Because they grow together with the rapid development of technology, the millennial generation is considered the most advanced generation among previous generations. Examples of the progress of the millennial generation are ambitious, flexible, full of creative ideas, multitasking, and responsive.
This situation makes the millennial generation have a fairly high standard in life. However, the reality is often not as beautiful as expected. These standards may not be achieved due to various factors and result in millennial becoming burnout.
What is burnout?
The term burnout was first introduced in 1974 by a psychologist, who is described in a book called Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement. In this book, Herbert defines the term burnout as a condition in which a person experiences a decrease in productivity and motivation in doing a job which is marked by decreased loyalty so that targets are not maximally achieved.
Meanwhile, WHO defines burnout as a psychological disorder caused by a work environment that is not conducive, resulting in prolonged fatigue, cynical feelings, negative thinking patterns, and a person’s inability to do work optimally?
Furthermore, WHO views burnout as a serious disorder after seeing most of the millennial aged 22-38 years in various continents experience it. WHO then declared burnout as a type of mental disorder listed in the International Classification of Diseases?
An expert report entitled how millennial became the burnout generation concluded that one of the reasons millennial feel they must have a certain career, to become a successful and wealthy person is the triggering factor of burnout. Apart from that, there is also the pressure that the parents either realize or not.
Burnout symptoms experienced by burnout generation, namely
- Excess fatigue
- Loss of work motivation
- Reduced work performance
Economic Challenges Turning Into Pressure
Not only technological and social challenges, but the millennial generation also faces another challenge that is no less complicated, namely the economy. The high rate of urbanization has made employment concentrated in big cities, so that job competition for the current millennial generation is increasingly competitive. The current education system cannot fully answer the challenges of today’s labour competition.
Not to mention that the millennial generation is threatened with not being able to own a house because of the imbalance between house prices and financial capacity. These various economic challenges often put pressure on the millennial generation, causing burnout, stress, and eventually the risk of becoming depressed.
Isolation Due to Social Media
It’s nothing new if the millennial generation is very fluent in using technology. One technology that is synonymous with the millennial generation is social media. Not only entertaining, but social media also makes it easier for millennial to connect with friends, family, and relatives. Ironically, using social media excessively can actually make users feel isolated and lonely and all these feelings cause millennial to become burnout.
The famous Health & Science University proves that face-to-face interactions can reduce a person’s risk of developing depression. Therefore, using social media excessively can make millennial easily depressed and burning out.
Then, how to deal with burnout experienced by millennials?
If WHO has declared burnout as a type of mental disorder, then this needs to be addressed immediately. How to deal with burnout, maybe you can start by yourself by making changes to the work environment so far. There are also other ways that the burnout generation can try such as:
- Take time for relaxation
Not infrequently office work results in discussions on WhatsApp that cut down on rest time or with family. This activity then becomes a burden, right? For that we need boundaries or if necessary temporarily isolate ourselves while doing relaxation such as meditation or reading a book.
- Get enough sleep
A study reveals that sleeping less than 6 hours a night can put a person at risk of burnout. Also, sleep time must be healthy, such as not having nightmares or frequently waking up in the middle of the night. Make sure your body and mind are relaxed before bed.
- Learn to Organize
When burnout hits, the sufferer will experience excessive anxiety so that he can forget about important things. Therefore, take a piece of paper and write down what will and must be done, and then set priorities.
Conclusion
Hopefully, the method above can be useful! Don’t forget to take a break in the middle of the many activities you do. Have a nice day!
