The ‘B’ word in this case is Burnt-Out. now I am not an expert in this field in any way, Just experienced in seeing it in real life. I have seen genuine Burnout, I’ve seen fake Burnout, I’ve seen people well on the path to it, I’ve seen people recover from it if caught in time. But if you genuinely burn out, you are gone from that job or role. You just walk out the building, or you sit at your desk with tears rolling down your face while trying to take part in a meeting and not understanding why your shirt is wet, or worst of all you are completely zombified so you aren’t able to do anything but don’t even realise it.
Its not a mild thing. It’s serious. So if you are feeling under stress and under pressure, do not start by claiming you are Burnt-Out immediately. its not very likely, If you genuinely feel you are Burnt-Out then I would get professional help Immediately!.
However, Burnout takes many many forms, and again, I’m not an expert. I’ve seen people Burn-Out fully in six months under very, very high pressure. I’ve seen people slowly Burn-Out after two decades and then decide to quit. quit the corporate world, move somewhere different and take up painting or Sheep herding {{Which is a hideously stressful Job in its self}}.
But please don’t overuse the word, it makes it harder to find friends and colleagues that are in genuine danger, and means that Bosses/Clients/Employers become numb to it. If you feel yourself going past normal levels of exhaustion or stress {{and Yes, I am aware that “normal levels of exhaustion or stress” is a terrible phrase, but this is the world we live in}}, and you can feel the first inklings of what you think is Burn-Out. Then you might be starting to Burn, but you’re not actually Burnt-Out.
I feel that you get far more positive feedback from Managers/Employers/Clients if you say you are exhausted and need a break, and then explain that they will get you back at 100% if they work with you on this, also if you approach it this way they can stop it spreading in the team, as its rarely just one team member that is suffering, and someone might be far closer to full Burn-Out than you, but is suffering in silence, its in their interest to address it.
As the great Gimli son of Gloin once said.
“I must rest a little to run the better”