Q: I’m starting a new job in a few weeks. What can I do to prevent burnout?
Taking the next step in your career can be exciting — but it can also come with feelings of stress and anxiety which, overtime, can lead to burnout.
While not considered a medical condition, burnout is recognized as a workplace phenomenon, according to the World Health Organization. People who experience it may feel physically and emotionally drained, or be exhausted before the work day even begins, experts said. They may also feel cynical about work and think they’re underperforming. Sometimes, burnout can mimic depression and make it difficult to enjoy daily life.
It can feel like “carrying a heavy load, like a sack of potatoes, all the time,” said Luana Marques, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School who runs a clinic that helps executives manage burnout.
In a 2024 poll of more than 2,000 full-time workers in the United States, researchers found that more than half reported feeling burned out within the past year. And while preventing burnout shouldn’t be your responsibility alone, there are some steps you can take to minimize it.
What causes burnout?
The specific circumstances that cause burnout can vary by person, said Michael P. Leiter, a professor emeritus of psychology at Acadia University in Canada and co-author of the book, “The Burnout Challenge.” But it often happens when your expectations for a job don’t quite match the reality of it, he said.
While there are many aspects of work that can contribute to burnout, the most obvious is workload. If you’re regularly asked to do more than you can handle, you’re likely to get burned out, experts said.
You may feel “like there’s always that gap between how much you’re having to do, and what time you have to do it,” said Dr. Cynthia M. Stonnington, the associate medical director of the Office of Joy and Well-Being at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.
You may get burned out if you don’t feel like you have control over your day, or your tasks are unfulfilling, Dr. Marques said. If you believe the work you do is unethical, or if you feel disconnected from your co-workers or think you’re being treated unfairly by your boss or colleagues, that can lead to burnout too, she added.
How can I prevent it?
Many parts of your job aren’t within your control, Dr. Leiter said. So it’s important to recognize that it’s not just up to you to create a work environment that mitigates burnout, he added.
However, if you want to be proactive when starting a job, embrace being new and ask a lot of questions, said Mindy Shoss, a professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida.
Consider telling your boss what excites you most about your new role, and ask how you can regularly integrate those tasks into your workday, Dr. Leiter said. This strategy is called “job crafting,” and some small studies suggest that it can create a sense of empowerment and make your job feel more meaningful.
You could also start regularly discussing your daily or weekly priorities with your manager, Dr. Stonnington said. And ask how you’ll receive feedback on your work, she added. Initiating these discussions will help prevent burnout by ensuring you understand how you’re performing, and what you can do to improve, she said.
While you may not have a say in all of the tasks you need to do at work, you might be able to reduce your risk of burnout by controlling when you do them, Dr. Shoss said. This degree of control may not exist in all jobs, but Dr. Shoss prefers to do writing and research in the morning, when she feels the most alert and productive, she said. She saves her meetings with colleagues for the afternoon.
Speaking up when you feel overwhelmed by your workload is another way to prevent burnout, said Ron Z. Goetzel, director of the Institute for Health and Productivity Studies at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This will give your manager the opportunity to assess whether certain tasks can be bumped off your to-do list.
Developing a genuine rapport with colleagues can also help stave off burnout by creating opportunities for camaraderie and mentorship, Dr. Marques said. They don’t have to be your best friends, Dr. Stonnington added: Even “loose or superficial” connections can help you “feel really engaged and energized by some of the work that you do,” she said.
Don’t forget that your relationships and hobbies outside of work are important, too, Dr. Marques added. Having other interests and sources of support will help you bounce back when your job is getting you down, she said. So try to make time for other activities that bring you joy, whether that be a passion project, spending time with friends and family, or pursuing a new hobby.
Or, let yourself do nothing at all, Dr. Goetzel said. “It’s OK to just lie down and stare at the ceiling,” he said. “People should do more of that.”