Both temporary and seasonal workers face distinct challenges that can contribute to higher levels of stress and work burnout compared to their permanent counterparts.
The majority of us recognise what stress is, but, for the avoidance of any doubt, burnout is a combination of complete physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion – the point at which someone doesn’t feel they can function any more and/or do their job effectively.
In a general sense, working in temporary roles can be stressful for the following reasons:
- Varying lengths of contracts: which can create anxiety and stress about future income.
- Slow periods: little to no available work, leading to financial uncertainty and boredom.
- Manic, high-pressure periods: with heavy workloads, multiple deadlines to meet, and long hours.
- Lack of benefits: temporary workers often have limited or no access to benefits, outside of the statutory minimum.
- Lots of moving about: the need to constantly search for new opportunities can be stressful and time-consuming.
- Finding it hard to settle in: as a temporary worker you may feel less connected to the company and its goals. Or, as discussed in our recent post, you might find it hard trying to fit into a new company culture.
- Difficulty maintaining a work-life balance: You may find yourself taking on shifts at unusual hours, then having to rest before your next shift, leaving less time to interact with friends and family.
However, working in temporary seasonal roles can be stressful for slightly different reasons.
By seasonal work, we mean work for a defined period of time based on specific needs at that time. The most obvious example is the run-up to Christmas, which, for many industries, can start as early as August.
In the hospitality industry, summer is often peak season, especially in the restaurant and bar trade and especially if there’s a big event on e.g. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
So, these roles can come with their own, unique, stress:
- Uncertain income: seasonal temp work often involves periods of high income followed by periods of unemployment, or fewer opportunities, making financial planning difficult.
- The non-stop nature: if you’re working in a busy retail role around Christmas time, the customer enquiries and need to keep replenishing stock can be constant, even overwhelming at times. The same is true if you’re working at a busy banqueting suite with party after party… or a warehouse where the flow of orders is seemingly never-ending.
- Physical demands: constantly carrying heavy trays laden with food can be hard work, as can constantly shifting goods in a warehouse, as a picker packer.
- Tricky targets: your line manager or supervisor, or even those who sit above them, may have set hard targets, in terms of levels of productivity, which may add to the stress of seasonal temp work as you strive to achieve them.
- Being up to standard: temp workers may well feel the need to operate at the same level, with the same degree of product/service knowledge, as long-term, full-time employees, and may feel pressure when faced with constant customer questions that they can’t always answer.
- Overtime: as companies across various sectors – particularly if they’re consumer-facing – can often struggle to cope with the sheer demand during peak seasons, you may well be asked to work overtime. You may feel that you can’t say no to these requests – both in terms of the extra wages and the client asking you to come back. But you must ensure you get adequate rest time between shifts – time to recover – otherwise you’ll be exhausted.
This is not an exhaustive list, but the things which have been mentioned above can lead to workplace stress as a temporary and/or seasonal worker. And if not addressed, they can lead to a work burnout.
However, think how many people, right across the country, quite happily work temporary and/or seasonal jobs, with no problems whatsoever.
The trick is to get in there early, spot any signs of a burnout at work, consider how to avoid a burnout at work, or – should it happen – how to deal with a burnout at work.
We’re now going to cover all of that, below – so read on!
Recognising signs of a burnout at work
Being aware of a potential burnout
If you know you’re under a lot of pressure in your temp or seasonal job, and can feel the stress it’s putting you under, then you need to keep an eye out for signs of a burnout at work.
If you’re constantly tired, struggling to concentrate, struggling to sleep, and find yourself irritated by what you would usually find a minor annoyance, then it might be time to look after ‘number one’.
Spotting the signs – physical, emotional, and behavioural
It’s worth paying attention to what your body and mind are telling you.
We’ve grouped the signs and symptoms of a potential burnout below.
Physical signs
- Frequent headaches or a constant headache
- Fatigue, well beyond normal ‘tiredness
- Digestive issues, including heartburn and frequent trips to the toilet
- Changes in your sleeping pattern – perhaps bouts of insomnia
- A change in diet: suddenly overeating or finding you have no appetite at all
- Muscle tension/pain, including persistent aches in your back, neck, and shoulders
- Chest pains or heart palpitations
- Panic attacks, over which you feel you have no control
Emotional signs
- Emotional exhaustion – simply feeling drained or mentally ‘spent’
- Loss of motivation – a complete lack of interest in anything
- Inability to unwind or relax
- Ongoing sadness, tipping into depression – a feeling of hopelessness
- Anxiety – constant feelings of worry
- Imposter syndrome – where you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing
- Inability to concentrate properly, or focus on tasks.
Behavioural signs
- Poor performance – struggling to get your job done and meet deadlines
- Self-isolating – pulling back from interactions with colleagues, family, and friends
- Easily irritated – getting frustrated or angered by the smallest things
- Sudden emotional outbursts – crying or shouting for no particular reason
- Defensiveness – reacting strongly to the slightest criticism
- Procrastination – constantly putting off completing tasks
- Taking more sick days than usual, as you just ‘don’t feel up to the job
Seeking professional help
If only a couple of the descriptions above apply to your physical or mental wellbeing, or your general behaviour, then it might be worth considering how to deal with a work burnout yourself.
