Career Stagnation and Burn-out

La version française de cet article se trouve ici.

Last week, I wrote an article on one of the most common causes of career stagnation. This week, my goal is to warn you about a less frequent cause of career stagnation that is unfortunately becoming increasingly common: burn-out.

Sometimes, when one hits a career plateau, it is a warning sign. For example, someone might achieve rapid success at the onset of their career, rising quickly through the ranks while receiving constant praise from their managers, until one one day their progression stops or slows significantly. They have trouble motivating; it is increasingly difficult for them to find meaning in what they do. 

Such cases should not be taken lightly, because burnout could be around the corner.

Contrary to popular belief, instead of being an affliction of the weak, burnout often strikes those who appear the toughest — the kind of people who seem never to say “no” and who seem to have a limitless capacity to take on ever more work.

At one time or another, however, everyone reaches their limit. Be especially careful if the plateau you hit is accompanied by the feeling that:

• your work no longer has any meaning;

• your role is totally beyond your control;

• you are overwhelmed by the amount of work you have;

• you are ineffectual.

If you are experiencing one of the above feelings, your career stagnation could be the precursor to burn-out. For that reason, instead of doubling down and working harder to achieve that promotion, you should instead address these feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment by looking for their root cause. 

Talk about it with someone you trust, because burn-out is too high a price to pay for any career objective.

Do you feel like you’ve hit a bit of a plateau in your career? Why not drop me a line so that we can discuss what it might be like to work together? If you would like to find out more about me first, you can do so here.