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Survey: How is your mental health at work?

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Survey: How is your mental health at work?

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Work burnout is a condition in which a person struggles to manage daily activities due to a prolonged period of excessive workload and mental strain. Without management, work burnout can lead to severe physical and mental complications.

Have you ever wondered about how to strike a better work-life balance?

Striking a good work-life balance can seem challenging, especially with more and more of us working ever harder to make ends meet and keep up with expectations.

However, this shouldn't be something that leaves you feeling burned out and run down, which is why we have outlined some of the key things you need to know on how to beat work burnout as follows. Hopefully, this will help you find that happy medium with a good work-life balance.

What is Work Burnout?

Before we go further, we should first start by defining what work burnout is. Work burnout is a condition that arises after working yourself excessively hard, placing a great deal of mental (and potentially physical) strain on your body. Work burnout makes managing your day-to-day activities and your work life substantially more difficult.

What are the Common Signs You're Experiencing Work Burnout?

Some of the most common signs that you are experiencing work burnout may include:

Getting a poor-quality night's sleep and experiencing fatigue during the day

Continually feeling on edge and stressed, even when you are away from work

Struggling to focus on activities and finding it hard to motivate yourself to work

Experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, especially with thoughts of work

Not getting time to yourself or spending free time worrying about your job

These are all common signs of work burnout that you may notice. While these may not all seem as severe as others, it's important to keep in mind that work burnout can rapidly lead to further complications, which may put your health at risk.

What are the Complications of Work Burnout?

A mild case of work burnout likely won't do too much long-term or severe harm if addressed quickly. However, the complications of work burnout can become more severe over a longer duration of time. Some of the most common complications of work burnout can include insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, type two diabetes, and a weakened immune system.

Furthermore, it's worth considering that work burnout may increase your risks of turning to unhealthy alcohol consumption habits to overcome the stress, which can give rise to numerous complications in its own right.

How to Prevent and Overcome Work Burnout to Strike a Better Work-Life Balance

The complications and side effects of work burnout can obviously be severe, which is why it's important to prevent and overcome it. However, preventing work burnout and striking a better work-life balance is absolutely possible with a few simple lifestyle changes.

But, if you find that the following don't necessarily fix your situation, you may need to consider making a larger lifestyle change. These might include returning to the office to get back to a normal routine or switching to a more manageable job.

1. Make a Plan

One of the most crucial things you should do to begin managing your burnout is to focus on a daily basis and make a plan. Outlining the basic requirements you need to complete for that day is a good way to help you structure your day, giving you something to work towards as well. In turn, this may make it easier for you to focus on the tasks at hand.

2. Seek Extensions

If you're feeling overburdened with your work, considering the different tasks you have and prioritizing the most important is a vital step to take. Then, for jobs that are less pressing, it's worth considering whether you might be able to get a short extension on these and how an extension may impact your following day's work too.

3. Ask for Help

We're all just human, and there's only so much we can do alone. With this thought in mind, if you are completely swamped by work and can't see a way to juggle your time to get back on top of it, asking your colleagues and coworkers for help can go a long way.

Even help with ten minutes' worth of work can add up to an hour or so saved over the course of the week; every little change can make a big difference to your workload.

4. Lead a Healthier Lifestyle

Did you know that leading a healthy lifestyle is an effective way to start combatting your burnout? Not only can this help you feel more positive about yourself and your lifestyle, but it's also highly effective for boosting your mood.

A common complication with work burnout is suffering from depression and a low mood; however, taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle are well known ways to combat this.

Furthermore, incorporating gentle exercise into your routines - such as going for a walk, bike ride, or gentle jog - can release endorphins, which are highly effective for boosting your mood and helping you feel more optimistic accordingly.

5. Practise Mindfulness When You Feel Stressed

If you notice that you're starting to feel stressed or overwhelmed, trying to fight through it will likely only leave you feeling worse. Instead, take a moment to stop, breathe, and practise some basic mindfulness until you begin to feel on track and at peace again.

Stopping the stress as soon as possible is far more effective than trying to push through it and getting overwhelmed. If you need to take a few minutes out to do this in private, it's worth it; even just taking a breather in the toilets or locker room could help.

6. Make Time for You

As part of tackling your burnout, making time for yourself is an absolutely vital step. Not only can this give you the chance to relax from the rigors of a long and stressful day, but it also gives you something to work towards during the day. In doing so, making time for you allows you to work more productively overall, which can allow you to optimize your working time - reducing the workload you'll have to face the next day.

Final Thoughts

If you think that you and your friends, family members, or colleagues may have been suffering from work burnout, getting back to a good work-life balance is crucial. Luckily, this doesn't have to be an impossible goal with a few simple lifestyle changes.

However, in the meantime, ensuring you know how to treat the potential complications of burnout is vitally important. And attending one of our first aid courses is the perfect way to find the knowledge you need to keep everyone safe during these stressful times.

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How to Beat Work Burnout and Strike a Better Work-Life Balance

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Have you ever wondered about how to strike a better work-life balance? Striking a good work-life balance can seem challenging, especially with more and more of us working ever harder to make ends meet and keep up with expectations.

