I work a rather demanding job and I’ve constantly been feeling tired and underperformant compared to my colleagues for the past few months. I keep evading responsibilities or putting them off until the last minute.
Many people would kill to be where I am. Yet, I show up every day unmotivated.
There were several stressful years leading up to my current job and I’m wondering if I’m burnt out at this point or if I’m just not pulling my weight.
Edit: Thank you all for your support and guidance. I haven’t given too many details here, but personal life has been moving along smoothly, chores get done, etc. But I definitely need to reconsider where I’m going with my job.
My humble opinion: burnout exists, laziness doesn’t
Laziness is a buzzword concept to describe way too many states of mind, downplaying the causes of lack of motivation.
I think there are some words that, if avoided, allow deeper investigation into important things, and “lazy” is in the top 10 of that list
The big symptom unique to burnout is anger. Ultimately leading to blowing up at coworkers. If you’re not experiencing that it’s probably not burnout.
Depression and ADHD might be good thing to check for.
What has helped me is I put together a daily checklist of every possible thing I have to do for any given day at work and check it off. I get overwhelmed sometimes and when I stick to my checklist I realize it’s really not that much I have to do.
Try doing that and checking it off as you go and you might see, as I did, I was completing tasks that I wasn’t suppose to be doing because I thought I was helping. Cut out stuff like that and stick to the list and you should see an improvement in your mood because you will feel like you’re actually getting stuff done.
Honestly that sounds a lot like me. I had a decent job but was underperforming, burnt out and depressed. I started at some point pulling out my facial hair as stress coping mechanism.
I ended up saving up enough to be without a job for a few months, quit and I’ve not looked back.
My hair is regrowing, I’m feeling less stressed than ever, I’ve got a positive outlook on life again and I’m finally getting back into hobbies.
if you’re able to, talk to a mental health professional, share what you’re feeling and let them help and guide you. If not, talk to your partner (if you have one) and get their opinion on how you’re going.
I also acknowledge that my struggle is different to yours, and the decisions I’ve made are working for me. I think you need to talk to people and get their views on how you’re doing, and figure out what’s best for you
Are you sure you’re underperforming, or is that just an idea you came up with yourself? Have you talked to a boss or manager about their expectations for your role and if you are meeting those expectations?
It may just be a self-sabotaging thought, and getting confirmation that you are meeting expectations could let you relax and work at a preferred or natural pace without stressing about your performance.
I had one of the most desirable jobs in my field. It was one that everyone thought was very cool when I was asked. I got burnt out. I was sad and depressed every day. When I was done with work, I didn’t want to do anything that required energy. I just sat and watched tv or similar. That’s burnt out.
I am extremely lazy at my current job. It’s a pretty easy job, but I resent being assigned more responsibility (happened the other day). The added responsibility isn’t that difficult and only happens one day per week, but I’m still annoyed. After work, I pretty much scroll Lemmy and watch streaming content, but I don’t feel used up; I’m just lazy. That’s lazy.
The difference is when you can’t do more vs you choose to do less. It’s subjective. Good luck!
The word “lazy” exists for exploiters to shame their thralls if they aren’t profiting them enough. Think about anyone who might call you lazy and their relationship to you. They are not your friends; you don’t have to serve them.
If you’re not satisfied with how you’re living your life, that’s meaningful. The protection from loss you have gained through your job doesn’t balance against the stress of what you’re doing. There are no easy answers but something needs to change. I would suggest working on those changes before you get burned all the way out, because at that point you’ll be making changes whether you want to or not.
There is is “being lazy” thats just capitalism way of saying you’re not making your boss or society enough money.
Enjoy your life.
Try to rule out mental health issues first.
You might have autism/ADHD/ADD/depression.Might be depression, at least it was for me
Tricky one to weigh up there. It might not be that you’re lazy, you may well just be burned out, not working effectively (i.e. overworking yourself), or it could even be imposter syndrome. On the other hand, yes you could just be lazy, or you might just really hate your job. Hell, there have been times where I’ve felt unmotivated because our leadership team were just arseholes - sometimes a lack of motivation goes beyond just your own choices.
There just isn’t enough data in a short post.
Take some leave, go get checked out by a doctor, talk to a friend/partner, take a look at job ads to see if anything sounds better than where you are.
Is either diagnosis really helpful in figuring out a solution?
One could be rehabilitation, the other discipline?
It’s burnout it’s always burnout (or ADHD–which just makes you more prone to burnout)
You don’t sound lazy from your description. The people here claiming that there’s no such lazy are fucking crazy though.
Lazy doesn’t feel guilty about being lazy
Sorry, misread your comment; “laziness doesn’t exist” is a decent maxim to go by in the current capitalist paradigm. Any time I’ve “chosen” to be “lazy”, it’s been motivated by a ton of other external factors, and amounts more to self-care. Any time I’ve seen a person or a demographic accused of “laziness”, the accusation fails to consider material conditions. I will acknowledge the possibility of true laziness, but do not feel it is remotely a common occurrence despite the frequency of laziness allegations.
Exactly. Lazy makes up excuses like “there’s no such thing as lazy.”
I don’t think that’s intended as an excuse–it’s reasonable when approached from the same mindset that defines racism as a systemic problem. Accusations of “laziness” are used to further oppression and exploitation of the working class; discarding wholesale the concept of “laziness” as a rhetorical device is a convenient generalization that can refocus the conversation on extant material conditions and the societal pressures around work and productivity.
I understand but I get annoyed with attempts to skirt all personal responsibility. But claims of laziness are absolutely used to exploit working class populations.
I feel–among the working class folks I have known–that actual attempts to skirt all personal responsibility have been far less frequent than accusations of laziness toward folks who are just burned out by life and work. I do believe that laziness is a prevailing occurrence among the wealthy, but I do not see accusations of it thrown their way often. When viewed in this light, fighting the concept/usage of “laziness” inherently protects the working class.
I think anyone from hexbear who says “laziness doesn’t exist” still subscribes to “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”, and statements made should be viewed with that in mind.
Anyway, I bear no ill will, I just wanted to share where the “laziness isn’t a thing” folks were speaking from. Carry on, comrade.
Yeah I understand. I feel like stating “laziness doesnt exist” though doesn’t help any kind of Marxist movement at all.
Idk that I can agree, but I can respect your viewpoint without agreeing with it. Personally, I’m a little too far to the “an” side of ancom to vibe with prevailing thoughts about the lumpenproletariat. Like, folks who want to just exist should be supported in that endeavour to any extent that it’s feasible–and where not feasible, while not actively supported, they shouldn’t be actively opposed or punished. “Lazy”, with its strictly negative connotations, feels kinda punishing.
Though, again, I would support applying it to someone who seeks status and standing without applying effort; I just rarely if ever see it applied in that manner and would lean toward abolishing the term rather than engage in the effort to define it as such–which I suppose is lazy behavior by both definitions.
Take a vacation and see if that improves things. If so, burnout. If not, look for other reasons that you’re lacking motivation.
