Workplace Burnout Comes Down To Employees Being Too ‘Nice'

Workplace Burnout Comes Down To Employees Being Too ‘Nice’

- Marcia Sirota, MD.

Are You Feeling the Workplace Burnout?

People talk a lot about workplace burnout, but they don’t always understand what it is, or how to prevent it. In my work as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, I’ve seen many cases of workplace burnout. And in my experience, it often comes from the employee being too “nice.”

What does it look like when you’re too nice at work? It’s when you do more than your fair share. You arrive early, stay late, take on extra tasks, and generally do more than what is in your job description.

If you’re too nice, it’s usually because of trying to win the boss’s approval, and perhaps your colleagues, too. You’re trying to find validation by showing the people you work with how helpful and accommodating you can be.

Being too nice at work is meant to win you approval and praise, but instead, you end up feeling exploited. If you’re too nice at work, you’re the person who everyone turns to when they’re feeling overloaded. When people are out sick or on vacation, they know that you’re the one who’ll always pick up the slack.

Too ‘Nice?’ Expect More Than Your Fair Share