Burnout in the workplace is often associated with people who are working in stressful full time jobs and careers and who are working long hours.

However, you can also experience burnout if you are working part time and there are a number of reasons for this wish we will look at later in the article.

Have you ever felt like you are experiencing burnout? Maybe you have experienced it in the past and didn’t have a label to give your symptoms. Maybe you are experiencing burnout right now and don’t realise it is burnout that you are going through. 

If you have experienced burnout or you think you might be feeling that right now, you are not alone. Since the pandemic, cases of burnout have increased significantly amongst workers. 

In 2023, the WHO will recognise burnout as a specific diagnosis so what you are experiencing is real and is something that can be both prevented and dealt with by taking some steps.

Some of these steps are simple things that you can implement into your daily life to help alleviate the build up of stress that can eventually lead to burn out. In other cases, you may need to speak to your employer about steps they can take to change the working circumstances for yourself and perhaps others in the workplace. 

What Is Burnout?

First of all, to know whether you are feeling burned out, you need to know what the symptoms are.

In many cases, burnout is related to the work you do. Some people opt to work part time then they can have a better work life balance but sometimes, even part time work can become too much. This is especially the case if your circumstances at home and elsewhere outside the workplace are stressful.

You could be experiencing burnout if you are feeling the following:

• Overwhelmed and unable to keep up with work demands and life outside the workplace.
• Emotionally drained. A stressful situation at home could be making it difficult to deal with work life. Or your part time job could cause you to feel emotionally drained depending on the nature of the work you do.
• Like you don’t belong. If you are doubting yourself with regards to your ability to do your job effectively and you feel like you are failing, then this could be a sign of burnout – especially if this is a recent feeling and you revıipusly enjoyed your work.
• No motivation to make sure you are carrying your work out to the best of your ability. If you are just going through the motions because you lack the enthusiasm to go above and beyond, then this could be a sign of burnout.
• Feeling cynical or negative about your work. Because what’s the point? Why should you keep working hard when you are failing and not getting any positive results? And then when you do get a positive result, you don’t feel any pleasure from that. 
• Loss of a sense of accomplishment. If you used to take pleasure from your success at work and feel your mood boosted but now your successes feel flat and meaningless, then you could be feeling burnout. 
• Physical symptoms can also arise from burnout. If you are not performing as you usually do in the workplace and you are juggling homelife, too, you could experience headaches, stomach aches or other ailments. Mental health can also affect our physical health. 

What Can You Do To Prevent Burnout?

If you recognise some or all of these symptoms in yourself, then burnout could already be a reality for you. But don’t worry. There are steps you can take to do your best to avoid it and to make sure you come out the other side feeling good and ready to go again.

Have A Sleep Routine

The importance of quality sleep is being stressed more and more. Our body and our mind needs that time to both rest and refresh. Having a routine, rather than grabbing bits of sleep here and there with no pattern can contribute to your burnout. 

A routine, where your brain becomes more familiar with the pattern of set bedtimes can help you get more quality sleep. If you are someone who wakes in the night with your mind racing full of ideas, have a notebook by the side of the bed so you can note them down and empty your mind and get back to sleep. 

Try To Finish Work On Time

For some part time jobs, you might be working a set number of hours where you finish at the same time for each shift. This is good if you aren’t feeling the need to do more work once you get home.

For some part time jobs, however, your hours might be flexible. Again, in lots of circumstances, flexible hours can be very useful and a great way of working for some of you. 

However, especially since the pandemic, some industries are struggling to recruit enough staff to cover workload and you might be asked to work extra shifts or work longer shifts than you would like to. 

This might be okay with you occasionally and you get the opportunity to earn some extra cash but if you are starting to feel overwhelmed and under appreciated, you will lose your enthusiasm for your work and can start to feel burnout.

If you think you are feeling like this, this is the time to have a chat with either a team leader or your boss. If there is a culture at your workplace where mental health is openly discussed and acknowledged, you should get a sympathetic ear. 

Take Your Breaks And Holiday Entitlement

This is one of the best measures you can take to protect yourself from burnout and ensure you are still getting the best from your part time job. 

Whilst it might seem an obvious thing to do, many British workers are still not taking their full holiday entitlement and burnout is increasing significantly, especially since the pandemic.

Your part time job might be a job share where you work long days or nights for part of the week and then hand over to your job share colleague. If you are working longer hours over the course of a day, make sure you take your breaks to give your mind a rest and move away from your screen or other work materials.

If you usually work through your lunch break, make sure you take your full break and move away to wind down. Go for a walk to stretch your legs away from the desk. 

If you work from home, taking your breaks and makşng sure you only work your part time hours might be especially challenging and you will need to be more strict with yourself. 

It can be easy to leave the laptop open all day and forget to switch off from  work life; doing bits of work while watching the tv or sitting with the kids. Make sure you set yourself some work hours and then shut everything off once your hours are completed. 

And if you do have children to look after at the same time as working from home, take a look at our tips on how to do this, making it as easy as possible. 

If you are not organised and you are trying to juggle too many things at once, those feelings of being overwhelmed and failing can lead to burnout. 

Incorporate Some Exercise Into Your Day

If you already do some exercise, you will already appreciate that it can really help with your mental health. A serotonin boost from exercise is always welcome. And when you feel stronger and fitter, this can help you concentrate and veal with challenges both at work and home.

Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean joıining an expensive gym, so if funds are tight, don’t worry. There are lots of other types of exercise.

Going out for a daily walk, for example, is free! Joining a running club, a hiking group or some dance classes with a friend can also really help. Classes and clubs like this also give you the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. And for many, you get to enjoy the outdoors. 

Make Time For Leisure Activities

If you aren’t the type of person who usually makes time for exercise, you might find that your exercise becomes part of your leisure time. Choose exercise that you enjoy and isn’t a chore.

Parkrun could be something you do as a family, for example, as a regular Saturday morning activity. This is a community event where people often make time for a coffee afterwards. And if you don’t feel like running one week, you can be one of the volunteers and marshall the event for the morning.

Leisure activities help you to switch off and there are lots of things you can do that either give you space away from the family for some ‘you time’ and other activities you can do where you spend time together as a family or a couple. 

Assess Your Part Time Job

What was it that made you apply for that particular part time job in the first place? Was it because you had a genuine passion for the line of work you are involved in? Was it purely for financial reasons? Was it because you wanted to retrain? 

It might be that you need to take stock and ask yourself if this particular part time job is what you really want to do. If you used to be enthusiastic, then you might be able to rediscover that passion. A chat with work colleagues and those in leadership positions could really change how your work life is at the moment and for the better.

If not, it might be time to move on and try something new. A new part time job where you can once more be enthusiastic about what you are doing.

If you are looking for part time work, why not take a look at current vacancies in your area to see if there is something to suit you.