高壓工作令人疲倦麻木？如何應對職場情緒耗竭

從學生時代開始，我們努力的尋找目標，想找到喜歡做的事、找一份可以支持生計同時也發揮所長的工作。然而等進了職場，日復一日的忙碌，加上和想像中差那麼一點的工作、遇見不太合得來的主管同事、處理不完的突發狀況和麻煩事，日積月累下令人疲憊不堪。

而職業倦怠分成不同程度的階段：通常始於自我異化（Alienation），你可能會感覺自己在工作中漸漸失去真實的自我，進行著不合理的情緒勞動。隨著時間推移，你進入工作疲倦階段（Job Burn Out），每天早晨都要強迫自己起床上班，周末還沒結束就開始焦慮下周的工作。最終，你可能陷入全面的情緒耗竭（Emotional Exhaustion），對工作和生活中的一切都失去興趣和熱情。這種無力感讓你感到被困住，彷彿無計可施。長期處於這種狀態不僅影響工作表現，還可能危及個人生活品質和身心健康。

什麼是情緒耗竭？

想像一下，你的情緒就像一個小水池。每天，你都需要從這個池子裡舀水來應對工作中的各種挑戰：突如其來的緊急任務、與同事的摩擦、上司的高要求......但是，如果你一直在舀水，卻沒有時間和機會讓水池重新注滿，會發生什麼呢？沒錯，水池終將乾涸。這就是情緒耗竭的真實寫照。

情緒耗竭是一種特殊的疲勞狀態，它不僅僅是身體上的疲憊，更是心理和情感上的枯竭。當我們長期處於高壓力環境中，沒有足夠的時間和空間來恢復和充電，就很容易陷入這種狀態。

情緒耗竭的表現

如果你發現自己有以下症狀，那麼你可能正在經歷情緒耗竭：

1. 麻木感： 對工作失去熱情，感覺自己只是在機械地完成任務。
2. 對正面刺激無感： 即使收到表揚或獎勵，也提不起興趣。
3. 易怒： 在工作之外變得特別敏感，容易因小事而生氣。
4. 去人格化： 開始將他人，甚至自己，當作完成任務的工具，失去了對人性的關懷。

一位職場人士曾這樣描述自己的經歷："以前我對孩子很有耐心，但在經歷前陣子公司的繁忙期，每天都擔著不合理的工作量。現在孩子只要發出一點噪音，我就覺得很煩躁。有一次，孩子只是叫了我一聲，我就差點暴跳如雷。"這種情況不僅影響工作效率，更會破壞個人生活品質。

為什麼會出現情緒耗竭？

要理解情緒耗竭，我們首先要明白一個重要概念：情緒是有限資源。從演化的角度來看，情緒幫助我們應對壓力，提高生存機會。在現代職場中，我們同樣需要調動情緒來應對各種挑戰。

然而，當工作壓力持續超出我們的承受能力時，就會導致情緒資源的過度消耗。比如，當你面對永遠做不完的工作，或者長期與"難相處"的同事共事時，你的情緒就像是一個不斷被舀水卻得不到補充的小水池，最終難免會乾涸。

如何應對情緒耗竭？

面對情緒耗竭，我們並非無計可施。以下是一些實用的應對策略：

1. 創造心理恢復區： 每天抽出15-30分鐘，找一個屬於你、安靜舒適的地方放鬆身心。你可以閱讀、聽音樂或進行冥想。在這個地方你的時間和身體都是你自己的，由你自己做主。這個小小的儀式能幫助你的情緒資源得到恢復。
2. 建立人際支持系統： 尋找一些能夠交心的朋友或同事，分享你的感受和困擾。這不僅能獲得情感支持，還能幫助你避免"去人格化"的傾向。擁有一個在挫折時能安心投靠的安全網是相當重要的。
3. 區分可控與不可控： 學會分辨哪些事情是你能控制的，哪些不是。將注意力集中在你能影響的事情上，專心把能做的事做好就好，這樣能增加工作的掌控感，減少無謂的情緒消耗。
4. 重新定義工作意義： 嘗試將當前的工作納入你的長期職業規劃中，避免抱持著純粹養家糊口的心態，因為那樣會容易把自己和職場套入被剝削者和剝削者的角色。當你能看到工作與個人發展的聯繫時，即使面對壓力，也能找到前進的動力。
5. 學會"情緒預算"： 就像管理財務一樣管理你的情緒資源。每天給自己設定一個"情緒預算"，合理分配情緒資源，避免"透支"。比方說，如果知道下午要開一場又長又累的會議，晚上就避免再去約應酬聚會，可以改成去運動或是回家靜一靜，不過分消耗自己的心理能量。

