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Author: Jena Chai
Education is a vital part of our lives. We need it to gain knowledge, earn money and to reach our potential. Those who are fortunate enough to receive a good education usually make the most of it and study hard enough to get into an advanced field. However, achieving the perfect work-life balance is hard, especially in a society fueled by money. A three-way equilibrium is not easy; academic performance can determine one’s career pathways, a job allows one to afford the necessities in life and having a social life is important to maintain one's mental health. Trying to achieve this equilibrium usually results in burnout, which greatly affects mental health, productivity and quality of work.
Burnout is a common obstacle faced by many students, which can affect their academic performance, motivation and wellbeing. Burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, which can prevent you from completing activities that you usually complete or enjoy. Sometimes, it can result in a sense of hopelessness or carelessness regarding life.
Burnout can affect people of all ages, including children. To illustrate how burnout can affect students, I interviewed my friend Eon who is currently in 9th
grade, who gladly offered a student’s perspective on the topic.
Q: Roughly how often do you experience burnout?
A: It varies. Physical schooling usually burns me out every 2 weeks on average, but online classes are a bit better and I burn out about every 4 or so weeks.
Q: Do you think burnout affects your academic performance? If so, how?
A: I think that burnout has a great negative effect on my academic performance; I lose focus and it makes it harder for me to explain things – less mental coherency, I guess.
Q: How do you think the education system could cater for students with burnout?
A: I believe educational institutions could provide a longer time for students to complete their tasks. On the other hand, this may also build resentment as students may feel forced to work while burnt-out.
Q: Do you think there is enough awareness about burnout, or do you think there is a certain stigma around it?
A: The only experience I’ve had with this is with my parents, who basically refuse to admit that it exists. If I’m being honest, whenever people should bring it up (like when speaking about mental health) they tend to avoid it. People don’t really discuss how students are affected by burnout and how the workload can affect your mental state and work ethic. Even when they do try to acknowledge that, most people sort of blame the effects of burnout on students; that our attitude towards the work is preventing us from completing it, not how the workload might slow us down and burn us out.
Burnout affects so many youths, especially those facing important assessments while working and trying to maintain a healthy social life. This is an issue which has been in our collective subconsciousness for a time, yet is never properly discussed, as illustrated by our interviewee. We need to properly acknowledge that not everyone can always achieve peak performance, and that humans need breaks to recharge. We need to stop blaming lack of productivity on laziness and incorrect attitude, and stop and consider the situation. How heavy is the workload? What is the student/employee coping with? Is dismissal and negative reinforcement really the best way to vanquish unproductivity? Maybe we all just need some time to recharge and recover. Always remember to take some time off for yourself and take your mind off work or school so you can be more productive and increase wellbeing. Humans aren’t work machines – we are people who need to unwind and enjoy our lives.