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How to talk to a coworker with a mental health concern

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How to talk to a coworker with a mental health concern

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How to Create Mindfulness in your Classroom

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How to Create Mindfulness in your Classroom

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4 Ways to Cultivate Mindfulness in the Classroom

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These simple exercises can bring more focus and calm to your school day-while helping students practice regulating their emotions.

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8 Mindfulness Activities for Teachers and Students

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8 Mindfulness Activities for Teachers and Students

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The value of mindfulness-related activities in schools is not new. Writer and scientist Jon Kabat-Zinn helped legitimize the concept through his research, but its early connection to meditation raised red flags for some and kept its recommended practices from catching on. Now, however, as the adverse impact of stress on learning is quite well understood and the pandemic, along with racial and economic disparities, has escalated stress levels in schools worldwide, mindfulness practices are enjoying a resurgence.

I have had the opportunity to see many mindfulness practices in action in schools and to speak to a number of master teachers of mindfulness. I have identified eight activities that are relatively easy to implement in classrooms and schools. With a little practice, these can be part of any educator's pedagogical toolbox.

Caring Openings

1. Silent 60: Start the class by having all students sit quietly for 60 seconds to get themselves ready for learning. You can add a focus on a particular sound in the room, an image you provide (e.g., a dot on a piece of paper, an abstract picture you put up on a screen), or their breathing. Start with 15 seconds for early elementary students and gradually increase. Begin with 20-30 seconds for upper elementary.

2. Powerful Listening: Ring a bell, use a wind chime, or employ another object that makes a long, trailing sound. Ask students to listen and raise their hands when they no longer can hear the sound. After all agree that the sound has stopped, set a timer for one minute, ask students to sit quietly, and then when time is up, ask them what they heard during that minute.

3. One Minute for Good: Start the class by having students reflect for a minute about something that has gone well or something that they are grateful for. This can be done in writing, pair shares, or small or large group discussions. Larger groups work best for early elementary.

4. Morning Classroom Conversations: Start the day with a quote that can stimulate short conversations to help middle and high school students begin to interact with classmates in supportive ways. Sample conversation prompts can be found here.

In the Moment

5. Three Breaths: Have students take three deep breaths at regular intervals, such as before class changes or whenever strong feelings of anxiety or tension arise. Teachers should instruct students on this breathing technique and create visual reminders and prompting signals for students to begin. This is a valuable practice for staff as well, as expert mindfulness teacher Danielle Nuhfer, who has compiled an array of marvelous techniques in The Path of the Mindful Teacher, shared with me:

"The great thing about Three Breaths is that if the teacher would like to share with students what he/she is doing, they can. I've been known to pause, put my hand on my chest/heart, tell my class that I need a moment, and take three breaths. This is something that is a great way to demonstrate our own emotional regulation. When students witness their teacher work through a stressful situation in a way that demonstrates awareness and presence, they may remember that themselves. Sometimes this kind of role modeling can be more impactful than even teaching a lesson to our students about emotional regulation."

6. Body Scan: Educators benefit from learning to focus on their bodies. Make sure you are feeling centered with both feet on the floor as you teach your classes or meet with students or colleagues. Notice when and where you are feeling tension or when your breathing is shallow or labored, and use Three Breaths (or more!) to help you feel some relief. Don't hesitate to let students or colleagues know that you are taking a few moments to gather yourself via breathing.

7. Speak Your Mantra: Develop a phrase that helps you keep focus and keep perspective. Repeat it often-when you encounter roadblocks and when things are going well. Put it in places where you will see it because when emotions run high, we can lose sight of our more cherished values. Some examples:

"I am preparing all of these children for an uncertain future."

"I want all students to enjoy well-being, happiness, and peace."

"My goal is to prepare students for the tests of life-not just a life of tests."

Ending the Day

8. Concluding Reflections: Many have extolled the value of reflection, from Sir John Templeton, founder of the character-focused foundation with his name, to the SEL exemplar Responsive Classroom. Mindfulness experts like Nuhfer have joined that group. Below are five of her favorites for closing the school day, plus two of my own:

Something I learned today...

I am curious about...

I am looking forward to tomorrow because...

Something I'll do (next, later today, this weekend, before the end of the week, etc.)...

A question I still have is...

I had the best feeling today when...

Something from today that I am grateful for/thankful for/appreciative of is...

Most teachers start off as teachers who use mindfulness; moving to become a "mindful teacher"-what Nuhfer describes as a teacher who "acts with awareness about what is happening in the moment," at every moment-takes practice with multiple techniques, reading the relevant literature, being aware of implicit biases, and being part of a community of like-minded educators who help each other improve.

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8 Activities for Students (and Teachers) to Create a Mindful Classroom

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Everyone in the classroom benefits when there are opportunities throughout the day to reflect and prepare for learning.

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How to use mindfulness daily in the classroom

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How to use mindfulness daily in the classroom

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A teacher shares how she implements daily mindful moments and their positive impact on classroom culture.