However, if you find yourself nodding along and ‘ticking the boxes’ in relation to a number of those descriptions, then it might be time to seek a little medical help.
Your first port of call should always be to visit your GP. They would’ve come across this situation many times in the past, and can also rule out anything else which may be underlying:
If they then feel it’s necessary, they’ll refer you to a mental health professional who can properly assess you.
If referred, it’s likely that you’ll see a psychiatrist, a psychologist/therapist, or both.
If your burnout is severe, it’s possible that a psychiatrist will recommend prescription drugs to help you, alongside therapy, to help provide you with coping strategies
There are also a vast number of free online resources for mental health issues, and a number of apps, such as Calm and Headspace.
How to deal with burnout at work
Different industries come with different pressures. For example, the pressures faced in a retail environment are likely to be different to those faced in an office environment.
Let’s take two particular industries and focus on the challenges they present to temp and/or seasonal workers.
Using the hospitality industry as one example, you could be faced with unpredictable workloads, with customers coming and going in waves, leading to big peaks and troughs in demand. If the setting is a particular restaurant, it might be quiet at 6pm, then there might be a mad rush at 8pm.
If it’s a banqueting suite/venue, you may be incredibly busy between 7 – 9pm, then demand might die down, then suddenly peak again at 10pm when guests want more drinks. It might also be quite emotionally draining dealing with dozens of guests’ enquiries and demands, and it may feel like you haven’t dealt with one issue before the next two or three come up.
Often, hospitality work can involve irregular shift patterns (perhaps working on events that run until 2 am each night, then switching back to afternoons), which can mess with your sleep pattern, making you tired and stressed.
The industrial sector presents its own set of challenges to temp and/or seasonal workers.
You may have a number of physical demands placed on you, with lots of heavy lifting, repetitive tasks, and exposure to hazardous environments with lots of moving machinery.
Because demand for products is almost constant, in this digital, ecommerce driven world, and warehouse environments form a vital part of the supply chain, working hours can be erratic and unsociable, with long hours, weekend work, and working on public holidays all being commonplace.
Industrial settings can also be noisy, involve working in extreme temperatures, and can sometimes involve working with harmful substances.
So, looking at these two industries, at a glance, you can see how stress could build up and, in the long term, lead to a work burnout.
But there are plenty of ways to avoid a burnout at work in these environments.
The importance of a good work-life balance: some top tips
Because of fluctuating workloads, unpredictable schedules, and physically and mentally tiring aspects of temp and/or seasonal work, it’s important to try and keep a healthy work-life balance.
There’s nothing wrong with working hard, but outside of your job, you need to have all the things in your life that keep you grounded.
So, here are some top tips for maintaining a healthy work-life balance:
1. Stay organised and manage your time effectively
Staying organised and managing your time effectively is certainly something to consider in terms of how to avoid a burnout at work.
For starters, being organised helps to streamline tasks, or even reduce the number of tasks you have to do, and helps to cut out avoidable errors. It’ll also help you to prioritise those tasks, to know what to get to first, and how to allocate your time effectively.
And organisation extends to the physical space around you too. Keeping your workspace free of clutter and having a clear task or to-do list, with actionable items, will help you to stay on top of things.
Effective time management also includes allowing for short breaks during shifts. These are important, as they allow you to grab a drink or snack, boost your energy levels, and refocus.
Industry focus: how waiting staff can benefit from planning ahead
In terms of the benefits of staying organised, planning ahead, and prioritising tasks, a good role to look at, as an example, is that of waiting staff.
The world of hospitality, whether front of house or back of house, moves at a fast pace, especially during peak periods. By planning ahead, waiting staff can better cope with these demands; working speedily and efficiently, forming a good relationship with back-of-house colleagues, ensuring guests have a fantastic dining experience, and reducing their own stress levels.
Some top tips for waiting staff, which would certainly help them to avoid a work burnout, would be:
- Anticipate the needs of guests: keep an eye on diners to stay one step ahead of the game, and you’ll naturally spot when they need your attention.
- Focus on time management: allocate specific timeframes for specific tasks, such as taking orders, serving food, clearing tables.
- Communicate clearly: strong, effective communication with colleagues, especially the kitchen staff, helps to avoid any delays or misunderstandings
- Be flexible: be prepared to adapt to unexpected situations, such as large groups suddenly arriving or special requests that you perhaps hadn’t considered
- Set realistic goals: set yourself clear and achievable targets for each shift, such as a specific number of tables turned over, average order value, or guest satisfaction ratings
- Delegate as and when you can: is it possible to delegate certain tasks to support staff, such as clearing tables or refilling water glasses – allowing you to see to other priorities.
