Your Summer Vacation Can’t Cure Job Burnout. That’s A Scam.

Everyone enjoys time off from work, but there’s a difference between wanting a vacation and needing it to get through another long day on the job.

There are a number of travel getaways marketed as vacations to help combat burnout, but the truth is, no vacation will eliminate chronic workplace stress that is making you feel drained and increasingly disengaged, even on your days off.

In fact, seeing a vacation as a cure for your work worries is a troubling sign of burnout, which can occur even at a job you love.

“Burnout is a result of sustained high stress. This often comes from work-related stress, but can also be combined with stress from your personal life,” said Shannon Garcia, a psychotherapist at States of Wellness Counseling in Illinois and Wisconsin. “It’s the ‘I just need a week off’ mentality that is typically a sign of burnout.”

Here’s the truth about what taking a week or two off can and can’t give you:

The unique advantage of summer vacations is that they fall at the midpoint of the year, which makes them a good time to take a step back and reflect on how you are feeling overall, said Nancy Hanks, an Atlanta-based partner at a management consultant organization.

“It is a way to take stock and say, ‘What have I accomplished so far? What am I proud of? … Where have I been most present and absent in my own life, and what changes do I want to make for the rest of the year?’” she said.

But Hanks noted this reflective pause can only happen if you are actually able to rest. Hanks said she’s had summer vacations that felt more like an escape from work than an opportunity to relax.

“Man, I’ve been there. Emailing down to [the moment when] the airplane starts. You’re struggling to detach from email. People are still pinging you while you are gone. … That is escape, trying to escape from something that feels awful,” Hanks said. “Versus when I’m in recovery: Yeah I’m tired, but it’s more that I’ve been in some productive struggle with work and I’m really now thinking about how I need to recharge so I come back in the next stretch of that.”

Garcia said the main sign of burnout is when you are most excited about your vacation because it gets you away from work. “If getting out of the office is more motivating for a vacation than laying on the beach, we might have a problem,” she said.

Research backs this…