What is work stress and why is it so common today?
Work stress is a harmful physical and emotional response that appears when the demands of work exceed the worker's capacities, resources or needs. In today's context—marked by hyperconnectivity, ever-longer working hours and constant pressure for productivity—work stress has become one of the main threats to the mental health of the working population.
According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), work stress affects approximately 50% of European workers and is responsible for between 50% and 60% of all lost working days. In Catalonia and across Spain, consultations for work-related mental health problems have increased significantly in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which profoundly altered our relationship with work.
As a health psychologist in Igualada, I see more and more people coming to my practice with symptoms related to chronic work stress. Many of them do not identify what is happening to them until their body or mind sends warning signals that are impossible to ignore. In this article, I will explain exactly what burnout syndrome is, how to recognize the warning signs and, above all, what practical solutions exist to recover your well-being.
Burnout syndrome: much more than stress
The term burnout, often translated as "professional exhaustion syndrome" or "syndrome of being burned out by work," was first described by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974. Later, researcher Christina Maslach developed the model that defines burnout through three fundamental dimensions:
- Emotional exhaustion: the feeling of being unable to give any more of oneself emotionally. The person feels empty, drained and without energy to face the daily demands of work.
- Depersonalization or cynicism: developing cold, distant and even cynical attitudes toward the people one works with (clients, patients, students, coworkers). The person "disconnects" emotionally as a defense mechanism.
- Low personal accomplishment: a feeling of incompetence, professional failure and loss of confidence in one's own abilities. The person feels that their work has no meaning or value.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized burnout in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), defining it as an occupational phenomenon. This represented an important step in raising visibility of the real impact that working conditions can have on our mental health.
Warning signs of work stress and burnout
Burnout does not appear overnight. It is a gradual process that develops over weeks, months and, in some cases, years. Recognizing the warning signs early is crucial for being able to act before the situation becomes unsustainable. These signs manifest at different levels:
Physical signs
The body is often the first to send out warnings that something is wrong. The physical signs of chronic work stress and burnout include:
- Persistent fatigue: deep tiredness that does not go away with weekend rest or vacations. The person wakes up already exhausted and feels they don't have the energy to face the day.
- Sleep problems: sleep-onset insomnia (difficulty falling asleep because the mind "won't stop"), night-time awakenings with work-related thoughts or non-restorative sleep.
- Musculoskeletal pain: chronic tension in the neck, shoulders and back, frequent tension headaches and bruxism (clenching the jaws at night).
- Gastrointestinal disturbances: stomachaches, nausea, changes in bowel habits and loss or increase of appetite.
- Weakening of the immune system: increased frequency of colds, infections and other illnesses, since chronic stress weakens the body's natural defenses.
Emotional and psychological signs
The emotional impact of burnout can be devastating and affect every area of the person's life:
- Anticipatory anxiety: a feeling of intense distress on Sunday afternoons or the nights before going to work, with recurring thoughts about work that generate anguish.
- Irritability and mood swings: disproportionate reactions to minor annoyances, impatience with coworkers, family and friends, and a growing tendency toward negativity.
- Feeling of emptiness and demotivation: total loss of interest in work and, progressively, in activities that previously brought pleasure (hobbies, social relationships, interests).
- Feelings of failure and inadequacy: the person feels they are not good enough, that they are not doing enough or that they don't measure up, despite objective evidence to the contrary.
- Emotional distancing: tendency to isolate from others, avoid conversations and feel disconnected from one's own emotions.
In severe cases, chronic work stress can lead to generalized anxiety disorder, depressive episodes or even post-traumatic stress disorder, especially when the person has experienced situations of mobbing (workplace harassment) or particularly adverse working conditions. In these cases, trauma treatment with EMDR can be particularly effective for processing traumatic experiences linked to the workplace.
Behavioral signs
Burnout also shows up through changes in behavior that may be observable to those around the person:
- Increased absenteeism: more frequent absences from work, regularly arriving late or looking for excuses not to go to work.
