Are you burned out? Running on empty at work? Do you get to work and count the minutes you’ve been there, waiting to leave? Job burnout is pretty common, and cnn.com has a great article on how to identify if you’re in burnout. Why does this happen to us? How do we get burned out? Consider the fact that American’s work longer hours and take/receive fewer vacation hours than other developing countries. One in three American workers are chronically overworked and report job stress. Not only are our jobs increasingly more demanding, but often times we are “encouraged” to work more than the standard 40-hour week. 40% of people say they work at least 50 hours per week, if not more. It’s no wonder were burned out! I was discussing this with a co-worked today and she said that she had heard a story about how 40 years ago they estimated that with all the new technological advancements, our workweek’s would be shortened to 25 hours per week. So, what happened??? How is it that technology made things worse? Alas, we are here… In the age of technology and workaholics. You know what’s even scarier?

For the fifth consecutive year in a row — a Bush record — the average American’s income remained below what it was in 2000. (See below for the link to this article)

So, that’s what we get for working our asses off. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have a law defining a set amount of annual leave for employees. Wanna know what employees of other nations get? Take a deep breath and sit down first.

France leads the world with 30 days off a year. Employees in Britain, German, Australia, Spain and Sweden have 20 or more days off a year, and Canada and Japan have 10 days off, about the same as some American corporations allow their workers. The Chinese get three weeks off a year, and this is only the legally mandated vacation time. Many employees in other countries take six or more weeks off a year (the French average 39 days and the English 24).

In my own life, I have experienced burnout many times, and often I think it is a result of not having enough time away from work to recharge. I had a job a few years ago that allowed one sick day every 6 months. Yeah, right. I have kids. That is in impossibility for me. So, I would typically have to use what little vacation time I had to take care of my family. That left me with no time for an actual vacation. In jobs that I’ve worked at since then, the vacation time is better, but there is this “idea” that is silently pushed that if you want to succeed, more than 40 hours a week is expected. My bonuses right now depend on it, actually. It’s the new standard now. If you want to succeed or rise up the corporate ladder you must work more than 40 hours a week, but agree to only get paid for 40. Sorry, Charlie. That will never work for me. I would rather give up my stinkin’ bonuses than have to work for free. I’m worth more than that; my time is worth more than that.

What are the signs of burnout? If you find yourself edgy at work, drained and fatigued; or you catch yourself trying to figure out ways to get out of work a little early each day, you are probably experiencing some form of “work fry”. It happens to everyone, and obviously there is good reason. One good way to resolve this problem is to use your vacation! I can’t remember the exact statistic, but many Americans never take more than one week off at a time. I can relate to this, because typically I end up using some of my vacation time for sick children and myself (because of course, we don’t get enough sick time). If you can take two weeks off, do it. It can recharge your system and hopefully stop the burnout all together. And if for some reason your burnout stems from boredom or unhappiness about where you work, than you owe it to yourself to fix it.

Here are some additional resources if you would like to read more about job burnout and the loss of the American vacation.

• Alternet has an article on American vacations vs. vacations in other developed countries.
• The Shrinking American Vacation… need I say more?
• Read the Labor Day Report Card over at the Huffington Post. Interesting stuff.

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