When we think about the term professional or job burnout, we typically associate this condition with being overworked and stressed on the job. Although a valid association, it goes much deeper than that. Professional burnout can have a significant impact on mental health and trigger anxiety and depression. While most companies understand the financial and productivity impact of eliminating burnout within the workplace, there are certainly other reasons why companies should consider identifying and addressing burnout in the workplace, early. Left unchecked, professional burnout can show up as mental and emotional illness which can have devastating downstream impacts to your organization. An employee experiencing professional burnout may start to feel unappreciated, drained and may even loathe coming to work. Eventually, they are demotivated and simply stop caring. Not quite the type of qualities you want to see in your employees. Burnout can lead to costly mistakes, unnecessary turnover and potentially open organizations up to safety violations.
So, what can you do to make sure that your employees are not experiencing professional burnout, or yourself for that matter? First, make it a point to observe your workers and look for signs of distress and burnout. Professional burnout often manifests itself in different ways in each employee. However, common signs to look for include:
· Energy depletion and exhaustion
· Detachment from work or home life
· Pessimism
· Loss of motivation
· Insomnia
· Impaired concentration
· Increased irritability
Let’s assume you have an employee who exhibit one or more of these signs and you’re pretty sure they are burned out. What now? First, approach the employee with compassion and from a place of support. Solicit information to identify the root cause of their burnout. Is it workload? Perhaps it is long work hours or even the feeling of not having work life balance. Whatever the contributing factor, as a manager, you should address the source of burnout. Here are some ways companies are addressing burnout within their organizations.
Offer EAP Resources
It is important for managers to be aware of resources that may be available to employees such as access to counselors through an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). An EAP is an employee benefit program that assists employees with personal problems and/or work-related problems that may impact their job performance, health, mental and emotional well-being. They are extremely important as these programs can help employees reduce and cope with stress so that they can focus on work and company’s goals. When organizations offer these programs, it sends the message that employees’ mental health is prioritized, and the company genuinely cares about their well-being.
Promote Work Life Balance
As a leader within your organization, you can contribute to and promote a healthy company culture that is built upon work life balance. There are simple things you can do to promote work/life balance such as offering flexible schedules and shutting down early before the holidays to enforce a practice of spending time with family. It is also important for managers to lead by example. If employees see that you as a manager is embracing work life balance, they are likely to follow suit.
Monitor Workloads
You may find that your employees are performing at high levels with a heavy workload and may think, why shake up what’s working well. Although your employees may be producing as expected and successful in their roles, remember, it is difficult for anyone to sustain heavy workloads for an extended period. Eventually, they will break and start exhibiting signs of professional burnout. Take care to put infrastructure in place to get the production you require out of employees without putting too much on their plate.
Encourage Employees to Use PTO
Oftentimes, employees find themselves in a catch 22 situation --- I have too much work to do and can’t afford to take time off. We’ve all been there!! As a manager, encourage employees to take time off from work. Foster a culture that appreciates when an employee takes off and not a culture that frowns upon it. If you see that an employee is not taking time off regularly, strongly encourage them to do so. Make it a topic of discussion during your staff meetings so that everyone understands expectations related to using PTO. Again, lead by example!!
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