Feeling constantly overworked, emotionally drained, and disconnected from your job? These are some signs that you may be having more than just a rough week. You may be experiencing burnout.

When you’re struggling at work, finding the right words to describe what you’re feeling is hard. And finding those words in a language that isn’t your first can feel deeply isolating. If English isn’t your native language, you’re not alone.

Ever wonder what it’s like to text Empower Work? Meet Dawn. Dawn was struggling with long-term unemployment for two years when she reached out to Empower Work for support. She is a caretaker, a mother, and now a CNA who found light at the end of the tunnel of a long and harrowing job search where she’d felt like she’d tried everything. Our writer, Mackenzie, met with Dawn to get a sense of what her job search was like, and what it was like to text Empower Work. 

At Empower Work, we hear from thousands of workers navigating challenges related to career growth, job searches, workplace stress, finding stable employment, and more. We’re proud to support people through these moments via our peer support text line, and through partnerships with trusted community spaces like public libraries. We’re thrilled to be testing a new partnership with public libraries starting with the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), with the goal to supplement the jobs and career support that public libraries offer the library patrons with the Empower Work text line.

Emily Cunningham is a people leader and audit professional that has volunteered with Empower Work for 5 years and almost 400 conversations on the line. Her superpower is adding structure to the unstructured through project management, cross-collaboration, and communicating with transparency. She currently lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two adorable cats, Pika & Zuka.

Challenging work moments are tough and can consume your entire life. Bad managers, toxic coworkers, an overload of work without being paid what you deserve, gaslighting, job loss, long job searches—these work issues can leave you feeling helpless. Not addressing these work issues can lead to long-lasting effects like burnout, anxiety and stress, and poor mental well-being. 

In short, these workplace issues are putting your mental health at risk.  

So, what’s the best first step? Talk to someone.