How To Recover From Burnout: New Study Holds Surprises

Burnout is a big deal—and it often goes along with mental health challenges like depression, anxiety and exhaustion. You can reduce burnout by shifting elements within your work, but your recovery activities outside of work may be even more significant.

New research suggests there are optimal activities for renewal and rejuvenation—so you can make the best choices in reducing your experience of burnout and exhaustion and increasing your levels of energy and wellbeing.

A Big Problem

Burnout affects not only you, but your coworkers, your family and your friends when it makes it impossible to bring your best. And people globally are suffering from burnout. In fact, 70% of people experienced burnout in the last year, according to a study by Asana which examined 10,000 knowledge workers across seven countries.

In addition, multiple generations are struggling—with 84% of Gen Zs, 74% of Millennials and 47% of Baby Boomers reporting they were burned out. Large numbers of people also said they felt badly, according to McKinsey research. Specifically, 25% of Gen Zs, 13% of Millennials, 13% of Gen Xs and 8% of Baby Boomers reported feeling emotionally distressed with low levels of wellbeing. And 40% of workers believe burnout is an inevitable part of success, according to the Asana report.

Solutions

But some new research on recovery may provide solutions. Specifically, when you do activities on weekends or vacations which provide more opportunity to get away from your work, connect with others and experience effectiveness, these help reduce burnout and increase your energy. This is according to a study published in the Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being journal.

Here are characteristics of activities which contributed most to recovery and renewal.

#1 - Detachment

According to the research, you’ll be best served to do things that are detached from your work and your day-to-day routines. In fact, when people did work-related activities on the weekends, they actually detracted from their wellbeing and energy levels.

So, find ways to get away and be diligent about doing things which are different than your day-to-day. Turn off your devices, silence notifications and resist the urge to check your email or even your LinkedIn feed. Interestingly, physical activity was correlated with recovery, so you may find it especially helpful to go for a run, take a hike in the woods or go to the beach with friends or family.

Try to ensure you’re not thinking about work-related content. Read fiction rather than a business book, and lean toward spending time with people outside of your circle of work friends. The more you can detach, the more you’ll contribute to your wellbeing.

#2 - Relaxation

Another primary way to recover from burnout is to relax as much as possible. The narrative on self-care tends to prescribe slowing down, getting away and being alone. And for some, these might be perfect ways to relax. But also consider what relaxes you, uniquely. If you relax by reading a book, great. But if you relax by socializing with friends or working hard on a building project in your community, spend your time in these ways.

The key is to consider your own energy levels and define relaxation for yourself—taking action to do what works best for you.

#3 - Mastery

Burnout is characterized by feeling ineffective and incapable. So, when you do things in your free time which reinforce your abilities, skills and talents, you’ll contribute to your wellbeing. Find things you love to do and that you’re good at.

If you’re a ninja with cooking, volunteer at your community soup kitchen whipping up innovative recipes. Or if you have a green thumb, take a leadership role in the community garden. If you have a flair for art, spearhead the neighborhood sidewalk chalk event.

Overall, spend time on things you’re good at—and through them build your confidence, your energy and your emotional strength.

#4 - Control

Another classic aspect of burnout is feeling trapped—like you have no growth opportunities—or feeling out of control when it comes to where your career will go next. As a result, a brilliant way to break out of burnout is to engage in activities where you have more control.

You may take a leadership role in organizing the neighborhood garage sale or plan the route for your distance running club. You can even take small amounts of control by choosing the book each month for your reading group.

Most important will be what matters to you—find the things through which you feel a sense of meaning and identity, and seek ways to influence within those groups and opportunities.

#5 - Relatedness

Burnout has been significantly correlated with depression—with some psychologists even hypothesizing that burnout is a specific type of depression. And closely related to depression and burnout are feelings of social disconnection, loneliness and separation from your people.

Smart strategies to recover during weekends or time away from work include connecting and collaborating within the community. For introverts, this might mean spending time one-on-one or in a small group. For extroverts it might include more social pursuits with larger numbers of people. Whatever your personality preferences, seek out those who have similar interests, and invest time with them.

Go to the playgroup with your children, have coffee with an old friend, go rock climbing with your friends or take a cooking class with family members. Any activity which provides you with time together (in the appropriate amounts for you) will contribute to your energy levels and help you recover during time away from work.

Reigniting

Overall, you can reignite by giving your brain and body the opportunity to get away and reset. More distance and detachment from work are good—and greater connection to your people also helps a lot. You can positively affect your wellbeing in all kinds of ways—and your choices for recovery outside of work make a big difference, for sure.