devotes all his/her energy to work

An Exercise in Self-Evaluation

1. Do you tire easily?

2. Has anyone mentioned you don't look well?

3. Do you feel you must work harder to achieve the same results as other people?

4. Have you become cynical, disillusioned, or detached?

5. Do you often have an inexplicable feeling of melancholy?

6. Do you sometimes forget appointments, miss deadlines, or lose personal belongings?

7. Are you impatient, hostile, or frustrated with your colleagues?

8. Do you see close friends and/or family less often than you would like to?

9. Do you find that you are too busy to attend to regular tasks, like making phone calls, reading reports, or sending greeting cards?

10. Do you suffer from minor physical ailments like aches and pains, headaches, and/or persistent colds?

11. Do you have a sense of emptiness when the work day is over?

12. Are you losing your ability to feel pleasure or delight?

13. Have you become incapable of taking a joke or teasing?

14. Has sexual activity become more a source of annoyance than pleasure?

15. Do you find you have nothing to say to others?

Scoring for Self-Evaluation

• less than 5, you apparently are not currently in danger of burn-out

• 6-10, you are a potential candidate for burn-out. Be careful! Consider taking some of the steps listed below.

• more than 10, you are at a critical point. Your physical and mental health are at risk. Seek professional help immediately.

  
  

  Steps to Prevent and Deal with Burn-Out

  1. Recognize stress factors and signs and take steps.

  2. Manage stress.

  3. Cultivate supportive friendships .

  4. Participate in group activities outside work environment.

  5. Don't make changes just for the sake of change.

  6. Spend some time alone.

  7. Don't neglect to take time off.

  8. Plan leisure time and regular vacations.

  9. Manage stress by doing yoga or other relaxation exercises.

  10. Learn to relax and accept things as they are.

  
  Ling. 577 Syllabus Ling. 572 Syllabus

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  1998 © Dr. Lynn E. Henrichsen
  Department of Linguistics
  Brigham Young University
  Last Updated: Saturday, January 24, 1998