Frequently asked questions

1 What should I say to my workplace now that I am signed off sick by my GP?
2 What is the difference between stress and burnout?
3 I feel I have come to a crossroads in my current career due to burnout - should I change career?
How you decide to approach things at work depends on
  • whether there is an occupational health department
  • whether your boss/colleagues are sympathetic or there is a mental health ambassador at work
  • how realistic it is to expect some reasonable adaptations to your work

In general -  occupational health or your GP decide whether you are well enough to work. Your employer is not legally entitled to know your private health issues.

We think it is important for anyone who is "off sick with stress" to know whether this is short term stress unrelated to work, work related stress needing a short rest or whether it is burnout that has come about due to longer term working and other conditions - because burnout warrants more detailed exploration.
Stress tends to be shorter term and tends to improve over a weekend, decent rest or holiday.

However long term stress that is not addressed can morph into burnout.

Burnout arises over prolonged periods of time where a person is working in one or more of the following situations
  •  in an unsustainable way
  •  beyond their capabilities
  •  in an overloaded way
  •  in an organisation that is badly      managed (or underfunded)
  • in a team that is dysfunctional ​
Don't assume that burnout means the need to change job never mind career, However it is worth exploring whether you are in some way unsuited to the work ( even if you used to be very happy at work) or whether changes can be made at work.

Burnout can mimic or overlap career situations such as  " career disillusionment syndrome" ( a  loss of interest and no sense of vision) and "career mismatch syndrome" (a long term fundamental mismatch between who you are, your skills, values and the demands of the role you hold).

Defining what is at the core of burnout can be the biggest challenge - along with defining where you are on the burnout cycle, whether you have stress or burnout and whether career issues are compounding the situation.  The unique contributions to each person's burnout needs to be understood.