Coping with burnout without stopping work completely? Is it possible?

[lapsedbookworm]

Pretty sure I have proper burnout. The doctor has offered to sign me off work or do a fit note for reduced hours.

I know it's not entirely work that has caused the burnout, home life has been very stressful for various reasons, for years really but particularly this year. And I have also been battling with a serious health condition.

I'm really reluctant to just stop work, not least because it will impact on others so much but also because I genuinely love my job and feel proud of it after previously having to give up my career due to an earlier health battle. Work is pressured and we had a couple of outlandishly stressful situations to deal with this autumn, but equally I don't believe it's the primary source of the burnout

So I'm wondering if people have advice on somehow finding a middle ground between quitting /time off and just keeping going

I've taken some quite time over Christmas, I've agreed.to take anti depressants and I am working up a bit of a plan in terms of work that could be moved from me so I can reduce hours for a bit.

But I 'd love to hear from anyone as to anything that helped them get through burnout (or if they tried this kind of 'working through it' approach and found it didn't work)

I really don't want to quit my job, we could scrape by on DH income but it would be very stressful anyway. And I think moving to a new similar job would be more stressful than doing my current one.

@lapsedbookworm I'm sorry to hear that you are struggling.
Part of me wants to say just have the time off so that you can get better, but I understand your dilemma too.
Could you approach your manager & explain how you're feeling & ask for some reasonable adjustments? Would a reduced workload be possible so that you still keep working but reduce the pressure? Maybe giving this a try would allow you to see if it helps & if it doesn't, then you have probably convinced yourself that you need to take some sick leave.
Good luck, I hope that you soon feel better.

I tried to keep going but it actually made me worse. I was eventually signed off work, on antidepressants and couldn’t even cross the road without assistance because my mind could not process when it was safe to do so.
I was lucky in that I got full company pay. The dr signed me off for, initially, 2 weeks at a time. At the end of each period I had to see the dr to check in and get a new sick note. They then extended it to monthly sick notes. I was off for 6 months altogether. I was then back to my old self and able to fully function at home and work. It was a scary time though.
My advice would be to take the time you need, if I hadn’t tried to push on I don’t think I would have been so bad, and I would have recovered quicker. I hope things improve for you

Does your employer have occupational health?

I have always found time off work for mental health crises really difficult, but when I've really needed it, it's been essential. And it's often better for the employer than a stop/start patch where you go in for a few hours and then have to stop etc.

Im on compassionate leave right now as my mum is dying and I stopped being able to cope with the decisions I had to make at work. I had 2 weeks off 2 years ago as well, which let me get going with antidepressants.

@PermanentTemporary yes we have occ health.

This is what I think I want to do. I guess i'm just not sure what a sensible adjusted version of work might look like and whether it is at all realistic that it might be enough

Then I think ask for an occupational health referral and discuss it with them.

Not sure why I'm saying this as I've never found them too much help but they could be useful in forming a plan and getting your manager to support it.

Tbh I don't see any other option. You can't opt out temporarily from your health condition or anything else that has happened. If you keep going as you are then you absolutely will burn out, and that takes much longer to get over. If you have a job that you love then use that as motivation to get better.

Thank you I did wonder about doing that. To see if they have ideas I haven't thought of
I know my manager will be supportive. She's very sensible. The burnout has mainly come from home life dramas etc and just the nature of the job.

I do have a counsellor already who i have regular sessions with.

I was also thinking of asking to have predictable days working from home for a bit. Normally I don't mind going in to the office every day if needed , but I never get a lunch break or even any headspace to do my own work on those days (I manage a big team)

Could you ask for a sabbatical? I am a little sceptical about the reduced workload plan simply because in many jobs if you are still physically there, they will keep giving you the same workload, unless they have someone else specific to give it to instead. I also think a complete break for a while will do a lot of good.

Or if you don’t want to be upfront with work for whatever reason then would taking parental leave be an option? You can take up to 4 weeks per year unpaid. It’s not that long but can add annual leave/sick leave on. It’s long enough that they can’t just leave your work to pile up.

Agree with the idea of a sabbatical or parental leave, to give you mental space.

Sick leave is presumably better for pay. Parental leave is unpaid.

But, it sounds as if you are not accepting the sick note because you feel guilty about passing on work. (You said you don't feel it's fully work pressures causing the stress, you don't want to leave colleagues in the lurch.)

So, perhaps taking a more 'chosen' period of leave would feel less bad?

Might be worth considering, too, if that general guilty feeling is contributing to your burnout. Maybe there are ways to get it under control, including by taking some time out to get priorities straight?

I am working on this too. I had a particularly stressful few years at home, and work became unmanageable on top. It's my business, so I couldn't get signed off or take sick leave. I was totally burned out. Could hardly move, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat.

I agreed with my doctor to take antidepressants, which definitely helped. I had a counsellor who helped me rationalise what was actually going on.

And I slowly restructured how I work. Huge shift in attitude away from being a people pleaser (mug/doormat).

I think I'll be better in the long run for it.

Yes maybe something like this, where I go back for a few weeks in the new year and get a.plan in place then take the leave if needed. Would prefer sick leave as would be full pay