2. Take breaks and prioritise self-care
If you’re showing signs of a burnout at work, you might want to consider your self-care routine, including things as simple as taking rest breaks… which are there for a reason.
This is especially important for physically demanding roles such as commis chefs and bartenders, who are constantly ‘on the go’.
Regular breaks in these roles can help in several ways.
They can:
- Reduce the chances of exhaustion
- Give workers time to decompress, reduce stress levels, and refocus
- Improve concentration and decrease the chances of mistakes occurring
- Boost team morale overall, creating a more positive working environment
- Help to prevent injuries and accidents from occurring
Self-care is largely the things you do outside of work, which – if done regularly – should certainly go some way in helping you avoid a burnout.
It can be things as simple as going for a walk and taking in some fresh air, or putting aside time for much-loved hobbies.
Here are a few self-care tips to try out and see if they reduce your overall stress levels:
- Exercise regularly: at least 30 minutes per day. Walking, running, swimming, going to the gym, yoga – whatever you find that you enjoy.
- Eat well: fill your body with good stuff – whole food, grains, fruits, vegetables, and drink plenty of water on a daily basis.
- Get plenty of sleep: aim for 7 – 9 hours of good sleep every single night. Create a relaxing bedtime routine and avoid using bright screens before you go to bed.
- Practice mindfulness: there are plenty of online resources, including specific mindfulness videos, if you search for them.
- Be sociable: make sure you spend quality time with close friends and family, taking the chance to relax, unwind, and talk things through.
- Pursue hobbies: it doesn’t matter if it’s fishing, painting, board games, puzzles, pottery, knitting – whatever floats your boat. Make time for leisure activities that you enjoy.
3. Set boundaries
One way to deal with things if you think you’re showing signs of a burnout at work is to learn the art of saying ‘no’ – setting clear boundaries.
Setting firm boundaries can:
- Prevent you from overcommitting to tasks, leaving you stretched
- Allow you to concentrate on the core function of your job
- Improve the quality of your work, as you focus on what you need to, rather than all things
- Help people to respect your time more
- Allow you to be more organised, rather than spinning multiple plates
- Boost your confidence and self-esteem, by showing you that you can be assertive when necessary.
Saying ‘no’ doesn’t have to be perceived as a negative thing, as long as you:
- Are clear and direct: politely yet firmly stating that you cannot take on extra tasks right now
- Offer an explanation: stating that you’re already committed to certain projects at the moment
- Offer an alternative: suggesting other ways in which the work/task could be completed.
Setting clear boundaries is not a bad thing – quite the opposite. It’ll allow you to better protect your physical and mental health, focus on the most important tasks, and produce your best work when you’re actually in a position to say ‘yes’ to new projects.
4. Connect with others
Lean on your friends and trusted colleagues
To avoid a possible burnout at work, it pays dividends to build relationships with colleagues and seek out support from friends and family outside of your job.
It’s likely you’ll have some colleagues who you’ve come to know and trust. Speak to them – during the day, during breaks, at the end of work – and let them know your concerns. They may just have some solutions for you.
Outside of work, use your support networks. Speak to immediate family members if you’re feeling stressed, and speak to close friends. Undoubtedly, they’ve known you for years, know the way your mind works, so they may well be able to help you.
As the old adage goes: a problem shared is a problem halved.
Networking and support groups
Beyond your friends and colleagues, it might help to build a wider pool of people who can support you. Industry networking and support groups can offer a chance to build connections and speak to others, if you have concerns.
These can come in the form of:
- Industry associations: most industries have industry bodies who put on regular networking events where like-minded people can meet.
- Online communities: there’ll most likely be digital platforms for people who do your role, allowing you to connect with them, share opinions and information, and seek advice.
- Support groups: these can be specific to your industry, or they can be more broadly focused on stress management and mental wellbeing in general.
- Business networking groups: these are groups that are often held in the mornings, where people from all different industries meet and refer business to one another – but they can also be great for building your support network.
- Mentorship programmes: see if you can seek out a mentorship programme from within your own company, or from within your industry, to get some proper guidance and support.
5. Seek professional help when needed
We won’t harp on about this too much, as we’ve already discussed it earlier on in this post, but if you’re suffering from severe stress and showing signs of a burnout at work, seek professional help as soon as you can.
Therapy can cost a bit of money if you go privately, but there are other options. There are free online therapy resources, or low-cost options, such as Better Help.
You can also seek free help from charities such Mind and Sane.
Your GP may also recommend local support groups, and there’s a possibility – depending on how severe your stress levels are – that they may prescribe medication.
But there is help out there, whichever route you take.
The final word on managing stress and burnout in seasonal jobs…
Temporary and seasonal work is beneficial to many workers, right across the country, but you should always be mindful of taking on too much to avoid the potential of a burnout at work.
By knowing the signs to look out for, minimising stress, maintaining good work-life balance, prioritising self-care, and setting clear boundaries, you can avoid a work burnout and earn an income without your job becoming the be-all and end-all.
