04 Apr 2026 Working well, living better
By Tresvil G. Pack, Ph.D., assistant professor at UA Little Rock
The best way to prevent burnout is to find work you love. The statement, “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life,” often attributed to Mark Twain, is at least partially true. If we find work that matters to us and aligns with our interests, values and skills, we are more likely to remain productively employed doing that work.
We can put that in another frame by looking at the Theory of Work Adjustment, researched by scholars in the past (Dawis, England, and Lofquist, 1964; Biscontini, 2024). They found that tenure in any job is achieved when the employee is satisfactory and satisfied. Satisfactoriness is defined as having the abilities required to do the work, and satisfaction is defined as the work providing the reinforcers that the employee values.
The rest of the story, however, is that no matter how great a fit any individual is for any position, burnout can occur if certain conditions are not met.
To prevent burnout in a job that is a good fit, you need to set good boundaries around work. That means that there are defined times for work and times that are not for work. I have heard of individuals being on call 24/7 for several years. Do you know what those jobs have in common? They can’t keep good people because they burn them out.
Defining the work timeframe is only one strategy to prevent burnout. Another strategy is to take breaks throughout your workday. If you see clients or have meetings for your work, that will mean not scheduling them back-to-back all day, but giving yourself a 15- to 30-minute break every few sessions and scheduling a lunch break every day. There are going to be days when you need to schedule yourself as tightly as possible, either to meet goals/deadlines or to make time later in the week for something else. When you have days with meetings scheduled back-to-back, make sure to grab a drink between clients or go to the restroom. If you don’t need a drink or restroom break, then take time to do something to relax or recenter yourself. This might be as simple as a stretch, using some breathing techniques or a walk around the building. Doing something to break up the routine of back-to-back meetings helps you recoup some of the energy lost in the previous meeting.
If you work with machines, these same principles apply. Don’t sit at your machine all day. Make sure you build in a minimum of two 15-minute breaks and a longer lunch break. I would recommend taking a short break every hour to get up and move for a few minutes. The increased heart rate and circulation in your body will help you stay focused for the next hour.
Strategies that help prevent burnout include:
Seeking support: This could look like your friends, co-workers, family members, church members, a professional counselor or therapist.
Relaxation: Look for programs in your local area designed to help you relax. Yoga, Tai Chi, meditation, guided imagery and journaling are examples.
Good nutrition: A healthy diet that provides the needed nutrients, without excess carbohydrates and sugars, will result in greater resilience.
Exercise: Regular activity will burn off some of the cortisol and adrenaline you produce while operating under stressful conditions.
Sleep: Adequate rest allows the body to rejuvenate, which results in a greater ability to withstand stressful events the next day.
