5 tips to avoid burnout at the end of the year

After an exhausting work year it is essential that we make time for rest. The rush of the holidays, the gift shopping, cooking, baking, family visits don’t really contribute to this. On top of this, most people undertake these tasks while working. We should consider the words of F. Várkonyi Zsuzsa in her book „Hoztam, kaptam, átszabtam” which suggest that often the Christmas night fuss is a way of avoiding intimacy – while originally the goal of Christmas is to enjoy being together, be surprised how much the kids have grown, see distant and close relatives, talk, constant operative mode robs us from these. We eliminate feelings, intimacy and in certain cases, negative emotions, too. (It might be beneficial to look into why we are doing this.)

As we are approaching the end of the financial year, our workload might increase, too. Exhaustion at the end of the year doesn’t necessarily mean we are burnt out – if we find ourselves unmotivated for a long time, our blogpost about burnout (LINK) or our „Keep the flame” tool can be helpful in diagnosing and treating the problem.

What can we do as employees or employers, to regard the holiday season not as a source of burden, but as a source of joy?

1. Relax – Most people don’t make enough time to regenerate, while it is one of the most significant pillars of our well-being. Neglecting sleep can have long-term effects like performance decline or physical- and mental health issues. To help us unwind, there are several relaxation apps out there (like Headspace, where you can find guided meditations, or Reflectify, which helps us organize our thoughts and feelings with reflective questions), but simple breathing exercises can also be a step towards solace.
2. Sleep – Sleep deprivation is becoming a problem in our modern society. The rushing world, the constant information stream, the always switched-on culture, screens, alcohol and caffeine all contribute to less and unsatisfying sleep. Sleep deprivation affects our performance, but also our immune system, which is a very important factor during the pandemic. To decrease the effect of screens, we could try using „night shift mode”, or if we find ourselves struggling to fall asleep, the mentioned apps offer lots of night relaxations, too.
3. Balanced diet – Although this is definitely not an easy task with holiday parties and dinners, we can try to implement fruits and vegetables into our meals as much as we can. We can also use supplements to ensure we are getting enough vitamins in the winter period.
4. Define expectations – Defining realistic expectations is important for the employee and the leader equally. A helpful method for this can be creating a to-do list, and dividing the activities to „have to have” and „nice to have” categories. There might be some tasks that can wait until the quieter period. As a leader, we can manage employee expectations in a similar manner. Try to show an emphatic leadership style, and realize, that your employees have families too, and they might have just a similar amount of duties as you do.
5. Flexibility – Flexibility is highly valued by employees – they are not likely to leave a place where they can have a flexible timetable for one that doesn’t support this. Experience says that flexible attitude fosters healthy, co-operative behavior, and involvement, too.

If we consciously pay attention to getting some rest during the holidays, we can begin the new year with new ideas and a fresh mindset.

SHL Hungary’s team wishes you a calm, merry Christmas!

The original blogpost can be accessed here.