Accounting is a year-round profession, but tax season is definitely the highlight (or lowlight) of many accountants’ calendars. With tax season 2023 just two months away, accountants across the country are preparing alongside their practices for the coming workload. While tax season brings with it varied tasks and a lot of hard work, it also brings the potential for a lot of stress.
The scale and significance of tax season only add to the pressure of the job, and any worries can quickly mount up. Added stress can cloud your thinking and judgment, causing you to make avoidable mistakes. Of course, even small mistakes in accounting can lead to both your practice and clients suffering large repercussions.
But how can accountants avoid falling victim to unnecessary stress around tax season? Stress-related symptoms such as nerves, alienation, and full-on burnout can be prevented with some very simple methods. In this article, we’ll discuss burnout, how it can affect you and accounting as a whole, and how you can avoid it.
What Is Burnout?
The pressure of doing well at our jobs is something that affects a majority of the working population. After all, over 80% of workers in the US suffer from work-related stress. Not doing well at work can mean huge setbacks in our livelihoods. This means we place work above everything else in life, and only stop when our brains and bodies can’t take anymore.
Burnout is the term used to describe unavoidable exhaustion that happens when stress isn’t dealt with and is left to get worse. Burnout almost always occurs when an individual has been continuing to complete stressful activities rather than taking care of themselves. This is why burnout is usually associated with our jobs.
There are quite a few things that can act as catalysts for you suffering burnout. These may be things such as your sleep schedule, diet, ease of access to work and the materials you need for work, and overarching medical conditions like depression or anxiety.
What Are the Warning Signs of Burnout?
Job-related burnout, though not a recognized medical condition, is thought to have 5 distinct stages. Once you familiarize yourself with these stages, you’ll be able to tell when you’re experiencing toxic feelings and stress, and prevent full burnout from taking hold.
According to Integris Health, the stages of burnout are:
Stage 1
The first stage of burnout is, surprisingly, quite enjoyable. This is why so many people don’t recognize the harmful nature of their mental state. With increased motivation for work, at this stage, you may push yourself to do and achieve more. However, this often leads to overworking and quickly to-
Stage 2
Motivation will start to disappear and you’ll find yourself getting distracted at work much more easily. Despite this, work will still be the primary thing you spend your time thinking about. You might also find yourself feeling exhausted but unable to relax or sleep.
Stage 3
If the stress that starts to build up in stage 2 isn’t dealt with, it can become chronic. This means, rather than the odd slip up here and there, you’ll find yourself making mistakes frequently and even procrastinating. Rather than the increased enthusiasm for work, you might feel apathetic to your tasks and your employment altogether.
Stage 4
At this stage, you’ll find yourself unable to think about anything other than your tasks, even when you try to distract yourself. As burnout takes hold, you’ll likely feel inadequate when working or unnecessarily angry with co-workers. You might also experience physical symptoms such as migraines and stomach aches.
Stage 5
If burnout is left untreated, the condition can worsen. This can lead to other long-term issues that are harder to tackle, such as depression. The longer a burnout goes without help, the longer you’ll need to recover from it.
Spotting the warning signs of burnout can be tricky, especially when you’re in the thick of it. This is why it’s vital to keep a close watch on your mental state so that you can seek help and stop your stress from piling up.
Why Do Accountants Suffer Burnout?
In a 2022 survey of accountants, 99% of respondents reported feeling the symptoms of burnout. So why is it that accountants suffer from so much work-related stress? While everyone suffers from some stress relating to their employment, for accountants the job can have added pressure.
Accounting is a profession mandated by law, and non-adherence to regulations can see you and your practice completely discredited. Accounting is also a service, which means the continued well-being of your client’s financial situation rests solely with you. On top of all that, add the increased workload and concrete deadlines of tax season, and accountants have the perfect recipe for burnout this April.
If it doesn’t already sound unpleasant enough, here are some benefits of avoiding burnout:
- Maintain Work/Life Balance - As an accountant during tax season, it’s likely your tasks are going to take up quite a lot of your time. Rather than letting them take over your social life too, avoiding burnout can help you maintain a healthy work/life balance. Being able to enjoy any time outside of work will refresh and motivate you, ensuring you’re prepared to get back to the office.
