Burnout is a major problem facing the workforce today. According to the Anatomy of Work Index, a survey of over 13,000 global workers done by Asana, 71% of workers experienced burnout in 2020 and the number of employees working late rose to 87%.
This is astronomical. Full stop.
As a leader within your organization, you play a significant role in preventing burnout before it happens or helping your team recover from burnout when it occurs.
So what can you do to protect your team and help them thrive?
My name is Ashley Janssen. I am a Productivity Consultant, Writer and Speaker who is passionate about helping others to calm their chaos, reduce burnout and cultivate resilience.
Before we get into the what, let’s define burnout and what causes it.
I have written this article to inspire you so you can inspire your team to take a healthier approach to work and life.
In here you’ll find a detailed 8-Step process to help you prevent burnout in yourself and your employees.
But before we learn the eight steps, let’s start with a definition of what burnout actually is.
What Is Employee Burnout?
Employee burnout is physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by chronic, unmanaged stress. It is characterized by extreme fatigue, cynicism and negativity, and feelings of decreased professional ability. Employee burnout is when you feel exhausted all the time, dislike your job, have reduced motivation and creativity, and start to feel less capable in your role.
What Causes Employee Burnout?
Burnout is not caused by regular stress. All jobs come with some stress that will wax and wane through normal cycles. Burnout is a result of unrealistic deadlines and uneven workload distribution. It happens when the expectations for what someone is supposed to achieve are beyond what they are capable of.
Specifically, burnout is caused by:
- Unrealistic job and goal expectations
- Unclear job and goal expectations (poor communication)
- No control over workload
- Unrealistic time expectations
- Long hours
- High-pressure environments
- Inefficient processes and workflows
- Little to no recognition of effort and achievement
All of these clearly sound bad…but they exist in so many organizations. Let’s see what you can do about it
Check out the Ask A Business Dictionary to learn more about employee burnout.
If you ‘d like to watch Business Expert Ashley Janssen explain how you can prevent employee burnout, then click the video link below.
And check out the Ask A Business Expert YouTube Channel to get more tips and inspiration to grow your business.
8 Strategies To Protect Your Team From Employee Burnout
The following are different strategies you can use to help protect your team from burnout or help them recover from burnout when it happens.
- Set a good example for your team by modelling self-care
- Encourage breaks and opportunities to recharge
- Allow for flexible work arrangements
- Talk about and acknowledge if burnout is happening
- Do individual and team goal setting with realistic goals and clear action steps.
- Connect one-on-one regularly with each team member
- Review and adjust your work processes where you can
- Advocate for your team
Click here to download your copy of the ’8 Steps To Prevent Your Team From Employee Burnout’ checklist.
8 Strategies To Protect Your Team From Employee Burnout
Step 1: Set A Good Example For Your Team By Modelling Self-Care
You are the example that your team looks to for how things work. Through your actions, you set the expectations for what is acceptable behaviour and are a significant driver of the culture within your team.
- Do you work late and on the weekends?
- Do you skip lunch and barely leave your desk?
- Do you send emails or instant messages to your team members after hours?
- Do you only take vacation days when forced and still work when you are sick?
Even if you encourage your team members to take time breaks, not work after hours, and take their vacation and sick days, when you don’t model it yourself, it’s hard to believe it’s actually acceptable.
You have to walk the talk!
Step 2: Encourage Breaks, Boundaries And Opportunities To Recharge
Sitting at your desk for 8 hours straight is bad for your body, your mind, and your productivity.
Having a conversation with your team about taking breaks and taking care of themselves normalizes it and encourages each individual to think about what works for them.
When things get busy, the usual basics often get thrown by the wayside. Things like:
- Regular movement;
- Eating regularly and well;
- Getting away from screens;
- Finishing work within regular work hours.
To make sure these things stay part of everyone’s routines, even when things get hectic, ask your team what they do to recharge over the course of the day and check in with them if you notice they aren’t doing it.
Step 3: Allow For Flexible Work Arrangements
Work from home and hybrid work arrangements are the new normal in the post-Covid world. Trying to juggle the ever-changing circumstances of kids, pets, partners, colleagues…and any number of other challenges is an ongoing and sustained stressor for everyone.
It’s no longer reasonable to expect someone to be chained to their desk from 8 am-5 pm.
Instead of focussing on the number of hours they are working on a given day, in a given time frame, focus on the outcomes they have committed to. Talk to them about what they need, given their situation, and how it fits with their work.