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Mindfulness Lesson Plans For High School (With PDF Download)

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Don't stress over mindfulness lesson plans for high school students! Check out full follow-along lessons and a downloadable mindfulness PDF.

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Mindfulness Techniques for Teacher and Students

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Mindfulness Techniques for Teacher and Students

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3 Mindfulness Exercises to Inspire You + Your Students

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How to encourage your students to care for themselves

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How to encourage your students to care for themselves

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Mental Health Facts: Children and Teenagers

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Mental Health Facts: Children and Teenagers

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In her current work, she is exploring meditation's effects on the brains of clinically depressed patients, a group for whom studies have shown meditation to be effective. Working with patients selected and screened by Shapero, Desbordes is performing functional magnetic resonance imaging scans before and after an eight-week course in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, or MBCT.

During the scans, participants complete two tests, one that encourages them to become more aware of their bodies by focusing on their heartbeats (an exercise related to mindfulness meditation), and the other asking them to reflect on phrases common in the self-chatter of depressed patients, such as "I am such a loser," or "I can't go on." After a series of such comments, the participants are asked to stop ruminating on the phrases and the thoughts they trigger. Researchers will measure how quickly subjects can disengage from negative thoughts, typically a difficult task for the depressed.

The process will be repeated for a control group that undergoes muscle relaxation training and depression education instead of MBCT. While it's possible that patients in the control part of the study also will have reduced depressive symptoms, Desbordes said it should occur via different mechanisms in the brain, a difference that may be revealed by the scans. The work, which received funding from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, has been underway since 2014 and is expected to last into 2019.

Desbordes said she wants to test one prevalent hypothesis about how MBCT works in depressed patients: that the training boosts body awareness in the moment, called interoception, which, by focusing their attention on the here and now, arms participants to break the cycle of self-rumination.

"We know those brain systems involved with interoception, and we know those involved with rumination and depression. I want to test, after taking MBCT, whether we see changes in these networks, particularly in tasks specifically engaging them," Desbordes said.

Desbordes is part of a community of researchers at Harvard and its affiliated institutions that in recent decades has been teasing out whether and how meditation works.

In the 1970s, when transcendental meditation surged in popularity, Herbert Benson, a professor at Harvard Medical School and what was then Beth Israel Hospital, explored what he called "The Relaxation Response," identifying it as the common, functional attribute of transcendental meditation, yoga, and other forms of meditation, including deep religious prayer. Benson described this response - which recent investigators say is not as common as he originally thought - as the opposite of the body's adrenalin-charged "fight or flight" response, which was also identified at Harvard, by physiologist Walter Cannon Bradford in 1915.

Other MGH researchers also are studying the effects of meditation on the body, including Sara Lazar, who in 2012 used fMRI to show that the brains of subjects thickened after an eight-week meditation course. Work is ongoing at MGH's Benson-Henry Institute; at HMS and Brigham and Women's Hospital's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine; at the Harvard-affiliated Cambridge Health Alliance, where Zev Schuman-Olivier directs the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion; and among a group of nearly a dozen investigators at Harvard and other Northeastern institutions, including Desbordes and Lazar, who are collaborating through the Mindfulness Research Collaborative.

Among the challenges researchers face is defining mindfulness itself. The word has come to describe a meditation-based practice whose aim is to increase one's sense of being in the present, but it has also been used to describe a nonmeditative state in which subjects set aside their mental distractions to pay greater attention to the here and now, as in the work of Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer.

Another challenge involves sorting through the many variations of meditative practice.

Recent scientific exploration has largely focused on the secular practice of mindful meditation, but meditation is also a component of several ancient religious traditions, with variations. Even within the community practicing secular mindful meditation, there are variations that may be scientifically meaningful, such as how often one meditates and how long the sessions are. Desbordes herself has an interest in a variation called compassion meditation, whose aim is to increase caring for those around us.

Amid this variation, an eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction course developed in the 1970s by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center has become something of a clinical and scientific standard. The course involves weekly two- or 2½-hour group training sessions, 45 minutes of daily work on one's own, and a daylong retreat. The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy used in Desbordes' current work is a variation on that program and incorporates elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves talk therapy effective in treating depression.

Ultimately, Desbordes said she's interested in teasing out just what in mindful meditation can work against depression. If researchers can identify what elements are effective, the therapy may be refined to be more successful. Shapero is also interested in using the study to refine treatment. Since some patients benefit from mindfulness meditation and some do not, he'd like to better understand how to differentiate between the two.

"Once we know which ingredients are successful, we can do more of that and less, maybe, of the parts that are less effective," Desbordes said.
Research funding includes the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. For more information about the Mindfulness & Meditation program at Harvard University, visit its website.

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Harvard researchers study how mindfulness may change the brain in depressed patients

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Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are examining how mindfulness meditation may change the brain in depressed patients.

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"I can" statements for Social & Emotional Learning

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"I can" statements for Social & Emotional Learning

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Are your students aware of the way they interact with others? This infographic could help them regulate their feelings.