Employee burnout can cause long-term losses for a business and also for the employee. Burned out workers are more likely to take time off and call in sick; they are more apt to look for a new job and may resign with little/no notice, which can have ramifications for the business and the worker. In the first two installments of this series on employee burnout (here and here), we considered its definition and how it differs from normal, everyday stress, and we examined some behaviors that may surface in those who are burned or burning out. In this last section, let’s consider some recommendations from Indeed, the “world’s #1 job site:”
- Reach out to those who are struggling. We’ve blogged before that, especially in these tumultuous times, it’s important to keep an open dialogue. Employers who genuinely care about their employees will check in from time to time, not only out of concern for the work, but for the worker. But even if you’ve been disconnected a bit yourself, and perhaps even on the path to your own burnout, request a private meeting with your staff member. Share your concerns and encourage him or her to be honest; perhaps share some of your own struggles in light of the stressful environment to illustrate that your employee is not alone with these feelings.
Even if the person is not yet at burnout stage, talking over concerns may prevent any issues from coming up. Establish rapport and then work together to find a solution to the problem, which may include time off, flexible scheduling, or reassigning some responsibilities. If nothing else, we’ve all learned a little creativity in the past year, and applying it to the work situation may yield a do-able solution that ends up being a win-win.
- Send an employee satisfaction survey. It’s always a good idea to take the pulse of your workforce although this suggestion doesn’t have the immediacy of #1. Think about administering an anonymous survey with questions about how employees feel about their job overall and if they have what they need to do their job well. It goes without saying that transparency is key. Companies who hide negative responses from the workforce or fail to address widespread issues lose credibility and the survey can actually backfire on them.
- Distribute workloads carefully. We managers routinely give big projects to those who deliver, but this can also be a curse in disguise if we’re overloading one team or group because they just happen to do good work. As leaders, we need to reassess the entire workload and evaluate how we’ve distributed projects among all staff members. Check in with your teams to find out how they’re handling their assignments and be ready to shift things around as needed.
- Assess your management style. Self-evaluation is critical to personal growth and as managers, we have to judge our tactics objectively. Are we unwittingly adding fuel to the burnout fire (terrible pun-ish analogy, I know…)? Think about perhaps adding questions about your management style to the survey, especially from the perspective of whether it helps or hinders your staff in avoiding burnout.
- Provide workplace variety. Doing the same things over and over can lead to excellence through specialization but it can also stifle growth and contribute to burnout. Perhaps creating a rotating schedule for certain tasks might alleviate some of the boredom, or again, adding specific questions to your survey may help you determine whether staff like the specialization or find it drags them down.
- Take mental health seriously. What is your company’s mental health policy, and what does your group insurer cover? Managers should check in with HR to discover the available resources that can be offered to workers. Think about how to reorganize the workload to offer a mental health day from time to time. Ask employees what the company can do to support them in dealing with or avoiding the stress that can lead to burnout, and then act on their suggestions as feasible.
Management is certainly not for the faint of heart. We need to effectively juggle different constituents all day, every day: the company, our workers and lastly, ourselves. Honesty and empathy can go a long way to initiating and preserving the dialogues that convey you care and are ready to intervene for the wellbeing of your team.