The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to start addressing employee burnout.
Burnout has become such a familiar term that it’s common to hear people casually say, “Oh, I’m so burned out,” when they’re just referring to a bad day.
But what exactly does it mean?
It basically means an acute condition that derives from chronic emotional stress at work. Researchers and physicians have characterized burnout as a state of exhaustion, ineffectiveness, cynicism, and reduced personal fulfillment.
Recent researches show a strong negative correlation between burnout and job engagement. It compromises innovation, risk assessment, and decision-making, but burnout doesn’t just affect the individual. Infact its symptoms are contagious and can quickly infect your entire workplace.
Your employees are some of your company’s most valuable assets; without them, your business would struggle to succeed.
But, how can business leaders help their team fight burnout and improve productivity ?
First of all you have to understand the roots of burnout, identifying the main causes, before you can combat it.
The following list includes some of the most important roots :
1. Overload: Are you proactively addressing workload issues?
2. Injustice: Have you noticed favoritism or discrepancies in workload or pay at work?
3. Conflicting values: Could any tasks or methods be at odds with your employees’ personal values?
4. Lack of control: Do your staff members have autonomy over their work?
5. No recognition: Are you consistently rewarding employees ?
6. Engagement: Is the team spirit alive and well in your organization?
As a business leader, your aim is to tackle these issues and turn your employees into a “Well-being Team” improving its productivity.
Here is How:
· Encourage Employees To Audit Their Emotions
Emotions become debilitating when you resist them or try to fight them off. Encouraging your employees to interact differently with their emotions, and so not suppress them, it will help reduce burnout.
· Focus on Work-Life Balance
Your employees spend at least eight hours a day at work, which may heavily affect their family and social lives. So, to boost their engagement, you need to help them juggle their professional and private obligations. Lets see some smart ideas you should consider when promoting work-life balance:
1. Encourage your employees to take vacation time.
2. Provide them with flexible working time.
3. Give them a chance to work from home when the need arises.
4. Give your workers the opportunity to invite their friends or family to their workplace and show them what they do.
5. Offer them free gym memberships, yoga class to promote a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.
6. Never reward your employees for staying late at work.
· Offer Career Development Opportunities
Sooner or later, every job becomes stagnant. To keep your team members loyal to your company, you need to motivate them with great career advancement opportunities. There are numerous creative ways to accomplish this, such as in-house, industry-specific courses, seminars, and mentoring programs. By perfecting their skills and knowledge, your employees will be able to perform their tasks faster and more effectively.
· Value their Efforts
One of the most effective ways to show them how much you value their hard work is to reward them. Even though most of your workers would expect monetary incentives, such as a raise or a bonus, there are numerous more creative solutions you should consider. For example, research and learn more about your employees’ habits, interests, and hobbies. Surprise them and take them out to lunch, buy them a book they love or give them coupons for a new restaurant they wanted to visit.
In this way, you will not only express gratitude for their efforts, but also prove them that you value their individuality.
· Instill Meaning In the Workplace
People who don’t find meaning in their jobs are more prone to burnout. Therefore, be a humble leader. Discuss your company’s strength and weakness points and, most importantly, ask them for advice. This will not only help you make more practical decisions, but also boost your worker’s motivation.
· Set Up A Burnout Prevention System
Create a system to monitor burnout, and intervene when necessary to approach the problem individually or collectively. Technology can also help you stay on top of your staff’s mental health.
· Help your Employees to find their “WHY” at work
Helping your employees identify their purpose in action is the key to engagement. A super objective is rooted in your values and strengths, focused on the impact you want to have outside yourself, and lives in action.
Originally published at medium.com