Avoiding Burnout When You're Working From Home

If you've dreamed for years of working from home only to find doing so its own kind of crucible, well, you're not alone. In fact, mental health experts say the stress of working from home — while managing things like other family members’ needs, isolation or anxiety related to COVID-19 — is bringing workplace burnout home.

"I'm hearing from lots of people who say, ‘I'm trying to get my work done — and a lot of other things, too. I feel like I just can't do anything well right now,’ “ says Amy Morin, a psychotherapist in Marathon, Florida, and author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do.

AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

Join Now

Along with anxiety over jobs that don't transition to home very well, mental health experts are hearing of intense frustration from moment-by-moment juggling and, for some, growing feelings of hopelessness for keeping job, home and sanity together over what for many is a still uncertain timeline.

So is it burnout?

While burnout is not an official diagnosis, experts agree the phenomenon involves feeling overwhelmed and lacking the energy or resources to overcome the obstacles standing in your way. “It has a lot to do with emotional exhaustion and believing you're ineffective no matter what you do,” says Morin.

It's no surprise that burnout has reached proportions almost as great as the pandemic itself. “When you don't have clear boundaries between work and home, when you're working around the clock, and your Zoom calls are interrupted by your pet — any of that could contribute to burnout,” Morin says. “Everything's intermingled and it makes life a lot more messy.”

How do you know you've hit the wall? Key signs, experts say, are physical and mental exhaustion, experiencing more aches and pains, and feeling uncharacteristically irritable.

"People also tend to make more mistakes and act out,” says Alice Domar, a psychologist and executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health in Boston. Left unchecked, burnout can lead to illness or depression, she says.

Making daily structure your defense

To target burnout, Morin advises setting some limits between your work and home life, even if you can't separate the two geographically. “It might be as simple as changing your clothes at the end of the day,” she says. “That's a signal for you that now is your free time. Sometimes just closing your laptop and putting it away can make a big difference.” She also suggests taking an hour-long break and not answering work email at lunch and/or committing to avoiding it after 7 p.m.