- Decreased performance: more frequent mistakes, difficulty meeting deadlines, procrastination and concentration problems.
- Social isolation: avoiding lunches with coworkers, reducing participation in meetings or team activities and preferring to work alone.
- Substance use: increased consumption of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco or other substances as a way to cope with stress or to "switch off" from work pressure.
- Neglect of self-care: giving up exercise, neglecting nutrition, reducing time spent on enjoyable activities and stopping care for personal relationships.
Risk factors: what makes us more vulnerable to burnout?
Not everyone exposed to high levels of work stress develops burnout. There are a number of factors—both work-related and personal—that increase vulnerability:
- Excessive workload: overly long hours, impossible deadlines and unrealistic expectations.
- Lack of control: being unable to influence decisions affecting one's own work, schedules or work methods.
- Insufficient reward: not feeling recognized or valued, both economically and emotionally.
- Lack of community: conflicting work relationships, lack of support from coworkers or supervisors and isolation.
- Lack of fairness: perceiving injustice in the distribution of work, salaries or promotion opportunities.
- Conflict of values: when the demands of work clash with the person's personal values.
- Perfectionism and self-demand: highly perfectionist people, with difficulty setting limits and a tendency to over-involvement, are at higher risk.
- High emotional impact professions: healthcare professionals, teachers, social workers, security forces and caregivers show a higher prevalence of burnout.
Practical solutions for coping with work stress and burnout
The good news is that burnout is reversible and that effective strategies exist for tackling it. Below are the most recommended solutions, both at an individual and organizational level:
1. Set clear limits between work and personal life
One of the key factors in the development of burnout is the difficulty of disconnecting from work. Setting healthy limits is essential to protect your personal and emotional space. This includes defining a clear work schedule and respecting it, turning off work notifications outside working hours, creating transition rituals between work and personal life (for example, a walk or a moment of reading) and learning to say "no" to demands that exceed your real capacity.
For people who work from home, this point is especially critical. The lack of physical separation between workspace and personal space can lead to a permanent feeling of being "connected." If this is your case, online therapy can be a very accessible tool for working on the specific challenges of remote work without having to travel.
2. Recover the activities that give you energy
When we are caught up in a burnout spiral, one of the first things we lose is time spent on enjoyable activities. Recovering them is an essential step in the recovery process. Make a list of activities that used to make you feel good—physical exercise, meeting friends, cooking, reading, walking in nature, practicing a creative hobby—and commit to dedicating time to them regularly, even if you don't feel like it at first.
Physical exercise deserves special mention: numerous studies show that regular physical activity reduces cortisol levels (the stress hormone), improves sleep quality and increases endorphin production. Walking 30 minutes a day, practicing yoga or swimming can make a significant difference in your ability to cope with work stress.
3. Practice emotional regulation techniques
Learning to manage the emotions generated by work stress is essential to prevent them from overwhelming us. Some particularly useful techniques are:
- Diaphragmatic breathing: 5 minutes of conscious breathing (inhale 4 seconds, hold 4 seconds, exhale 6 seconds) can significantly reduce the physiological activation of stress.
- Mindfulness: dedicating a few minutes a day to focusing attention on the present, without judgment, helps reduce rumination and anxious anticipation related to work.
- Expressive writing: writing about work-related experiences and emotions can help process them and gain perspective.
- Progressive muscle relaxation: tensing and relaxing muscle groups systematically helps release tension built up in the body.
4. Restructure your relationship with work
Often, burnout is not only caused by external factors (workload, bad atmosphere) but also by the way we relate to work. Some questions that may help you reflect:
- Do you identify your personal worth with your work performance?
- Do you find it hard to delegate or ask for help because you feel you have to do everything yourself?
- Are you afraid of the consequences of setting limits?
- Do you feel guilty when you are not working?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, there are likely thought and behavior patterns contributing to your exhaustion. Psychological therapy can help you identify and modify these patterns, developing a healthier relationship with work based on self-compassion and appropriate limits.
