Employee burnout is becoming more and more common in today’s workplace. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, COVID-19 introduced new stressors in peoples’ lives, which led to 79% of people saying they had experienced work-related stress at some point in 2021. Some signs of burnout include loss of productivity, emotional and physical exhaustion, and decline in health. Many companies are implementing wellness solutions, like Your Money Line, to prevent and reduce employee burnout.
Our guide will explain what burnout is and provide HR Professionals and managers with solutions to combat burnout in the workplace.
What is Employee Burnout?
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout?
There are many employee burnout signs, but there are three that the World Health Organization says to look out for:
- 1. Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- 2. Increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativity towards one’s job
- 3. Reduced professional efficacy
When employees are burnt out at work, they cannot do their best job. When your employees are experiencing these types of symptoms, you’re at risk of losing top talent.
Causes of Employee Burnout
Many employees feel overwhelmed in the workplace, and it’s no surprise due to the fast-paced environment created at work today. According to Gallup Research, below are the top 5 causes of employee burnout:
- Unfair treatment at work
- Unmanageable workload
- Unclear communication from managers
- Lack of manager support
- Unreasonable time pressure
How To Prevent Burnout in the Workplace
The effects of burnout in the workplace are significant. According to a survey by Gallup, 23% of employees feel burnout all the time while 44% reported feeling burnt out sometimes. You can take measures to reduce the risk of burnout in your employees.
Make Wellbeing Part of Your Culture
When an organization makes well-being part of its culture and provides resources to make that happen, everyone does better. Employees that encourage one another to live a healthy, meaningful, productive, and balanced lifestyle will lead to less stressed employees, which leads to less burnout. By Incorporating wellbeing into your company culture, HR professionals are creating an environment that will lessen burnout and increase the productivity and happiness of your employees.
Promote work/life balance
The best way to promote a work/life balance is by practicing living that way yourself. If you want your employees to have a sense of balance between work and their life, then as a manager, you need to set an example and encourage them as well. This means allowing employees to take the time to be with family, exercise, and practice self-care. Managers can shut down early for the holidays or offer flexibility to accommodate people’s schedules.
Encourage employees to use vacation time
Employees need to take time off to relax and reset to do their best work. However, many people don’t take their vacation time seriously because of a heavy workload, lack of coverage, or fear of being looked down upon. Managers should encourage employees to use vacation time by creating a culture that appreciates time off.
Provide Work From Home Options
Every employee’s needs are different, and providing work-from-home options creates an inclusive work environment. Working from home saves employees time and money commuting and eliminates workplace stress. A work-from-home option allows employees to manage their time better and be more productive.
Monitor Workloads & Scheduling
Managers are responsible for ensuring they provide appropriate workloads for their employees and not tasking them with unreasonable demands. Heavy workloads aren’t sustainable, and employees need breaks every once in a while to do their best work. If your company has high turnover rates, it could be because of workload and scheduling issues.
Create Goals and Career Paths
According to a study done by SHRM, one of the main stressors at work is the lack of career growth opportunities. Offering employees opportunities to learn new skills and grow their current skillset is essential to keeping them productive, engaged, and happy at work. Also, allowing for career growth within the company and setting goals together help engage employees.
Hold Walking Meetings
Get employees out of the office and active by holding walking meetings. Walking meetings promote a healthy lifestyle and reduce stress while also being productive.
Practice Open Communication
Managers should practice open communication with their employees because when information is withheld it causes stress because of the unknown. Being transparent with updates, expectations, and performance benchmarks will make employees feel more confident about what they are doing.
Welcome Employee Feedback
Managers should welcome employee feedback to improve productivity, balance workloads, help everyone work together, and improve task completion.
Don’t Add Stress
When making decisions, it’s important to include employees if it’s relevant to their work to reduce stress. Making important decisions without them will affect their performance, commitment, and lead to burnout.
Enforce Management Training
In order to retain and engage employees, you need to be equipped for the job. Many people leave jobs because they had a bad manager. By incorporating management training you are taking steps towards creating a good work environment. Organizations need to ensure that they are providing resources to managers on how to provide feedback, set goals, communicate, and assign tasks.
Lead By Example
As a manager, you need to be an example to your employees. It’s crucial that you manage your own stress, work/life balance, etc. so that they will know and understand they can too. As a manager, you need to use your vacation time, take breaks, and be intentional.
Encourage Friendships
Developing relationships with coworkers is essential to making everyone feel connected and engaged. Employees work better when they know who they work with and get to know them outside of work. Organizing events outside of work for your team is a way to encourage those friendships and create a good environment.
Make the Little Things Count
Make all of your employees feel appreciated and a part of the company. Whether they are the CEO or the janitor it’s important to make everyone feel included. Every little thing an employee does contributes to the bigger picture and it’s essential to make sure those things don’t go unnoticed. Every contribution during the work process matters.
Why Does Workplace Burnout Prevention Matter?
Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that can happen to anyone in any workplace environment. When you experience burnout, you might experience physical tiredness, sleep problems, or mental fatigue. Prevention is vital because it’s easier to avoid burnout than recover from it once it has set in. To prevent burnout in your employees as a manager, you must be aware of the signs and be proactive.
Conclusion
Employee burnout is more common than ever, and it’s important to be aware of it. Preventing workplace burnout will ensure that employees feel taken care of in all aspects of their life, not just their work life. A financial wellness solution like Your Money Line can help reduce stress and prevent burnout by providing financial guidance shame-free with an empathetic approach from our Financial Guides. If you want to avoid burnout in your employees, request a demo today!