How can you be indispensable at work and yet avoid job burnout and stress?
โI couldnโt have done this without you.โ Those words, when they come out of a managerโs mouth, maybe music to ourย eager-to-pleaseย ears. But a desire to be seen as indispensable at work can come with a downside: In our attempt to go theย extra mileย (or 10), we may be sacrificing our ownย well-being.ย
It turns out, conscientious, highly dedicated employees are at greater risk of emotional exhaustion and conflict between theirย work and family responsibilities, according to a 2016 study from Kingโs College London and the University of Bath in the U.K. And otherย researchย has found that our drive to impress our boss and colleagues at every turn, borne out ofย hustle culture, comes at the high cost ofย burnout.
So how can you make your markย and add tremendous value without compromising your sanity and well-being?
These 3 tips can help:
1. Pause before you say yes
In a quest to be indispensable, some people bite off more than they can chew. If being a โyes to everythingโ person is leading you to the brink of burnout, the first step is to understand whatโs causing your inability to set boundaries around your workload, says clinical psychologistย Michelle Golland, Psy.D.ย
Could it be, for instance, that youโre aย people-pleaser, and you have a long-held belief that saying no will lead to rejection? Or does it come down to aย need to control, and not trusting your colleagues to do a good job if you let them take the lead?
Once youโre clear with yourself about your motivation, you may be more willing to let things go. Spoiler alert: Having too much on your plate can compromise the quality of your work, and thatโs not a good strategy for winning over your boss โย or anyone else.
Read Remote Worker Burnout: 5 Key Tips To Create Healthier Remote Cultures
2. Look for the grey areas
Black and white thinking can lead you to take on too much and risk burning out. After all, if โnoโ isnโt a realistic option, you might assume your only option is to say โyesโ. But thereโs usually a grey area or middle ground โย a way to be aย team playerย and contribute value without doing itย all.
For instance, if a higher-up asks for your involvement on a project and you truly donโt have the bandwidth to take it on, you can still provide support or offer to be a sounding board or a second pair of eyes, Golland suggests.ย
Read 5 Ways To Create A Work-Life Balance So Your Job Doesnโt Ruin Your Marriage
3. Train yourself to clock out
For an overachiever, there may beย no end to the workday. But regularly letting work spill into your โoff-hoursโ can lead to burnout over time. To prevent this, create your schedule so you have a set number of days per week where working late is simply not an option. And to make sure your most important tasks are getting done on these days, divide yourย to-do listย into two columns: โcriticalโ and โcan wait.โ
Then, prioritize accordingly. At Thrive we call this โrelentless prioritizationโ and โgetting comfortable with incompletions.โ Ultimately, embracing incompletions allows you to leave the office so you can recharge โ and bring your indispensable self to work again the next day.
Written by: Mallory Stratton
Originally appeared on: Thrive Global
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