Have you ever felt incredibly apathetic over a long period of time about the work you’re doing? Even after a long vacation?

Welcome to burnout, my friend.

There are many, many, many articles out there telling you to “schedule your lunch” or “take time for self-care” to avoid burnout. This is not one of those.

Before you can avoid burnout you must first learn what causes you specifically to burn out.

One-size-fits-all solutions do not work for everyone. Why? Every designer does not experience the same causes for their burnout. The things that stress you out might not stress me out, and vice versa. As any designer knows, you have to first identify the right problem before you can solve it.

One of the first published research papers on burnout was released in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger after observing volunteer staff at a free clinic for drug addicts. This publication launched more research and discussion around the phenomenon.

More recently, the World Health Organization has classified Burn-out as an “occupational phenomenon” disease. WHO defines it as:

Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;

• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and

• reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.

There are also tools created to help you figure out if you are experiencing burnout. The Malach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a phycological assessment tool measuring three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Most other tools are created based off the MBI like the Mayo Clinic’s Well-Being Index .

Common causes of burnout for designers

My hope with this article is to make you question and consider what actually causes you to burnout, so you can solve the right problems and not end up in repeated cycles. I’ve either experienced most of these at some point in my career or witnessed friends and coworkers experience them.

The obvious one: too much work, too little time

The pandemic has only added to this cause. Being overworked is the most common cause for burnout and what drives most of the “how to avoid burnout” articles published.

This is also sometimes referred to as “no work/life balance” where you might find yourself working hours you’d normally spend not doing work, just to get things done. This often comes from unrealistic expectations around how long it takes to complete a task (either from yourself or whoever assigned you the task) or even the need to feel like you have to out-perform or keep up with your peers.

Finding the balance between too much and too little work is a difficult task, and one that is personalized to each designer. This balance also shifts as your life/career shifts and changes.

Boredom / Lack of growth

Ever feel like every day looks and feels the same and you just don’t get excited about the work anymore? Monotonous work and work that doesn’t push you to learn and grow can lead to burnout over time.

Boredom at work is the opposite end of “too much work / too little time” type of burnout. Most often, the boredom can come from too much time, not enough work. This can also look like a lack of opportunity for growth. I’m not talking about a lack of promotions, but more of a lack of new types of work or challenges to solve, tasks that push you just outside your comfort zone and force you to learn and grow.

Ambiguity

Ambiguity or vagueness in your expectations or tasks can lead to burnout real quick. Sometimes this can also be referred to as “churn” or “turmoil” in the workplace. It can feel like you are just stuck treading water in a dark pond, waiting to figure out (or have someone tell you) which shore to swim to.

There can be many causes of ambiguity in work, whether it’s unclear who owns what or unclear expectations of you by someone else. Some professions (like freelance designers) have to be comfortable with some amount of ambiguity. Every designer has their own comfort level with it. Some thrive in the freedom that it can give you to do things how you want, they can tread water for much longer than others.

Designers tend to deal with different levels of ambiguity throughout their career. It’s up to each designer to figure out just the right amount for them at that point in their career.

Lack of Control

On the opposite side of ambiguity and the freedom it can give you is the lack of control. Have you ever worked somewhere where your ideas are constantly shot down? That will wear on a designer over time. Even not getting the space to fully explore ideas, as designers, can be frustrating. Especially if it’s happening over and over again.

Lack of control is often grouped in with the “too much work / too little time” cause of burnout, but I feel like it deserves it’s own special callout. You are the creator and driver of your career, and not getting to control what that looks like will lead to burnout.

Community

This goes both ways, lack-of or the wrong kind. Some designers thrive as a lone wolf and others thrive as part of a close-knit team. Either way, people want to be in settings where they feel like they can be their authentic selves and do their best work.

For those that thrive in the pack, having people around you that support you and the work you are doing is vital. There will always be “difficult people” at work, but being surrounded by only that will likely lead to some of the other causes for burnout discussed .

For the lone wolves, having “too many cooks in the kitchen” providing feedback and direction can lead to frustration and a feeling of “lack of control” .

Just like with the other causes for burnout, this is going to be different preference and levels for each designer.

Figure out the cause of your burnout before trying to solve for it.

Understanding what causes you to feel work burnout (or combinations of causes) can help you recognize patterns and find ways to change them. I’ve also learned that my causes have changed throughout the years. When younger in my career, too much ambiguity would make me loose interest in what I was doing and become apathetic to the work overall. Nowadays, I like a bit of ambiguity as it gives me the freedom to define things how I want (though too much will still send me into a stress spiral).

While not everyone experiences burnout in their career, it is becoming more openly discussed for those that do. Mental health is becoming a less taboo topic and burnout is directly tied to your mental health. The pandemic adds another layer, sometimes compounding the work burnout. This isn’t an exhaustive list and I’d love to hear from you what has caused you burnout in the past or now.

While I don’t really touch on how to solve for burnout, there are many great resources out there that do:

• Learn to deal with the symptoms of burnout: https://uxdesign.cc/your-burnout-first-aid-kit-45a4411730ac
• This great article prompts you to find your crew, your rocket, and your trail of destruction https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-survive-ux-design-and-avoid-burnout-d410a9e14c1a
• Be more intentional with your mental wellness with these 6 tips: https://uxdesign.cc/6-ways-to-practice-wellness-in-todays-tech-industry-b60f5c0bc737