It's happened to the best of us: after being at the same job in the same position for a few years, you start to feel yourself losing motivation and enthusiasm. You begin to feel emotionally exhausted day after day, ending the day feeling drained and sometimes even physically sick with a headache, cold or flu.

Everyone's heard the term before: job burnout. It's not unusual these days, and it's a sad reality for many in the workforce. It can happen for a wide variety of reasons, including repetition, lack of stimulation and exciting tasks, boredom and overwork. Depending on your personality and the type of job you have, you may get burned out of your job after a few years or you may hold the same position for most of your life and never get burned out.

No matter what, job burnout doesn't have to get to the point where you dread going to work each day. Burnout starts with small warning signs, but if you address them quickly, you can avoid drastic measures such as leaving your position for the wrong reasons. You can easily cope with job burnout and make necessary changes to avoid job burnout, but only if you understand the signs.

Solving the job burnout problem

As soon as you begin to notice a lack of motivation and enthusiasm for a position you once enjoyed, schedule a meeting with your manager. If you're an employee in good standing, your manager will likely want to work with you to address the issue and keep you in the company. Before you go into the meeting, you should take the time to determine what will solve the problem and make a difference for you. Then you can go into the meeting with an action plan and ask for any support needed from your manager. Make sure you discuss your loyalty to the company, your need to fix the problem so you can remain at the company, but engaged and excited about your work.

Not sure what might help cure your job burnout? Here's a few ideas:

  • Take a vacation!

  • Take on new tasks and responsibilities to your current position (it's key to make sure these are tasks you're excited about)

  • Work closely with others on your team to meet a goal

  • Break up your daily routine and change your order of tasks

  • Learn a new skill! Incorporate the skill into your current position

  • Take care of yourself: get plenty of sleep, eat well, exercise regularly

  • Get out of the office during lunch – take a brisk walk or eat lunch outside, soaking up some sun

If you've tried everything to cure your job burnout and haven't succeeded, it might be time to change careers. Then it's time to ensure you find the perfect position, the one that you are so excited about you likely won't ever get burned out on. Take the time to assess your interests, values, skills and personality, finding a new position that will inspire you.

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