All posts tagged: burnout

Burnout Is Pushing Workers to Use AI—Even if Their Boss Doesn’t Know

Burnout Is Pushing Workers to Use AI—Even if Their Boss Doesn’t Know

Published by skeptic

White-collar workers are so overwhelmed with emails, web chats, and meetings that they are using AI tools to get their jobs done—even if their companies haven’t trained them to do so, according to a work trends index published Wednesday by Microsoft and LinkedIn. Seventy-five percent of people in desk jobs are already using AI at work, and the amount of people using AI has nearly doubled over the past six months, the report found. The vast majority of workers using AI—regardless of whether they are baby boomers or Gen Z—are “bringing their own AI tools” rather than waiting for their companies to guide them. “People are overwhelmed with digital debt and under duress at work,” Colette Stallbaumer, general manager of Microsoft’s chatbot Copilot and cofounder of Workload, said in a video announcing the report’s results. “And they are turning to AI for relief.” Microsoft (which also owns LinkedIn) stands to win from the adoption of AI, and is already cashing in on its generative AI tools. The new report is built on a survey of …

How People Who Choose Soul Sucking Jobs End Up With Less Money

How People Who Choose Soul Sucking Jobs End Up With Less Money

Published by skeptic

Everyone needs money to survive — it’s the way of our world. We’ve been fed stories of hard work, the American Dream, and a “bootstrap mentality,” which would have made you think your purpose in life is solely to climb the corporate ladder and earn the highest paycheck possible.  However, as many hard-working Americans have discovered, an unending devotion to your job often leaves you overworked, depressed, and disconnected from what truly matters.  One man claimed that people who choose high-paying ‘soul-sucking’ jobs often end up unhappy and with less money.  You shouldn’t be deterred from chasing your dreams of being a lawyer, a doctor, or a technology professional simply because someone online said so. But if introspection and self-awareness are virtues, what’s the true reason you’re striving for that “good job?”  Is it to help people? To explore something you’re passionate about? Or to have enough money to live comfortably? Almost 60% of people with high-paying jobs report staggering “unhappiness” — but they’re making lots of money! So, it’s worth it in the end, right?  RELATED: …

Are We Living in a Burnout Society?

Are We Living in a Burnout Society?

Published by skeptic

In an earlier age, writes Byung-Chul Han in his short book The Burnout Society, we lived in a world of “hospitals, madhouses, prisons.” What has replaced these? “Fitness studios.” There is a touch of exaggeration to this arresting opening—we still have many prisons—but also a measure of truth. On my walk the other day, I passed no less than three yoga studios, not to mention a gym, a pilates studio, and a space devoted to “barre” workouts (like those done by ballet dancers). On Han’s view, this is no accident. If in an earlier age people were disciplined by external authorities, today we are called on—at least if we live in the relatively privileged world of yoga and barre studios—to discipline ourselves. Source: Vlada Karpovich / Pexels For Han, this aspect of the contemporary predicament is the source of its distinctive psychologies, which for him are depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and “burnout syndrome.” If one is living in a society in which all is purportedly possible, and one disciplines oneself to strive after one’s goals, and …

Avoiding ADHD Burnout at Work and Home

Avoiding ADHD Burnout at Work and Home

Published by skeptic

Source: Doucefleur/Stock photo ID 1281210009 Are you feeling unexcited about work these days? Do you feel overwhelmed by responsibilities at home? You may be stressed, or you could be suffering from burnout. How can you tell these apart? Many neurodivergent folks struggle with managing stress until they are so tapped out that burnout has set it. It can be tougher for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to recall and apply tools that they know will create more stability and calm in their lives due to challenges with emotional regulation and working memory. Understanding how stress and burnout are related and how they differ can assist you in keeping yourself energized and centered for work, home, and relationships. Stress continues to be unusually high for many people right now due to all kinds of socioeconomic, familial, and political issues. Stress and burnout are two ends of the energy spectrum. Stress occurs when there are so many pressures on your mind and body: it’s a matter of too much. When people are stressed, they wonder …

The big burnout: Life on the front lines of America’s wildfires

The big burnout: Life on the front lines of America’s wildfires

Published by skeptic

With record-setting blazes becoming more and more common, the demands placed on wildland firefighters are greater than ever. Already this year, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which broke out in the Texas Panhandle in February, has become the second-largest wildfire in U.S. history, burning nearly 1.1 million acres. Last year, a relatively quiet fire season, saw the Lahaina fire on Maui, Hawaii’s largest-ever wildfire and one of the deadliest on record, with at least 100 fatalities. The previous year, New Mexico experienced its biggest and second-biggest fires simultaneously — the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire in the northern half of the state and the Black Fire down south. But at this crucial hour, America’s last line of defense against fires is fraying. A recent ProPublica investigation found that the Forest Service is losing wildland firefighters, suffering an attrition rate of 45% among its permanent employees in the past three years. The investigation spotlighted the challenges that wildland firefighters face: weeklong stretches away from family, a bureaucracy indifferent to physical and mental health concerns and a byzantine pay …

