Job Burn Out – When It’s Looming and How To Handle It

By Bradley Northup, CAFM^®, Fleet Coordinator, County of San Diego

A day in the life of a fleet manager consists of wearing multiple hats and many fluctuating priorities. Whether you are serving the public good or pushing the margins, sometimes it seems like every day can become a struggle to keep your head above water. Sometimes you’ll feel frustrated or inadequate, or unappreciated and your attitude and performance will suffer.

These feelings are common and perfectly normal. After all, we’re only human, but when these feelings are overpowering and your passion is wavering, or you’re becoming numb to it all, action must be taken to save you from burning out. Here are three quick steps I’ve learned that have helped me keep an even keel.

1) Workload - Knowing the capabilities and capacity for yourself and your staff is mandatory. If your day begins with the expectation to finish five tasks, falls apart by your first cup of coffee, gets compounded
to 10 tasks before noon…you’re beyond capacity. Take a step back and look at where you can delegate some tasks (kudos for offering up tasks to help develop aspiring staff), then maximize your time spent. Schedule time in your day dedicated to working at your desk. Be sure to disable that pesky “you’ve got mail” notification, so you can stay focused and avoid those “Squirrel Moments.”

2) Disconnect - There are endless things that can help you unwind, relax, and just disconnect. Choosing what to do is the only hard part. I prefer playing music during a calming drive home, and cooking up something really tasty for dinner (I truly like music, and love to cook). Other activities like team sports or hobby crafts can also do wonders for refocusing your mind and hitting your overload “reset” button.

Whatever you choose to do, just remember: The goal is to take your mind off it all. Do what you love, relax, breathe, and enjoy.

3) Precognition - I’m not suggesting you develop a sixth sense, but looking into the future is a bit easier than you may think. More often than not you may be thinking hard about where you want to be in five, 10, or 15 years. Knowing what you want in your career and where you want to be in the future helps to reflect on whether you are on the right path or if you need to consider making a change. Thinking forward and evaluating where you want to be can help to diffuse those tiny little ticking time bombs of emotion before they can influence changes in your behavior.

Paths do change, and that’s okay. Just don’t switch paths because of how you feel. Do so because you found a better one to get you where you want to be.

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