Are your employees showing typical signs of burnout such as exhaustion, irritability, loneliness, job disengagement and stress? Employees experiencing these symptoms may become disengaged and unable to function at their full potential. It could also result in long term absence from work which would impact on overall business performance. There is also a high risk employees end up leaving as the strain of work becomes too much to bear.
Often employee burnout can happen without employees being aware of it happening. Many feel it is part of working life. By recognising the impact, you can proactively manage the causes and offer solutions.
How to identify the problem?
We have seen how Covid accelerated and intensified issues with people’s health and well-being, especially mental health. Often with remote working people feel distanced from their employer. Have your employees been asked how they feel about their jobs? Do they know how the business views and treats them? Have they been given the opportunity to say there are aspects of their jobs which undermine their mental health and well-being? How would they be able to cite issues such as being on call, being expected to answer calls and emails outside of normal working hours, unfair treatment, unreasonable workloads, lack of work clarity, poor communication, lack of autonomy or even a harmful workplace culture?
What can you do to fix it?
There is so much which can be done and the following would be good starting points:
- Create a culture of constant feedback and communication so any potential burnout issues are identified early on. Often frustration and disengagement grow when employees do not feel they are listened to. Regular walk arounds by members of the leadership team, informal catch ups, regular 1-1’s.
- Set clear expectations for all line managers to lead in a way which identifies potential burnout and supports their team members’ mental health and well-being.
- Train everyone on good time management practices, meeting etiquette and respecting people’s personal time. Promote healthy and considerate practices. Task and deadline pressures are one of the leading causes of burnout as demands on roles make employees feel forced to work longer and harder, resulting in unhealthy and unsustainable expectations.
- Offer training to help managers identify, proactively ask about and listen to employees’ needs. Focus on wellbeing and promote work-life balance. Remind employees of the basics like taking breaks, time away from their workstations, hydration, exercise, etc.
- Build on employee engagement. Employees should have some feeling of control over their jobs, as this enhances personal recognition and encourages a passion for their job. Achieving this will come partly from the employee taking ownership of their role and how they perform it, and partly from the employers setting an expectation this is encouraged. Review role responsibilities with each employee and work together to set reasonable priorities.
- Regular employee surveys gain understanding and build vital communication channels.
- Introduce measures to eliminate poor/toxic workplace behaviour.
- Invest in training for your employees , this signals to employees they are valued and have an important role to play.
If you would like support on any of the points addressed to help preventing burnout, or further guidance on how you can help your employees, including employee engagement surveys, reviewing the training courses we offer, or drafting policies, please contact us on hello@emphasis.uk.com
