Counselling for Workplace Stress and Burnout

Have you been seeking counselling treatment for workplace stress and burnout?  Perhaps you feel completely exhausted, worn down, and don’t have energy for anything outside of work? Are you ready to reclaim a sense of joy and ease in your life again?

Whether you’re experiencing burnout, anxiety, depression or stress that needs to be better managed, our South Edmonton Psychologists can provide effective counselling such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Did you know that job burnout and a lot of workplace stress often stems from organizational problems? It’s often more of a systems and social problem than it is an individual problem. The academic literature identified three aspects of workplace burnout:

1. Exhaustion – feeling depleted, a lack of energy, or fatigued. Some describe it has feeling as though their “spark” or vitality for their work has been lost.

2. Cynicism – a sense of feeling checked out, having negative attitudes toward one’s work, or feeling detached.

3. Professional inefficacy – feeling ineffective in one’s work, or an inability to do the job and feeling as though you are barely coping or by with your work.

What can contribute to workplace stress and job burnout?

There are many factors, both internal and external that might contribute to your stress and burnout. These can all be explored in your counselling session. Can you relate to experiencing any of the following?:

• Feeling that your workload or responsibilities are excessive, unrealistic or not sustainable over the longer term? Do you or your team lack the resources, staffing, or support to do your work effectively and in a meaningful way? Do you feel as though you are running on a hamster wheel, and are overextending your efforts, energy and losing a sense of balance?

All of this can contribute to a sense of feeling burned out. Did you know that our nervous systems need to return to a state of equilibrium and need the chance to recover from all of that extra exertion?

• Do you ever feel a lack of control or lack of autonomy in which you cannot influence your workflow in sustainable ways that work best for your personal preferences? This can lead to significant stress.

• Do you perceive that there is a lack of fairness and equity at work? For instance, maybe you feel that you are being treated in a disrespectful way or that you are dismissed or disregarded for various opportunities?

• You are not being appreciated or rewarded appropriately for your efforts and work yet there is much expected of you?

• Is there a lack of connection or reduced sense of community? Maybe you feel others’ don’t have your back, that you cannot trust them, or there is no chance to debrief or talk with colleagues in a supportive or positive manner?

• Do you ever feel like you’re having to go against your own value system to get your work duties completed? Maybe you feel like you’re having to cut corners, or sacrifice the quality of your work? When your own values seem to clash with your organization’s values, this can also contribute to a sense of burnout over time.

Can Therapy Help with Workplace Burnout and Stress?

While ‘burnout’ is not a formal diagnosis in the DSM-V, counselling can be helpful to determine what is contributing to your burnout, how you are being impacted, and ways to treat it. Interestingly, the research literature suggests that employees might also experience:

-dissatisfaction or lack of engagement at work

-calling in sick or dreading going to work

-feeling withdrawn and pessimistic about their work

-decreased productivity

-wanting to leave the company

-considering leaving their career field or role altogether

Burnout may also negatively impact pre-existing mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety. The reverse can also be true – our psychological health can predispose us and make us more vulnerable to the effects of job burnout.

If you’ve experienced workplace harassment, bullying, trauma or other stressful events at work all of this can accumulate and take a toll on our ability to function.

Burnout can happen in any area of your life of course, not just at work! You can burn out in your relationships, i.e., as a parent or caregiver, or in your academic work as a student, or as you balance multiple life roles and responsibilities. Burnout has many different faces.

Here is a wonderful video to watch on burnout, in general:

You are not alone in your experience of feeling burnt out. One of our South Edmonton psychologists can help you to get to the root of the issue and put a treatment plan in place.

Have some questions? Book a free 15-minute phone consult, or email me to book your first session.

We also provide counselling and therapy for a range of issues including: anxiety, depression, trauma, general stress management, and more.

Sometimes experiencing burnout at work can lead us to consider making a career transition and needing to reflect on what is most important to us. We can provide career counselling, career assessment, or you might consider our online career planning course that has over 15 hours of video content and allows you to work at your own pace.