應對情緒耗竭不是一蹴而就的事情。它需要我們持續關注自己的心理狀態，並採取積極的行動。如果發現自己難以獨自應對，不要猶豫尋求專業的心理諮詢幫助。

職場如戰場，但我們不應該成為這場戰役中的犧牲品。通過了解情緒耗竭，學會自我關懷和調節，我們就能在職場中保持旺盛的生命力，實現真正的職業成長和個人發展。

職場壓力自我測試表

以下十個問題可以作為簡單的自我檢測，評量目前的職場壓力。
每題有四個選項：Ａ總是（4分）、Ｂ常常（3分）、Ｃ偶爾（2分）、Ｄ從不（1分）

1. 每天一睜開眼睛，我就開始為月底的 KPI 擔心。
2. 一想到還有這麼多工作沒有完成，我就無法安然入睡。
3. 眼前的事已經讓我疲於應付，根本沒精力去規劃更遠的未來。
4. 我覺得自己已經被逼到極限，沒有精力去應付額外的工作。
5. 有時候我覺得自己就像跟著一個大機器旋轉的螺絲釘，根本沒有辦法控制自己的生活。
6. 總是忍不住對很多事流露出敵意，就好像心中有很多無名的怒火。
7. 我會常常想要離職，又會害怕離開以後前途迷茫。
8. 我會懷疑自己是不是沒辦法勝任這份工作，並且總是擔心別人發現這一點。
9. 在做每個決定前後，我都會變得猶豫不決，總懷疑自己做了錯誤選擇。
10. 當我想要跟人傾訴，卻總是發現沒人可說。

【計算分數】

30-40分：壓力非常大，是時候正視問題，做出調整了。
20-30分：壓力較大，可以多了解一些紓壓方式，嘗試改變情況。
10-20分：壓力一般，只要作出微調，應該就能感覺更好。
0-10分：壓力較小，請繼續保持。

Feeling Numb from High-Pressure Work? How to Cope with Workplace Emotional Exhaustion

From our student days, we strive to find our purpose, seeking work that we love and that supports our livelihood while allowing us to utilize our strengths. However, once we enter the workforce, the daily grind, coupled with work that slightly differs from our expectations, encounters with challenging supervisors and colleagues, and endless urgent matters and problems, can accumulate into overwhelming fatigue.

Job burnout progresses through different stages: It usually begins with alienation, where you might feel like you're gradually losing your authentic self at work, engaging in unreasonable emotional labor. As time passes, you enter the job burnout stage, forcing yourself out of bed every morning, anxious about the upcoming week even before the weekend ends. Finally, you might fall into full-blown emotional exhaustion, losing interest and passion for everything in your work and personal life. This sense of powerlessness makes you feel trapped, as if there's no way out. Prolonged exposure to this state not only affects job performance but can also jeopardize your quality of life and mental health.

What is Emotional Exhaustion?

Imagine your emotions as a small pool of water. Every day, you need to scoop water from this pool to deal with various challenges at work: sudden urgent tasks, friction with colleagues, high demands from superiors... But what happens if you keep scooping water without giving the pool time and opportunity to refill? That's right, the pool will eventually run dry. This is a true reflection of emotional exhaustion.

Emotional exhaustion is a special state of fatigue that goes beyond physical tiredness; it's a psychological and emotional depletion. When we're in a high-stress environment for an extended period without sufficient time and space to recover and recharge, we easily fall into this state.

Signs of Emotional Exhaustion

If you find yourself experiencing the following symptoms, you might be going through emotional exhaustion:

1. Numbness: Loss of enthusiasm for work, feeling like you're just mechanically completing tasks.
2. Insensitivity to Positive Stimuli: Unable to feel excited even when receiving praise or rewards.
3. Irritability: Becoming particularly sensitive outside of work, easily angered by small things.
4. Depersonalization: Starting to treat others, or even yourself, as tools for completing tasks, losing concern for humanity.