5. Seek specialized professional support
When work stress or burnout has already had a significant impact on your life, professional help is not a luxury but a necessity. A psychologist can support you through a therapeutic process that helps you to:
- Understand the deep causes of your burnout (which are not always the most obvious ones).
- Develop personalized coping and emotional regulation strategies.
- Work on self-esteem and assertiveness in order to set healthy limits.
- Process traumatic experiences linked to the workplace (mobbing, situations of abuse of power, work accidents).
- Make informed decisions about your professional future.
When work stress has caused a traumatic impact—as in cases of workplace harassment or situations of abuse of power—EMDR treatment can be especially beneficial for processing disturbing memories and reducing the associated emotional charge. EMDR has shown great effectiveness in treating post-traumatic stress and can help deactivate fear and avoidance responses linked to negative work experiences.
Burnout and remote work: a growing challenge
The widespread adoption of remote work following the pandemic has brought undeniable advantages (flexible hours, no commuting), but it has also created new risk factors for burnout. Difficulty disconnecting, the feeling of being permanently available, social isolation, the lack of in-person interaction with coworkers and the blurring of the line between work and personal life are challenges affecting millions of remote workers.
Recent studies indicate that remote workers have a significantly higher risk of suffering burnout, especially those who live alone or who do not have a suitable workspace at home. If you work remotely and feel that work stress is affecting your mental health, online therapy offers you the possibility of receiving professional support from anywhere, with the same effectiveness as in-person therapy.
Work stress and its impact on personal relationships
One of the less visible but most devastating effects of burnout is its impact on personal and family relationships. When a person is emotionally drained by work, there is often little energy left to dedicate to a partner, children, friends or family. The irritability, lack of patience, isolation and emotional disconnection caused by burnout can generate serious conflicts in the person's most important relationships.
In addition, burnout can affect the ability to enjoy free time and shared activities. The person may be physically present but emotionally absent, generating frustration and misunderstanding in their environment. Recognizing this impact is an important step toward recovery, and in many cases it can be useful to work on both the work situation and the relationship dynamics with the help of a professional.
When work stress becomes trauma
In certain circumstances, experiences lived in the workplace can have a traumatic impact. Situations of mobbing or workplace harassment, abuse of power by superiors, discrimination, work accidents, exposure to situations of violence or tragedy (in healthcare professionals, security forces, firefighters, etc.) can generate post-traumatic stress responses that require specific treatment.
In these cases, the person may experience flashbacks or intrusive memories of the traumatic situations, recurring nightmares, constant hypervigilance, exaggerated startle reactions and an intense fear of returning to work. EMDR trauma treatment has been shown to be one of the most effective therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder, helping to process and integrate traumatic memories so that they no longer generate intense emotional distress.
Prevention: how to protect yourself from chronic work stress
The best strategy in the face of burnout is prevention. Some key recommendations to protect your mental health in the workplace:
- Periodic self-assessment: ask yourself regularly how you feel about your work, what stress levels you are experiencing and whether you are properly caring for your physical and emotional health.
- Support network: maintain quality social relationships both inside and outside work. Sharing concerns with people you trust is a very powerful protective factor.
- Training in coping skills: invest in your personal development by learning stress management, assertiveness and emotional regulation techniques.
- Work-life balance: prioritize the activities that nurture you emotionally and don't always sacrifice personal time in favor of work.
- Seek help in time: don't wait to be at a point of no return to seek professional support. Early intervention is key to preventing work stress from becoming a serious mental health problem.
Take the first step toward your well-being
If you have felt identified with any of the situations described in this article, it is important that you know you are not alone and that professional help is available. Work stress and burnout can be overcome with the right tools and the support of a mental health professional who understands your situation.
I offer a free informational session where we can assess your situation together and determine how I can help you. You can contact me both for in-person therapy in Igualada and for online therapy, an especially convenient option if your work schedule makes commuting difficult. Remember: caring for your mental health is not a luxury, it is a necessity and an act of responsibility toward yourself.