3 Signs You’re Experiencing Parental Burnout And What To Do About It

3 Signs You’re Experiencing Parental Burnout And What To Do About It

Published by skeptic

Being a parent often means giving up a lot of yourself for a tiny human. This can mean your time, your space and at times, even mental wellbeing. Without the right support, you may find yourself experiencing parental burnout without even realising it. And even though you might understand that you might be experiencing symptoms of parental burnout, it’s not necessarily easy to get out of the cycle. What is parental burnout? Amanda Jenner, who is a Parenting expert says parental burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion related to your parental responsibilities. 1. You are likely to feel exhausted all the time, even if rested, and find it hard to enjoy activities with your children. 2. Those experiencing parental exhaustion are likely to feel disconnected, easily irritated or angry over small things with zero patience in everything you do. 3. Parental burnout will leave you feeling overwhelmed with parenting and might mean you find it difficult to manage stress and your negative thoughts. Amanda says if you believe you have parental …

8 Ways to Deal with Overwork and Burnout at Work

8 Ways to Deal with Overwork and Burnout at Work

Published by skeptic

Source: Antoni Shkraba/Pexels In today’s world, overworked employees are overwhelmed by chronic transition and uncertainty. They are under-equipped to manage the demands of life and work successfully. A recent SHERM global survey suggests that employees who work overtime may actually be less productive. The survey of 10,333 workers found that 40% regularly work after hours, often feeling pressure to do so rather than wanting to work longer. In fact, employees who logged off at the end of the workday reported 20% higher productivity scores compared to those who felt compelled to work late. Notably, half of all respondents did not take work breaks, and those employees were 1.7 times more likely to experience burnout. The Problem with Overwork The findings suggest that employers may need to reevaluate expectations around overtime and encourage workers to maintain a healthy work-life balance, which could lead to greater overall productivity. And ultimately, workers need to recognize the toll on mental health. Overwork and burnout have a strong interrelationship with mental health. When we’re perpetually overworked, our brains and bodies …

How AI can rescue IT pros from job burnout and alert fatigue

How AI can rescue IT pros from job burnout and alert fatigue

Published by skeptic

valentinrussanov/Getty Images A recent Mercer survey of 300 companies finds 94% report they have strengthened their coverage for mental health care, increased support, or put in place new programs or systems to help improve employee health and wellness in the last three years. There are many reasons employees would need such counseling, but the harried and stressful work environments of IT operations surely doesn’t help matters for those working there.  Also: Tech giants hatch a plan for AI job losses: Reskill 95 million in 10 years What if there was a way to help ease the stress of running an IT operation — and perhaps reduce burnout and increase job satisfaction? Artificial intelligence provides an approach to offload and automate some stressful aspects of the job, such as the hours and days spent trying to troubleshoot and fix issues. arising out of the multiple platforms that now are part of infrastructures.  AIOps — artificial intelligence for IT operations — is intended to intelligently automate away the tedious side of information technology — fixing bugs, watching for …

Is it possible to break the cycle of burnout for good? | Well actually

Is it possible to break the cycle of burnout for good? | Well actually

Published by skeptic

I burned out for the first time at the age of 18. I was studying part-time, working part-time and writing on the side, amounting to more than a full-time workload. I was also partying most nights, wanting to make the most of the last of my student days – and needing to blow off steam. I thought I was handling the tightrope act pretty well, and in terms of output, I was. But one day, when I turned up to my office job, something about my frazzled response to my boss’s friendly inquiry about my day prompted her to pry further. I listed everything I was juggling – and the weight of it hit me. My manager immediately reassigned all my shifts bar those I needed to pay my bills. I’m forever grateful to her for recognising what I couldn’t see myself. I might have been managing my responsibilities, but I couldn’t carry on for much longer. That time, I avoided the worst of burnout, but it’s continued to periodically resurface. Usually, I wave it …

Burnout culture: Working late shifts can lead to depression, poor health : Shots

Burnout culture: Working late shifts can lead to depression, poor health : Shots

Published by skeptic

Working late nights and variable schedules when you’re young is linked with poor health and depression at 50, a new study finds. simonkr/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption simonkr/Getty Images Working late nights and variable schedules when you’re young is linked with poor health and depression at 50, a new study finds. simonkr/Getty Images Feeling burned out and looking for reasons to work less? A new study shows that working nights and volatile schedules in young adulthood can leave you vulnerable to depression and poor health in middle age. The research examined the work schedules and sleep patterns of more than 7,000 Americans interviewed over three decades, from the ages of 22 through 50. To the surprise of the study’s author, NYU Silver School of Social Work professor Wen-Jui Han, only one-quarter of the participants worked exclusively traditional daytime hours. The remainder – three-quarters of the sample of American workers born in the 1960s – worked variable hours. Those with more volatile work schedules, including night hours and rotating shifts, reported less sleep and a …