Skills Come First. The Podcast About How to Stay Current

Career, development, and mental health

Professional and personal burnout, growth both inside and outside the workplace, and ways to care for your mental health – these were among the key topics discussed in the latest podcast episode, featuring Dr Ewa Woydyłło as our guest.

Dr Ewa Woydyłło – psychologist, addiction therapist, and author of numerous books, including “Wybieram wolność, czyli rzecz o wyzwalaniu się z uzależnień” (I Choose Freedom: On Liberating Oneself from Addictions), “Rak duszy” (Cancer of the Soul) and “Poprawka z matury” (Retaking the Matura Exam) – is the guest of the latest episode of the podcast “Po pierwsze, umiejętności. Podcast o tym, jak być na czasie” (Skills Come First. The Podcast About How to Stay Current).

Professional and personal burnout

These days, much has been said about the detrimental effects of neglecting mental hygiene. In the pursuit of career success, many people ignore their own emotions and fail to maintain a healthy work-life balance. As a result, burnout is becoming increasingly common.

“Burnout is fatigue, or rather, extreme exhaustion. And it applies not only to work but to life in general. Someone who runs a household, looks after children, and carries many responsibilities can also experience burnout, and it happens very frequently. I call it personal burnout,” explains Dr Ewa Woydyłło.

We speak of burnout when the balance between satisfaction and joy on one side, and effort on the other, is disrupted. How can we recognise its symptoms?

“Burnout differs from ordinary fatigue because, with the latter, a good rest and sleep bring improvement. In the case of burnout, however, short-term rest does not make us feel any less exhausted,” explains the guest of the podcast.

It is also crucial whether we feel satisfied with our work or lifestyle. Frequent causes of burnout also include frustration, feeling misunderstood, and top-down challenges that turn out to be obstacles too overwhelming to overcome. Often, one’s attitude towards work stems from their individual value system, making it a highly personal matter.

How to deal with burnout

How we cope with burnout is equally personal. According to Dr Woydyłło, it is necessary to examine each case individually to see what needs to be and what actually can be changed.

“Sometimes you can alter the workload, while other times changing your career profile, such as your profession or role, proves more effective. It’s worth noting that over time, we don’t just change as people, the things that bring us fulfilment change too. Over time, it may turn out that a job we started as young people with a sense of mission no longer satisfies us. As we get older, income level or promotion opportunities might matter more to us, and achieving this in a given profession may be impossible – or the sheer joy of a dream job simply turns out to be less than we expected,” emphasises Dr Woydyłło.

Therefore, making a change can be a lifesaver – though we have to acknowledge that not everyone is in a position to do so at any given moment. 

However, change can also be forced upon us by civilisational and technological progress. We live in an era of rapid development, and very few people stick to one profession or a single workplace throughout their entire lives. Graduating from university no longer guarantees working in that field until retirement. Constantly upgrading our skills is essential – and microcredentials are the perfect way to validate that growth.

Watch the full podcast episode to learn more!