Workplaces these days load up the employees with a lot of work and the mismanagement of chores often leads to stress. Stress is the body’s natural response to any challenge that comes along its way. But burnout is something more severe and can affect an individual’s overall health completely.

To know the difference between these two is crucial for maintaining a balanced and stress-free environment at the workplace, so we speak with two experts.

"Stress is a body’s natural response to any situation, which resolves on its own once the situation gets managed. It definitely affects both mental and physical health, leading to anxiety, depression, headache, excessive fatigue etc. But when the stress is long-term and not treated, it leads to a chronic condition known as burnout. The negative part is that it even isn’t resolved by a break too, deeply impacting the mental health," Aamish Dhingra, ICF- PCC CERTIFIED LIFE COACH, and Co- Founder of Cocoweave Coaching International, Delhi, says.

Addressing Stress at Work

If you are stressed, he says, engage in regular activity in any form such as walking, jogging etc. for a minimum of 30 minutes a day. "Besides this, mindfulness meditation is also quite helpful in stress relieving. It is one of the greatest ways to alleviate stress. Next is identification of the stressors such as immediate deadlines, poor time management etc. and talking to the company’s manager regarding the same. Workplace stress can also be reduced by adequately managing the time and dividing long chores into smaller tasks," Dhingra says.

Addressing Burnout at Work

Burnout is something more critical and demands the right approach if you notice any of the warning signs such as resentment, demotivation etc. "If needed, taking a break and planning a vacation can be quite helpful. If at any time you feel that you are suffering from burnout, try delegating your tasks to other employees and seek professional assistance if needed. Always remember to keep yourself above anything in any situation that surpasses," Dhingra says, adding that there is also an amazing role of life coach if you are tackling burnout as they enable you to achieve balance between work life and personal life and help in efficient management of tasks.

According to Dr Ashish Bansal, MD, Consultant Psychiatrist and co-founder of House of Aesthetics in New Delhi, stress and burnout are entirely different experiences and an individual needs different approaches to deal with them.

Stress at Workplace

Any difficult situation faced at the workplace leads to a temporary change in emotions known as stress. It's usually reflected in certain signs such as feeling overwhelmed and anxious before the approaching deadline, physical symptoms like tachycardia, headache, feeling lethargic etc. Stress is of two types—eustress and distress, Dr. Bansal tells us.

"Eustress is good in nature and raises work productivity and improves focus. But when stress takes a negative turn and leads to overwhelming emotions followed with anxiety, it is called distress. Prolonged distress gives the outcome of burnout. But stress at the workplace is quite easily manageable with the right strategies. The most important one is dividing your task into smaller chores and trying to finish them one by one. Know your limits and never overburden yourself with work beyond your limit and practice the art of saying ‘no’ rightfully. Take breaks in between work hours to enhance productivity at work," he explains.

Burnout at Workplace

Prolonged stress can lead to physical, mental as well as emotional exhaustion and this is termed as burnout. I"f you feel detached at the workplace and have no motivation in completing your chores, it is characterized as burnout and can even lead to insomnia. If you experience such symptoms, take a day or a few days off and manage your emotional condition. Also in the state of inability to perform tasks alone, go for task delegation and reduce your individual workload. It is also not at all phobic to seek professional help from a therapist if needed," he concludes.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Mental Health, Health and around the world.