Overwork is also described as work-related stress or long working hours. Most working definitions anchor on logging hours beyond 40 per week for extended periods of time. The WHO and International Labor Organization define this as persistent work over 55 hours (for extended periods of time).

Because overwork tends to be quantifiable (e.g., counting hours) it is easier to track and address relative to burnout and boreout. This does not make addressing it “easy”, and this is a common issue people struggle with. Our nature, personality, and values will have a strong influence over these and are often not obvious and this is where a Coretalent analysis can help.

In addition. how we quantify work is deeply embedded in social norms. For instance, in many professional fields, unless you can assign a billable hour you are not working. In turn, for these professionals, this becomes the standard. However, most updated definitions of work (and overwork) include both the physical and mental load of work. That is, if you are “thinking about work” or work follows you home and you are blending boundaries.

I have several exercises that work very effectively with a Coretalents analysis that help more clearly identify your work and work tendencies. We start by identifying porous areas in your life, personality, and natural tendencies that may make you more susceptible to overwork. Then, we develop a personalized strategy to support you making and enforcing boundaries at work (and home).

Three critical points:

• Burnout and Overwork are not the same.

• Often, develops gradually.

• Is physical and emotional exhaustion.

While overwork is a serious contributor to burnout, there are other pathways to burnout that are much more complex and difficult to identify. Many people suffer burnout before realizing what is happening. So, unlike overwork that is more quantifiable, burnout is insidious in that it accumulates over time and the warning signs tend to be personal/individual and onset sudden.

Burnout also takes significantly longer to recover from relative to overwork. This tends to vary from person to person. A mild burnout with exceptional intervention and support can take several months for recovery. However, identifying, getting necessary help, and finding effective interventions draws out the recovery process. For many, burnout recovery can last up to a year or more.

In many systems around the world, employees are not offered the opportunity to fully recover before they are called back to work. In part, this could be because the State or employers do not recognize burnout (or its severity and physical/mental/emotional outcomes).

Crafting an individualized recovery plan that is effective requires a deep understanding of a person’s nature and motivations. Coretalents can help support‍ prevention and recovery with time and coaching. However, I am not a therapist and do not provide therapy. As with any complex recovery, there will be other necessary participants such as therapists and doctors.

Boreout ultimately manifests physically and mentally in ways that are extremely similar to burnout. It is also similar in that it creeps into different aspects of day-to-day work and careers and this accrual makes it difficult to identify and prevent. It is also distinct from typical boredom at work, which is thought to be periodic or when individuals lack resources/training. The bottom line is that people can become so understimulated by their work that they face a crisis of meaning at work and a crisis of growth at work.

The coretalents point to what gives you energy. Instead of framing boreout and burnout around arousal and stress, it focuses on the individual and describes these in terms of being required to engage in energy-take activities or being denied the opportunity to engage in energy-giving activities. This is intuitive and can provide profound shifts in how we think about and approach work.