Are You Experiencing Job Burnout?

Not working in a job that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose can contribute to burnout.

Computer CrashBurnout is difficult to recognize when you are in the middle of experiencing it. There’s no easy test or definitive markers to let you know you are suffering from burnout.

I experienced very long periods of malaise, a very deep sense of tiredness, and lack of enthusiasm for the things I once enjoyed. Like many lawyers, I chalked it up to laziness. I chastised myself for not giving my all to my job, my clients. I just figured I needed to pick myself up, and try harder.

As a bankruptcy lawyer (like most of us who are lawyers), clients never show up to my office with happy news. Lawyers are in the human-suffering business.

In addition, there’s often a lot of shame, embarrassment, and a personal sense of failure that my clients experience.

I recall one client meeting where the client shared her deeply traumatizing life circumstances which led her to visit me.

As she was weeping, going through tissue after tissue, all I could think was — please make this woman stop crying. I felt exhausted. I realized I didn’t have any emotional energy. My empathy bucket was completely dry. There was no more left of me to give.

Unlike a physical illness, where there are blood tests, MRIs, X-rays, and other tests that can definitively tell you whether you have that disease, with burnout, it’s not so easy.

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According to the Mayo Clinic, you may be experiencing burnout if you have just one of these symptoms:

Ask yourself the following questions:

Have you become cynical or critical at work?

Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started once you arrive?

Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients?

Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?

Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?

Do you feel disillusioned about your job?

Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?

Have your sleep habits or appetite changed?

Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, backaches or other physical complaints?

Is there any lawyer who wouldn’t answer “yes” to one of these questions at least some point in their career?

Perhaps you’re reading the list of questions above and recognize yourself in it. What then?

My friends, as I’ve said many times, your well-being is absolutely your responsibility. It is highly unlikely that your employer, your law partner, your co-worker is going to say, “Hey, you’ve been working way too hard. It’s time for a break.”

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Recognizing when your resources are stretched too far, knowing the limitations of your own capacity, learning to say “no,” is critical not only for your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, but to be the best lawyer possible.

There are some excellent suggestions on the Mayo Clinic website for handling burnout. I would add seeing a therapist to the list. Having a third party who can be objective, empathetic, and be able to mirror your experiences back to you can help you gain a much needed perspective.

I’ve also found having a daily mindfulness practice to be incredibly helpful for tuning in to what is happening internally. I can begin to recognize when I am feeling healthy and well, as well as know when I should rest.

Not working in a job that gives you a sense of meaning and purpose can contribute to burnout. Working with toxic people can obviously contribute to burnout as well.

If working in the wrong job is contributing to your burnout, join my Shape the Law co-founders and I for a one-hour online workshop on November 15th. We’ll be combining concepts from design thinking and mindfulness and applying it to career transitions. All the details can be found here.


Jeena Cho HeadshotJeena Cho is the author of The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation (affiliate link). She is a contributor to Forbes and Bloomberg where she covers diversity/inclusion, resilience, work/life integration, and wellness in the workplace. She regularly speaks and offers training on women’s issues, diversity, wellness, stress management, mindfulness, and meditation. You can reach her athello@jeenacho.com or @jeena_cho on Twitter.