Burnout isn't a medical diagnosis. It’s a term which describes a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands. It’s often related to work.

Researchers say there are 3 classic signs that you have - or are in danger of developing - burnout: feelings of exhaustion, mental detachment from one's job and poorer performance at work.

Here are some simple tips to avoid burnout:

Take breaks.

Make sure you’re taking regular breaks away from your desk. You’ll be surprised at how energised and relaxed you’ll feel after taking a short break.

Book-in holidays.

Make sure you take your annual leave – you’ve earned the time off – and you'll be more productive when you return. And in order to completely switch off…

Avoid checking your emails while you’re away.

What’s making you stressed?

Ask yourself, are you working on a stressful project? Or is your workload too high?  Can you talk to your manager about how you might work together to reduce some of the pressure?

Is your job not challenging enough? Are you bored? Can you talk to your manager about new challenges? If not, what about taking up a new hobby so you have things to look forward to, outside of work?

If you're being bullied, discriminated against or made to feel uncomfortable at work, ACAS have advice.

Zoom fatigue?

Constantly communicating through a screen, our brains need to work harder to make up for the lack of missing information, such as body language and facial expressions. Or maybe you’re worrying about being disrupted by family members, background noise or technical glitches – all these factors can contribute to Zoom fatigue.

Try limiting the number of video calls you take each day. Can you communicate via email, messages or the phone instead?

Look after yourself.

Try a relaxing activity before or after work. Explore programmes that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi – or just go for a walk.

Get some exercise. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress. It can also take your mind off work.

Get some sleep. Sleep restores well-being and helps protect your health.