As the holidays are approaching and the year is coming to an end, let’s discuss employee burnout! We thought it would be the perfect time to chat about how 3 out of 4 employees are struggling with burn out. Let’s chat about why and how it can be fixed.
First, what is burn out?
Burnout is a condition that people experience that revolves around chronic physical and emotional fatigue. It brings a diminished sense of accomplishment, personal identity is often questioned and it results from a prolonged exposure to workplace stressors.
What is causing people to burn out?
Now that you know what workplace burnout is, you’re probably wondering what these prolonged stressors are. The survey found that there are four major factors when it comes to burnout:
- Heavy workloads (43.0%)
- Lack of resources (36.9%)
- Micromanagement (36.6%)
- Toxic work environments (34.5%)
Take a second to reread these factors. If you’re being honest, are any (or all) of these factors present in your office?
Notice that “stress” isn’t even one of the top four reasons why employees are burnt out! The other factors are causing the stress which is then causing the burnout.
It’s not a personal problem.
When reviewing the four main factors, you’ll notice that it’s not a personal problem. What we mean by that is that burnout is truly a systemic problem. It will require overhauls at an office with organizational changes, not just personal stress relieving techniques or a paid mental health day for an employee (although those are great too!).
How can you tell if someone is burnt out?
As a business owner or manager, it’s important to be able to spot burnout within an employee. If left unnoticed, it can cause a snowball of effects. Both for the person and the office.
Here are the leading symptoms to be on the watch for:
- Persistent exhaustion (42.8%)
- Feeling detached (32.6%)
- Feeling helpless, trapped, or defeated (31.7%)
- Having a pessimistic outlook (27.4%)
- Self-doubt (27%)
If you notice employees having one or more of these symptoms, you can set up a meeting with them to discuss their workload and mental health. Even without discussing burnout, it will allow employees to feel seen and cared for.
If left unnoticed or unchanged, your company faces the potential of losing a good employee. While women are less likely to take action following burnout, 59% still consider a job switch.
How do we fix it?
This is the most important step – fixing the employee burnout. There are many ways to work on removing burnout from your employees. Some are more surface level and then some are the fundamental shifts within the company we mentioned above. Both have their time and place.
Here a couple of examples:
- Employee workshops focused on time management, mental health, breathwork, etc.
- Perks like remote work, flexible hours, mental health days, etc.
- Communication like anonymous surveys and suggestion boxes in the office
- Changing the office layout to include quiet spaces and focused areas
- Performance reviews
Removing the glorification of being overworked.
Finally, we wanted to touch on something that we find extremely important during this topic. We find that there are so many companies out there that celebrate being overworked. While they may not even realize they’re doing it, it sets up employees to become stressed and burnt out.
What we mean by this is praising employees for pulling all-nighters or working during the evening or weekend to get a task done. It creates a hustle culture that boosts burnout and lowers an employee’s wellbeing.
This undermines the importance of balance, promotes unsustainable behaviours and removes trust and job satisfaction. It’s all around confusing for an employee!
Instead of this, recognize and reward efficiency and productivity within your team.
Ready to learn more?
We love providing our clients with fresh ideas when it comes to work-life balance and creating positive and happy work environments. Without happy employees, your company will suffer. If you’re interested in working with Navy & Sage Benefits, please reach out to us today. We’d be happy to discuss how we can partner with you to improve employee satisfaction while removing employee burnout in your office!
