If you’re experiencing burnout at work these days, you’re not alone; studies show it’s at an all-time high. People say they don’t have enough resources or time to get their jobs done. They also need more time away from work to recharge. However, a new study found there may be a deeper reason many people feel burned out: They’re seeking more meaning in both work and life.  If you’ve ever experienced burnout or are going through it right now, you may feel like you’ve let yourself down, especially if you don’t notice it happening to your coworkers. You may feel that your burnout means there’s something wrong with you or that you have some kind of weakness. The study, published in the Journal of Health Psychology, found that many people experiencing burnout are searching for something that may matter more to them than their jobs. What is meaning? Psychologists define meaning as how we make sense of life, create goals, and feel significant. People who are concerned with meaning tend to focus on the big picture and the deeper question of what it means to be truly alive. Unfortunately, some jobs can make that sense of meaning hard to find, creating frustration that may eventually lead to burnout. It has to be a terrible feeling when you’ve been told your whole life that a career will be fulfilling, only to wake up one day and realize it just isn’t. A woman dealing with burnout. Photo credit: Canva According to the Journal of Personality, if meaning is important to you, you tend to be open-minded, curious, and interested in exploring new ideas and aesthetics. People who search for meaning are also less attached to traditional beliefs and enjoy solving difficult problems. According to Personality and Individual Differences, if you’re a seeker, you tend to be self-reflective and may be prone to rumination, or replaying the same problems and disappointments over and over in your mind. Those who seek meaning also suffer from burnout The study published in the Journal of Health Psychology found that people who seek greater meaning in life are at a higher risk of occupational burnout. Those who already have a sense of meaning are much less likely to experience it. A burned-out construction worker. Photo credit: Canva “What stood out was that the combination of low meaning and high searching seemed particularly problematic for cynicism and overall burnout,” Wijnand van Tilburg, a researcher at the University of Essex who led the analyses, said, according to PsyPost. “The findings suggest that it may not be enough to know whether someone is searching for meaning. Understanding whether that search occurs alongside a sense of meaning, or in its absence, appears to be crucial.” One of the paradoxes in psychology is that those who seek the satisfaction that comes with leading a deeper, more purposeful life are also more likely to suffer from a lack of meaning when it isn’t there. An upset teacher. Photo credit: Canva “There’s been a debate for a long time about search for meaning in life, with one camp (in line with Viktor Frankl) arguing that the search for meaning is enriching and beneficial, and the other camp (in line with Roy Baumeister) arguing that the search for meaning is a struggle that indicates a deficit,” Rachel Sumner, the study’s lead writer, posted on LinkedIn.  So, if you’re feeling burned out, it may not mean that you aren’t strong enough to do your job. It could simply mean that you have a strong desire for your life and work to bring you a sense of meaning and true satisfaction. Burnout may be difficult, but it can also remind you to focus on what truly matters in life. The post If you constantly feel burned out at work, it may actually say something positive about you appeared first on Upworthy.