Sammy was a highly motivated, positive and considerate officer, always ready to embrace new challenges and willing to help her colleagues with their work. Following the unexpected departure of several colleagues, Sammy was faced with increasing workload due to manpower shortage. With a good performance, Sammy was highly regarded by her supervisor and was being tasked with different responsibilities to test her abilities for a vacancy at the higher rank. Sammy appreciated the goodwill of her supervisor and readily took up the challenges.

It turned out that another colleague instead of Sammy had been promoted as Sammy’s performance did not fully meet the requirements. Sammy began to doubt her capabilities while complaining about her deteriorating physical health. She also found herself getting emotional, very often with fits of temper. Even after returning home from work, Sammy could hardly relax but kept thinking about her work. She could not even go to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she did not feel like going to work. She was so demotivated that she had even thought of calling in sick. She used to go hiking during leisure time but now she preferred staying at home to get some rest. However, no matter how much rest she had taken during weekends, the feelings of tiredness, both physically and mentally, still lingered. Sammy realised that she was very much under stress and decided to seek help from counselling services. The counsellor said to Sammy, “You are suffering from burnout.” What could Sammy do to fix the problem and be happy again?

Set achievable goals and work within your abilities Doing much does not mean doing well. Work within your abilities. Biting off more than you can chew does not do any good. If the workload is too much for you to handle, talk to your boss for advice. It is a good practice to draw up a detailed work plan, listing all the tasks to be done. Set achievable goals to finish the tasks one by one and step by step. In doing so, you can gradually build up satisfaction, which will help you concentrate and enhance work efficiency.

Relax for absolute peace of mind Find some time to relax your mind and make it an everyday routine. Relax by doing stretching exercises or chatting with others for quality rest and an absolute peace of mind. Simple yoga before bedtime is good for relaxing the body and helps you fall asleep. Studies have shown that the environment is crucial to the quality of rest. When you are not at work, go out for a change in environment, for example, to take a stroll in a park nearby during lunch time or visit the countryside during leisure time for a “quick recharge”.

Confront stress and seek help When you are under stress, confront it and find out the source or the root of the problem. Try to acquire and practise the skills of stress management for a better work-life balance. Find someone you trust to confide in. If the situation does not improve, seek help from professional counselling service as early as possible.