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An employee at a nonprofit organization said he felt driven to resign because he was overworked to the point of getting heart palpitations.
Grant, age 29, worked for nearly a year as a development coordinator for a non-profit organization in Madison, Wisconsin. As his performance at work improved, he said that his supervisor and a coworker increased his workload.
“Essentially, if I tried to do a decent job, my employer and the other employee would assign me all of their tasks.” It reached a point where every day of my Outlook calendar is jam-packed with tasks: “Grant requested to go by his first name to preserve his privacy and future employment opportunities.”
Grant stated that he began to feel like a “runner” and “office slacker.”
“I would enter the office and experience anxiousness throughout the day. I was required to focus on my work, but every five minutes, my boss would interrupt me with “Hey Grant, Hey Grant” and a list of tasks “Grant stated.” “I was becoming increasingly overwhelmed, and my wrath grew with time.”
According to a receipt seen by Insider, Grant began to experience more physical effects of his stress, which led him to take sick days from work and visit the emergency department.
Grant told Insider that he was experiencing a variety of gastrointestinal and other issues, such as waking up with heart palpitations and difficulty breathing. “During my tenure there, I also had to take several sick days since I was so stressed out that I couldn’t even go to work.”
According to studies conducted by the workplace analysis organization Gallup, the leading causes of burnout at work are unreasonable workloads and deadlines, a lack of communication and support from supervisors, and unjust workplace treatment. In the midst of a “epidemic” of burnout, experts have advised employees to prioritize their mental health.
Late in September, when he reached his breaking point, Grant reportedly took a mental health day to evaluate whether he should stay or leave his position.
“I spent the entire day asking myself, ‘What should I do?’” he recounted. “By the end of the day, I knew I could not face the prospect of returning there.”
He returned his work-related stuff and emailed his resignation to management the following morning.
Insider obtained an email in which he stated, “The stress from this position has led me to suffer from severe anxiety, and I am doing this for the benefit of my personal health and well-being.” “I apologize for the unexpected nature of this notification and the staff shortage it will cause… But I must look out for myself at the moment.”
An expert states that a burnout “epidemic” is making employers “more sensitive to the issue.”
Dr. Adam Perlman warned that burnout is “becoming an epidemic” as an increasing number of burned-out employees quit their employment during the Great Resignation.
Perlman, the Chief Medical Officer and co-founder of meQuilibrium, a digital coaching organization that helps businesses improve employee resilience, noted that the concept of feeling overworked and, of course, feeling burnt out and stressed out, is on the rise due to the demands being placed on people. These demands are sometimes driven by changes related to the pandemic, shortages of employees, and changing work environments.
According to Perlman, a significant portion of employee burnout is caused by “organizational challenges, enterprise concerns, and work environment issues.” In addition to stress and anxiety, he said that those experiencing physical symptoms should always consult a physician to check whether there are underlying medical issues.
Perlman told Insider that employers have become considerably more sensitive to the issue because so many individuals are currently in difficulty. “In the midst of attempting to bring about change and conversing with bosses and attempting to alter the corporate culture, it is still important for us to take care of ourselves.” “These changes are not instantaneous.”
While Grant searches for his next job, he is eager to “take a break from the office atmosphere” and “relearn how to be a person again.”
“It serves no purpose to be miserable every day. “It’s rather frightening, but I believe that after COVID, people are thinking, ‘My life is really brief,’ ” he remarked. “I am valuable as a person and as an employee. I hope that workers reclaim their authority. I truly do. I hope they form a union. I hope they will fight for higher pay. I hope that they strive for respect. “I believe people are finished.”