Back pain, palpitations, disturbed sleep, feeling chained to your desk? You’re burned out – admit it, and stop trying to be Superwoman or Superman
- High levels of stress, and long hours, at work can cause burnout – and women are more likely than men to experience it; there are ways to cope, however
- Stop trying to juggle work and family life, embrace mindfulness, make time for exercise such as yoga, and eat more fruit and vegetables, say naturopaths
As a derivatives trader at an international investment bank in Hong Kong, Neelam Harjani accepted high levels of stress as part of the job. But in her late 20s, Harjani’s health began to suffer and she spiralled towards burnout.
“I could no longer suppress the stress. I suffered from chronic back pain, heart palpitations when it got really busy at work, and even after sleeping for 10 hours I would wake up feeling exhausted. The burnout eventually sapped my zest for the job; I felt shackled by my role,” she says. Finding calm and restoration in yoga, Harjani left the corporate world in 2010 to found Inspire Yoga – and lead personalised yoga classes, wellness workshops and retreats.
Workplace burnout has become such a serious health issue that, earlier this year, the World Health Organisation declared it an occupational syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.
Women are disproportionately affected. In a study published last year, Montreal University researchers followed 2,026 people in the workplace – half of whom were women – for four years. They discovered women are more likely to experience burnout because they are less likely to be given positions of power, which can cause overwhelming frustration. Other contributing factors include low self-esteem, difficulties juggling work and family life, and work encroaching on time spent with loved ones.