- Maintain a Positive Mental Attitude - Sometimes, it’s inevitable that things will go wrong. However, when you’re experiencing burnout it’s easy for problems to snowball as your judgment is hampered. Avoiding burnout will help eliminate unnecessary mistakes, but equip you to problem-solve efficiently when they do happen.
- Strengthen Your Passion - Feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness go hand-in-hand with burnout, which can leave your relationship to your work in ruins. Avoiding burnout will help you maintain your passion for accounting and enthusiasm for your tasks, upping your motivation and eliminating procrastination.
Avoid Burnout With These Tips
Now that you know the warning signs of burnout and why you should prevent them from getting worse, let’s dive into how you can do that:
- Check-Ins - Choose a specific time during the workday to check in with yourself. This doesn’t need to be a long time, you don’t even need to leave your desk. You just need long enough to evaluate your mental state. Pay attention to how you’re feeling on that particular day, how it differs from your normal attitude to work and life, and whether there’s anything that would make you feel more prepared to complete your tasks.
- Involve Your Co-Workers - One of the most grounding things about tax season is that you’re not going through it alone. Chances are, there are colleagues in your practice who are all too familiar with burnout, and would be grateful for the chance to stop and assess. Designating specific times that your team can meet and share any stressors or worries with each other will help you avoid burnout, and strengthen your teamwork this tax season.
- Take Regular Breaks - As well as checking in with yourself, regular breaks are a great way to continually motivate yourself through the day. There’s a real stigma surrounding taking breaks during work time, but it’s much better to take a few small breaks here and there, than burnout and have to take an extended period of time off work. Perhaps talk to your superior about your intentions to avoid burnout and see what their thoughts are.
- Reach Out - Speaking of involving your boss, you may not want to be an extra burden on your superiors or lead them to think you’re less capable than you are. However, an impossible workload or resources that are hard to access are only going to worsen your chances of burnout. The infrastructure of accountants’ workplaces plays a large part in how efficiently employees can complete tasks. If something just isn’t working, escalating your thoughts can help better the situation for you and your colleagues.
- Explore Automation - A great suggestion to take to your boss, or implement in your practice, is automation. If your tax-season workload is mounting up and doesn’t seem to be getting smaller no matter how much work you do, it might be time to look into automating some processes. There are countless accounting software options available that can handle some of the more menial, but just as time-consuming tasks, while you place all your focus on more urgent work.
- Set Boundaries - It can be hard to switch your brain from work mode into play mode. But, putting your tasks out of your mind outside of work hours will help you relax and refresh for tomorrow. Implementing boundaries such as not checking your email in the evenings or, if you work from home, closing the door to your office until the next morning, will be a great help in disconnecting from work. This isn’t to say that you can’t do anything but relax outside of work hours - maintaining a hobby separate from accounting is an easy way to distract your brain from tax-season tasks.
Conclusion
Job-related burnout is a real issue that can greatly affect your well-being at work and at home. During tax season, accountants are placed under a lot of pressure, which can quickly bring on increasing stress and feelings of inadequacy. Burnout is the result of this mounting stress and can cause long-term problems such as depression or extended periods off work.
The warning signs of burnout usually begin with increased motivation, which can make the resulting stress much harder to spot and stop. Preventing burnout means tackling the areas of your job that are causing you undue worries during tax season. Reaching out to your colleagues and boss can be a great way to start. However, you’ll also need to set clear boundaries to help your brain disconnect from work and enjoy your free time.
Using these tips you can alter the way you deal with stress and maintain a positive mental attitude toward any tax-season tasks on your to-do list. Tackling the root cause of your stress when you first notice the signs will keep you motivated and ready to do the best work you can this April. Good luck!
Sources
- https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2023/01/20/3-tips-to-avoid-tax-season-burnout/47168/
- https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2021/november/what-are-the-5-stages-of-burnout
- https://www.stress.org/workplace-stress
- https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
- https://www.edenworkplace.com/blog/disconnect-from-work-when-working-remotely
- https://www.accountancyage.com/2022/07/27/burnout-sweeps-through-accounting-industry-causing-surge-in-mistakes-on-the-job/
- https://dayshape.com/smart-tech-fighting-accountancy-burnout/
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