In the past few years, Employee Burnout has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), as an official medical illness. According to them, Employee burnout occurs when employees become weary at work. It is a psychological phenomenon that arises because of chronic stress or extended work hours.
But just like any other problem, it’s something that gets built over a period of time, before it bursts out. Businesses can notice a gradual change in employee behavior when this happens.
The three primary symptoms that employees are over-exhausted and burdened, as simple to identify:
- An employee was highly productive, but there is a sharp decrease in their productivity levels.
- Their overall behavior and enthusiasm seem at an all-time low.
- Detachment from the workplace culture, increased irritation, increased absence from work and no active participation in office activities.
Productivity is the main objective that most companies seek to achieve. However, obsessing over productivity to a point where is causes harm to the people who perform, can be a big mistake. When pushed to their limits, employees eventually become part of an unproductive outbreak. They fall to a scenario, in which, they don’t feel like working anymore, or they are unable to focus on even simple activities.
Employee burnout is not unpreventable. However, acknowledging its existence is essential. Perhaps the most important step in any productivity-boosting plan is to focus on keeping the employees contributing to the growth of the company happy.
Here are 4 major pointers that any business can look at to avoid regular recurrence of this scenario:
Aim to communicate better
Allowing employees to openly voice their thoughts and concerns, as well as keeping them in the loop of what goes on at the workplace, can lead to more engaged and satisfied teams. This is particularly true as employees are able to share information, expectations, updates, and feedback. Having an easy-to-use communication system in workplace leads to less burnouts.
Maintain work boundaries and flexible scheduling
Managers can initiate open discussions with fellow employees to develop flexible work arrangements and policies that encourage work-life balance in addition to making team members feel supported. Employees facing issues in their personal life are bound to be distracted in their professional lives as well. Balancing personal and professional duties may be difficult while working remotely. However, managers that lead with empathy and enable workers to make decisions about how they plan their days may help team members feel more supported and engaged.
Promote a Mental Health-Friendly Culture
Employee burnout does not occur overnight. It is a consequence of a set of events that occur over time, causing even the most dedicated employees to become disengaged. Thereby, employers can make it a point to regularly check up on their employees to understand if anything is causing them stress, and provide mental health aid accordingly.
Companies can change workplace habits and identify the root causes of burnout, then utilize leadership to set the tone moving forward. The benefits offered by a company depends on its culture, so it’s essential to collect employee opinion and provide solutions that suit as many of them, to improve workplace experience.
Show appreciation and offer rewards
Heavy workloads can be irritating and tiring. However, when you recognize your staff for a job well done, they feel more appreciated in the company. They’ll believe that their efforts have been rewarded. This will relieve some of the stress from the prior project, ultimately lowering burnout levels. It will also allow them to start with their new project.
The company’s culture can be a failure if employees are uncertain about what they should be doing, and how much they should be working. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to employee burnout. However, if you want to decrease employee turnover rate, absenteeism, or bad customer service, you must address it. Training programs, regular check-ups and primarily, hiring employees who want to be part of the company’s vision can help reduce employee burnouts to a great extent.
Know about how Saransh can help you create a highly productive work-culture by writing to us at info@saranshinc.com