I’ve noticed (with the help of family members and my SO) that I’ve become very negative, cynical and drained lately. Reading about burnout, I find all of the symptoms to be true for myself.
My job requires me to work on a single project full-time, and a couple of small side-projects. The management of the project is very chaotic and I feel more and more inadequate for my position. Priorities constantly change and just looking at the week’s schedule in Monday, I can tell the we’re not going meet the set goal by Friday. It has been like that for more than a year. It doesn’t help that I’ve become very pessimistic about the main project’s future.
Outside of work, I don’t have much free time. The little I have, I try to spend with my loved ones. Hobbies and other interests are on the back burner.
As the title implies, I don’t have the option of quitting or taking a sabbatical at the moment.
I know kbin is not a replacement for therapy but I was just wondering if anyone has been through this and found anything helpful other that distancing from their current workplace.
What has made you decide you won’t take some time off work?
I do take short breaks (one or two days at the end or the beginning of the week) but not too often, because we are understaffed, and my vacation would mean more work load for my colleagues.
Why do you consider your colleagues’ wellbeing to be more important than yours? Why do you consider staffing issues your problem to deal with?
I’m just going to reiterate what soyagi said. Don’t feel obligated to work yourself to death just because your company is understaffed; the burden does not fall on you, but whoever is in charge of the budget. It’s not your fault. You aren’t a frickin’ robot. If they can’t afford to hire enough people to run the business, their business is likely unsustainable. And that’s not a place where you want to work anyway, because it is always going to be like this. You’d be doing yourself a huge favor if you can learn to value yourself, because you deserve better.
aka “Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm.”