Burnout: How to Tell You’re in the Wrong Job for Your Personality Type

Burnout doesn’t just mean that you don’t like your job or you find it difficult. It’s more like having a perpetual sense of exhaustion and lack of satisfaction from your work – and becoming cynical or irritated as a result. Job burnout can creep up over time and threaten your health, resulting in poor performance that hurts your reputation and career. So what causes job burnout?

Many factors can contribute to burnout, such as long working hours, harmful workplace dynamics, or being in a job that doesn’t suit your personality. Not everyone flourishes under similar circumstances, and likewise, burnout may be triggered differently for each personality type. Here we’ll consider some likely signs of burnout by personality trait – find the four that match the letters in your personality type and see if they apply to you.

Want to find out for sure if you’re suffering from job burnout? Our Job Burnout test measures burnout in three areas and explains how seven key risk factors apply to your situation.

Job Burnout by Personality Trait

Introverted (I)

Introverted people generally have limited tolerance for social interaction or even strong external stimulation arising from everyday situations. Job roles that expose them significantly to those elements can drain their energy supply, and it may be hard for them to recover properly. If you’re an Introvert who increasingly wants to hide from people on the job or avoids engaging in situations and tasks because you feel exhausted, you might be approaching burnout.

Extraverted (E)

Extraverts are typically energized by engaging with the external world, including interactions with other people and unfamiliar circumstances. But if they don’t get enough of the right kind of stimulation on the job, it can make them feel restless and unhappy. If you’re an Extravert who works in a frequently solitary or sedentary manner with little external engagement, your job may frustrate you and lead to distraction, irritability, or loss of motivation. These things can be harbingers of burnout.

Intuitive (N)

Imaginative thinking and a desire to pursue possibilities (whether mentally or more tangibly) are hallmarks of Intuitive personality types. If their work lacks an outlet for their inspirations, it can demoralize them. Repetitious jobs may force them to focus on a mundane here and now, making it feel as if their creativity is smothered. If you’re an Intuitive personality type who feels trapped in boring, routine work, you may be at risk of burnout.

Observant (S)

Observant personality types function well when they can focus on the practical realities in front of them. But if they’re constantly called on to deal in theory, potentials, or arbitrary perspectives, it can cause mounting frustration. They need some degree of functional engagement with the real world to feel satisfied that their energy is being well spent. Without the ability to apply their skills in tangible ways and accomplish quantifiable results, they may not feel effective, and burnout is a possibility.

Thinking (T)

Thinking personalities favor a rational and detached manner, often doing their best work when they can set feelings aside and focus on the mechanics of the situation. That doesn’t mean that they don’t prefer an emotionally supportive work environment, but a job that consistently puts feelings above facts, provable results, and financial realities can make them feel repressed. Having to be perpetually on guard for emotional sensitivity can be unnatural for them and lead to burnout.

Feeling (F)

Compared to their Thinking cousins, Feeling personalities very much prefer to emphasize positive emotional interactions at work. Believing that people and their feelings are a high priority helps them stay motivated. When they feel devalued or disrespected on an emotional level, they may feel unwelcome in their own workplace. Even the perception of other people being mistreated can upset them. If you’re a Feeling personality in a professional environment that puts cold metrics over human beings, you may be facing burnout.

Judging (J)

Judging personality types function best within systems that feature predictable order, helping them not only use their energy efficiently but also feel satisfied with their work. So jobs that constantly throw them off-balance with unexpected changes or that lack enough organization and planning will stress them out quickly. And if they aren’t allowed to affect the situation and restore order (which they might enjoy), burnout is likely on the horizon.

Prospecting (P)

While they appreciate reliable resources and systems that support their goals, Prospecting personality types thrive on experiencing many novel opportunities at work. New things make them feel excited – and motivated. So a job role that features strict rules and unchanging activities can make them listless, sapping their energy and perhaps even lowering the quality of their work. Without something to engage with their enthusiasm, they can eventually become burned out.

What Can You Do about Job Burnout?

If you’re feeling severe frustration, hopelessness, or misery, you should immediately schedule a visit with a trained counselor. Job burnout can be a genuine threat to your mental and even physical health, and there’s no shame in getting some outside expertise on how to navigate what’s happening. But if things aren’t too severe, there may be some other options that you can consider pursuing on your own.

Adjust Your Work-Life Balance

One of the most accessible ways to reduce the risk of job burnout, or even somewhat relieve it, is to make more room in your life for rest, relaxation, and fun outside of work. What that would look like is up to you as an individual, but it should include things that fill you with joy and give your body and mind time to heal. Some mix of peaceful downtime and pleasurable activities can help you enjoy life overall, even when your work is a source of stress and negativity.

Find a New Job

You might be a lot happier in a different workplace, job role, or even field of work. But before assuming that you know what’s a better career option, take some time to research and think objectively about what would make you happy.

Our Career Values test examines which work-related elements matter most to you, regardless of the job. And our Job Preferences test helps you identify what jobs fit your preferences and interests. These are powerful resources to help you get where you want to be professionally.

Try a New Approach

It might be possible to adjust the way that you do your job to reduce the risk factors for job burnout. Our Motivation Test examines what truly motivates you and can give you ideas for new approaches – or perhaps for opening a discussion with management about better supporting your needs. Your employer wants to keep you healthy, happy, and productive.

Conclusions

Job burnout is no joke. Everyone has job stress (sometimes a lot), but when you truly reach burnout – where work feels pointless and hopeless – your future is at risk. And not just your professional future.

Most of us spend a huge portion of our lives working, and finding at least some sense of satisfaction at work, whether it’s what you do or simply camaraderie on the job, makes life itself brighter. At the very least, you deserve the chance to earn a wage without being miserable, and at best, feeling a sense of pride in what you do can make work a joy unto itself. Dare to insist on something better for yourself.