Workplace
Workplace Burnout Exists Everywhere, Not Just in Teaching
I’m Thankful for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring, and Summer Breaks; federal and state Holidays are Awesome Too
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When I think about burnout, I think about teacher burnout. I didn’t realize other areas in the job market are feeling burnout also.
I recently spoke to my sister-in-law, a medical doctor and primary care physician in another state. She was telling me about her desire to retire early, also. Her kids and my nephews are now in college, and she looks forward to retiring early.
We had a candid conversation about workplace burnout. I soon realized while I was doing remote teaching for about a year for distance learning, doctors like my sister-in-law went to work every day in the middle of the pandemic.
We have a great relationship, and I didn’t feel slighted when she talked about her experiences dealing with her patients during the early days of the pandemic. The medical profession was hit hard, too, by burnout.
After speaking to my sister-in-law about her working conditions at the hospital and clinic, I soon realized the teaching profession is not alone in workplace burnout. I learned recently that the doctor I see twice a year is also retiring.
The only doctor that I had as a teacher is retiring at the end of July 2022. I got used to the routine of my doctor, the medical staff, and the routine of scheduling appointments, and I forgot that my doctor was close to retirement age.
No sooner after telling my sister-in-law about my burnout than I discovered that my doctor was closing up his private practice for good. Finding another doctor is inconvenient, but I understand why doctors want to retire. They are people too.
Takeaway
I lost sight of the overall picture. Everyone else feels the same way. After hearing my sister-in-law’s stories in her medical practice, I feel lucky to be a teacher.
We taught distance learning during the first year of the pandemic. The doctors, nurses, and everyone in the medical profession had to work every day. If anyone feels workplace burnout, it is…
