“Burnout is a way of telling you that your form of activism was perhaps not a very full circle.” - Gloria Steinem.
When working in the workplace, burnout is a common phenomenon among working professionals. It is defined as physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion which is a type of stress related to an unhealthy work life. The main causes of professional burnout include -
- An unthinkable and unmanageable workload.
- An under-challenging or monotonous workload.
- No work-life balance.
- Lack of clarity in job roles which makes employees overwork.
- Feeling unrecognized or underappreciated.
What are the Symptoms of Burnout among Employees?
If you are a manager you need to be on the lookout for your employees in the workplace and see whether they are experiencing burnout. How do you understand that? Let’s look at the distinctive symptoms -
1) Lack of Engagement -
One of the primary signs of employee burnout is when an engaged and unmotivated employee seems to suddenly show a lack of engagement. When they suddenly withdraw from their job role or the workplace in general, that is a sign that the employee might be feeling burnout. You will be seeing them not attending team meetings, isolating themselves socially, or not accepting new projects.
2) Enhanced Absenteeism -
When you see your employees taking time off more than usual, they might be feeling burned out in the workplace. This can be associated with the emotional detachment they feel from the workplace and the constant feeling of a “need to get away”. This might also be because of the physical stress burnout causes in individuals such as gastrointestinal disorders, headaches, increased susceptibility to colds and flu, etc. Burnout impacts a person physically, emotionally, and mentally which can cause an increase in sick days.
3) Decreased Productivity -
A study found that burned-out employees are 32% less productive at the workplace. If you see your employees working at a slower rate than usual or missing deadlines frequently they might be experiencing burnout. If they have trouble focusing or producing constant lower-quality work, there might be a chance of burnout there.
Other than these symptoms, you might see increased irritability in your employees who are experiencing burnout. They will also be lacking self-confidence which is pretty clear to spot as a manager.
How Do You Cure Employee Burnout?
According to a study, 70% of employees feel like their employers and managers are not doing enough to prevent or cure workplace burnout. This indicates an unhealthy amount of lack of support. So, let’s figure out how you can prevent burnout and cure it.
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Identifying the Root Cause
The first and foremost step would be to identify the root cause of your employees feeling burnout. Always start with an honest conversation with your employees and approach with compassion and empathy. Make sure that this is a safe place for your workers to open up about whatever they are going through.
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Encourage Time Off
Once you get to the root cause, encourage some time off for your employees. Sometimes, taking a little break is all that a person needs to reset.
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Change Expectations
Once you know that an employee is experiencing burnout, take this as an opportunity to start fresh. Redefine their role at your company to make them feel more satisfied and fulfilled at work.
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Flexibility
Looking after the company is your job, so is looking after your employees. Flexibility works best when you want your employees to restore work-life balance.
When you look at the root cause of burnout, you would find most of the time it is an unhealthy work culture. So, make sure you work toward reducing that.
