7 Signs of Work-From-Home Burnout and What To Do About Them

With more flexibility to the employees, comfort, convenient tools like a large conference call service, and more, it’s not a surprise that many might think working from home is better. Or you may think it’s not that challenging. But work-from-home burnout is real and it happens more often than you think — it can happen to you as well. Here are 7 signs of work-from-home burnout and what you can do to keep yourself in check.

• You keep checking emails

One of the early signs of burnout is the underlying need to check emails round the clock, even when you’re not working anymore. This can tether you to work and make you feel like you’re available all the time. While this shows dedication, too much can be unhealthy for you as an individual. 

Restrain yourself from checking your work emails multiple times a day, Instead, busy yourself with chores and responsibilities, and try to relax while you’re off duty.

• You feel anxious to do more

There’s also the anxiety of feeling like you need to do more when working from home. This setup can seem lax and many employees might feel the need to do more than necessary and depend on the number of tasks you’ve accomplished. 

Try not to overthink about how many tasks you’ve accomplished and if you need to do more. Rather, work on top-priority tasks, and go for quality, not quantity. 

• You find yourself working around the clock

When you fail to set boundaries and let work overtake your mind, you may end up working around the clock. When this happens, you’ll be too exhausted to take care of yourself, eat properly, rest, and focus on your personal life.

Set those boundaries and don’t let yourself work too hard or be available at all times. Use your time off wisely and make sure to do things that are not work-related. 

• You feel unexcited about work

Another telltale sign of work-from-home burnout is feeling unexcited about work. You don’t feel excited about going into a new project or motivated to tackle a new task. This might be because you’re feeling overwhelmed, or that you have too much on your plate to feel thrilled.

Start working on your tasks little by little, motivate yourself, and keep yourself energized so you can feel more elevated to go to work for the day. 

• You feel uncreative

Your creativity can suffer because of burnout as well. When you start feeling uncreative, this may be a sign that work has taken a toll on your cleverness and artistry.  Not only will this hinder you from achieving personal goals, but it can affect your general work output as well. 

To bring back your creativity, make sure to take a break from work from time to time, and don’t let work exhaust you on the daily. You can also watch new TV shows, read fictional books, read self-help books, and take online classes to keep your creative juices flowing and enhance your skills as an individual. 

• You start lazing about at home

Burnout can also affect your mood at home when you’re off duty. Another sign of it is when you start lazing around at home. With too much focus directed on your work responsibilities, you might neglect chores and responsibilities as simple as cleaning your bedroom or your office space, dressing properly, or even taking a bath. 

To avoid this, keep yourself moving and doing housework one by one. Make your bed every day, wear proper clothes before going to work, meditate, or work out. It’s important that you stay productive even when you’re at home. 

• You get physically sick

And of course, one of the worst and evident signs of burnout is getting physically sick. Your body can fail to fight back through mental and physical exhaustion and this may be the result. Some of the physical illnesses people experience due to burnout includes:

• Chest pain
• Heart palpitations
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Fainting
• Shortness of breath
• Gastrointestinal pain
• Colds/Flu (when the immune system is continuously weakened)

You need to take better care of yourself to avoid this scenario. Remember to take breaks, eat properly, exercise, and sleep regularly. 

Be wary of these work-from-home burnout signs so you can keep yourself from experiencing the peak of it. Knowing how to avoid burnout when working from home can also help you as you navigate through this setup.