Fatigue, insomnia early signs of burnout at workplace: Experts

Fatigue sleeplessness and frequent illness are the early signs that one should watch out for burnout and exhaustion due to workplace stress and must take help said experts on Thursday amid reports of a young CA in Pune who succumbed to death due to work pressureAnna Sebastian Perayil 26 lost her life due to a ldquobackbreaking workloadrdquo and ldquowork stressrdquo at Ernst amp Young EY claimed her mother Anita Augustine in a heartwrenching letter to Chairman Rajiv MemaniPerayil worked for four months at the accounting firm and yet ldquonobody from the office was present even for her funeralrdquoIn another tragic case 25yearold Saurabh Kumar Laddha working at McKinsey and Company reportedly ended his life by jumping from the ninth floor of his building in Mumbai after being unable to handle the work pressureThe list can go on with many more namesDr Suchismitha Rajamanya Lead Consultant amp HOD Internal Medicine Aster Whitefield Hospital Bengaluru told IANS that almost every week approximately 6 to 10 patients come seeking help reporting stress and exhaustionldquoBurnout and exhaustion can display noticeable signs and physically these signs could be chronic fatigue insomnia as well as frequent illnessesrdquo Rajamanya saidThe expert explained that stress can also manifest as hopelessness annoyance emotional draining decreased motivation in the upkeep of appearance absenteeism diminishing work performance and unwillingness to engage in work tasks Individuals may also struggle with concentration and memory problemsldquoThe key here is to prevent oneself from lsquogetting to that pointrsquo and therefore recognise the need for help when a person doesrdquo Rajamanya saidA recent report by Great Place To Work India a workplace assessment and recognition organisation showed that one in every four of all employees finds it difficult to speak about mental health issues like stress burnout anxiety or depression at the workplace Burnout emerged as a significant concern with 56 per cent of employees being affectedStudies have also shown the negative health impacts of workplace stress A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association showed high job strain and effortreward imbalance may significantly increase the risk of developing atrial fibrillation AFib an irregular heart rhythm conditionDivya Mohindroo Counselling Psychologist and Founder Embrace Imperfections told IANS that it is important to ldquothink more practically rather than emotionally and to strike a balance between their emotions and practical liferdquoShe also suggested simple daily steps that one can take to minimise the impact of stress in their lifeldquoKeep yourself well hydrated throughout the day to help you release toxins eat nutritious food and indulge in 45 minutes of exercise where you sweat out your sorrows while releasing happy and feelgood hormones The most important thing is to maintain a healthy good sleep cyclerdquo Mohindroo saidThe experts also suggested stress management techniques such as meditation or deep breathing and to reach out to family friends or support groups and a psychotherapist or a counsellorAlso ReadToxic work culture Insulted at the workplace Experts dissect language ways to deal with it and need for policy