A professional once described their experience: "I used to be very patient with my children, but after going through a busy period at the company where I was carrying an unreasonable workload every day, now I get irritated even by the slightest noise they make. Once, I nearly flew into a rage just because my child called my name." Such situations not only affect work efficiency but also damage the quality of personal life.

Why Does Emotional Exhaustion Occur?

To understand emotional exhaustion, we must first grasp an important concept: emotions are a limited resource. From an evolutionary perspective, emotions help us cope with stress and increase our chances of survival. In the modern workplace, we similarly need to mobilize our emotions to deal with various challenges.

However, when work pressure consistently exceeds our capacity, it leads to excessive consumption of emotional resources. For instance, when you face never-ending work or long-term collaboration with "difficult" colleagues, your emotions become like a small pool of water that's constantly being scooped from without replenishment, inevitably running dry.

How to Cope with Emotional Exhaustion?

Facing emotional exhaustion, we are not helpless. Here are some practical coping strategies:

1. Create a Psychological Recovery Zone: Set aside 15-30 minutes daily to find a quiet, comfortable place that belongs to you to relax your mind and body. You can read, listen to music, or meditate. In this place, your time and body are your own, under your control. This small ritual can help replenish your emotional resources.
2. Build an Interpersonal Support System: Find friends or colleagues you can confide in and share your feelings and troubles. This not only provides emotional support but also helps you avoid the tendency towards "depersonalization". Having a safety net you can rely on in times of frustration is crucial.
3. Distinguish Between Controllable and Uncontrollable Factors: Learn to differentiate between things you can control and those you can't. Focus your attention on what you can influence, concentrating on doing what you can do well. This can increase your sense of control over work and reduce unnecessary emotional drain.
4. Redefine the Meaning of Work: Try to incorporate your current job into your long-term career plan, avoiding a mindset of merely working to make ends meet, as this can easily cast you and your workplace into roles of the exploited and the exploiter. When you can see the connection between your work and personal development, you can find the motivation to move forward even in the face of stress.
5. Learn "Emotional Budgeting": Manage your emotional resources like you would manage finances. Set an "emotional budget" for yourself each day, reasonably allocating emotional resources to avoid "overspending". For example, if you know you have a long and tiring meeting in the afternoon, avoid scheduling social gatherings in the evening. Instead, you could exercise or spend some quiet time at home, not overly consuming your psychological energy.

Dealing with emotional exhaustion is not an overnight process. It requires us to continuously monitor our psychological state and take proactive actions. If you find it difficult to cope on your own, don't hesitate to seek professional psychological counseling.

The workplace may be like a battlefield, but we shouldn't become casualties in this war. By understanding emotional exhaustion and learning self-care and adjustment, we can maintain vitality in the workplace and achieve true professional growth and personal development.

Workplace Stress Self-Assessment

The following ten questions can serve as a simple self-assessment to evaluate your current workplace stress levels.
Each question has four options: A. Always (4 points), B. Often (3 points), C. Occasionally (2 points), D. Never (1 point)

1. As soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I start worrying about the end-of-month KPI.
2. Thinking about all the unfinished work prevents me from sleeping peacefully.
3. I'm so overwhelmed by current tasks that I have no energy to plan for the future.
4. I feel I've been pushed to my limits and have no energy to handle additional work.
5. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a cog in a big machine, with no control over my own life.
6. I often can't help but show hostility towards many things, as if there's a lot of unnamed anger inside me.
7. I frequently think about quitting my job, but I'm afraid of an uncertain future after leaving.
8. I doubt whether I'm capable of handling this job and constantly worry that others will discover this.
9. I become indecisive before and after making every decision, always doubting if I've made the wrong choice.
10. When I want to confide in someone, I often find there's no one I can talk to.

30-40 points: Stress levels are very high. It's time to face the problem and make adjustments.
20-30 points: Stress levels are high. You might want to learn more about stress relief methods and try to change the situation.
10-20 points: Stress levels are moderate. Some minor adjustments should help you feel better.
0-10 points: Stress levels are low. Keep up the good work.