Allowing your team flexible work arrangements will reduce their stress and give them the space they need to respond to these changing circumstances, while still being able to achieve their work responsibilities.
Step 4: Talk About And Acknowledge If Burnout Is Happening
Now that many organizations are either fully remote or doing hybrid arrangements, making strong connections is harder. It’s also more difficult to notice if someone is not doing well if you are not face-to-face.
Some people might not feel comfortable acknowledging when they are struggling and will suffer in silence. Not only will their work suffer too, but they are more likely to leave your organization.
Talking openly about burnout, especially if you are in a particularly demanding project or season, will encourage team members to come forward and give you the opportunity to support them through it.
It also allows you, as their leader, to take stock of the situation and make any changes you can to get people back on a healthier track.
Step 5: Do Individual And Team Goal Setting With Realistic Goals And Clear Action Steps
Setting clear expectations is a key part of preventing employee burnout.
When everyone knows what they are working towards (both individually and as a team), and has a clear vision of how to get there, it’s easier to stay engaged and take pride in the work they are doing.
Teams perform better and individuals are happier when they feel like they are part of something and know the value of their particular contribution.
Step 6: Connect One-On-One Regularly With Each Team Member
More than an open door policy, regular one-on-one’s set an expectation with each team member that they will get the opportunity to connect with you.
It’s powerful to know they will have your ear to talk about how they are doing both personally and professionally.
It also allows you to catch any issues before they start or act on issues before they become bigger problems.
Set your one-on-one’s as a recurring meeting, with a regular agenda, away from the office (if in-person is an option) so it’s always in their calendar and not an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence.
Feeling seen and heard goes a long way to making your team members feel motivated and engaged.
One-on-ones are also a great time to acknowledge effort and performance so your team members know how valued they are.
Step 7: Review And Adjust Your Work Processes Regularly
The level of control you have over different policies will vary depending on the size of your organization and your role.
But even small changes, like ending meetings 5 or 10 minutes early so that everyone has a chance to regroup before the next meeting can make a big difference.
Check-in and ask your team what is working for them and what isn’t. Some examples include:
- When you have your weekly team meeting currently scheduled is actually disruptive so you reschedule it to a better time.
- Different parts of your team don’t feel like they are communicating as well as they could so you add a recurring agenda item to your weekly meeting.
- Tasks are getting missed in your project management software so you change how they are organized and do a mini-training session with your team.
Step 8: Advocate For Your Team
As a leader, an important part of your role is to advocate for your team, both within the team, as well as with other leaders in the organization.
- If a deadline seems unreasonable, speak up, push back.
- If someone’s workload is getting unmanageable, see what you can do to reallocate it.
- Ask for more resources.
- Have hard conversations with clients and push unreasonable timelines back.
- If someone is pushing themselves too hard, have a frank conversation with them and talk about burnout and self-care.
- If someone is struggling, ask how you can help.
You have a responsibility to your team to set them up for success.
Conclusion
After reading this article, I hope you’re able to implement the 8 Strategies To Prevent Employee Burnout which are:
- Set a good example for your team by modelling self-care
- Encourage breaks and opportunities to recharge
- Allow for flexible work arrangements
- Talk about and acknowledge if burnout is happening
- Do individual and team goal setting with realistic goals and clear action steps.
- Connect one-on-one regularly with each team member
- Review and adjust your work processes where you can
- Advocate for your team
Burnout is a huge problem in so many organizations, but it doesn’t have to be in yours. You have the power to prevent burnout and build a culture of resilience so your team is happy, engaged, and productive.
Are there people on your team that might be burnt out? Are you burnt out? Take some time to evaluate where your team is at, where you are at, and what opportunities there are to help your organization flourish.
What do you need to change to make this happen?
Ashley Janssen
Ashley Janssen helps entrepreneurs and business leaders calm their chaos and reduce burnout through intentional time management.
Ashley does this through one-on-one productivity consulting and her weekly email newsletter, Every Intention (subscribe at ashleyjanssen.com).
She also speaks regularly on productivity and shares her unique path of entrepreneurship.
In addition, Ashley is a co-founder of Code and Effect (codeandeffect.com), a software consultancy that specializes in developing custom association management software (AMS) for professional, regulatory, and member organizations.
She is also co-founder of Tadum (tadum.app), an online agenda app that helps teams get organized and stay accountable through better meetings.