Time-Out before Burn Out

This short piece looks at what causes burnout and how managers can prevent teams from experiencing it.

What is it in the workplace that may be causing burnout?
A recent Gallup survey of employees highlights five key causes sited:

1. Unfair treatment at work – Where employees perceive unfair treatment, bias or do not have trust in others at work, they are more likely to experience burnout.
2. Unmanageable workload – Even your high performing employees can become less energised and optimistic when workload and expectations are unmanageable.
3. Lack of role clarity – Individuals and teams need clarity on accountabilities. In times of change, this is even more important as it is tiring when people need to constantly try to figure out what they need to be doing.
4. Lack of communication and support from a manager – Where there are limited communication and support from managers, individuals can feel disconnected and isolated.
5. Unreasonable time pressure – Unrealistic timelines and deadlines can, over time, lead to a high level of stress.  When people feel they have enough time to do a good job, they are less likely to experience burnout.

1. Check-in regularly with people.  Ask robust questions like how are you feeling about things, what do you need from me, what can we do to re-calibrate expectations and re-prioritise, what does your week ahead look like?
2. Make it easy for people to ask for help.  Set the tone that is ok not to be on top of things all of the time.   Be an example of sharing challenges, up’s and down’s, and create an environment where people can speak up if they feel overwhelmed.
3. Create a culture of recognition.  Showing gratitude for work done can go a long way to helping people cope with work demands.
4. Expand wellbeing resources.  With our new ways of working, leaders can collaborate with teams on how to sustain emotional, physical and mental wellbeing.
5. Encourage real weekends and holidays.  In a recent Harvard article, Jen Fisher talks about the manufacturer, Daimler, who launched “Mail on Holiday”!  For those employees on holiday, incoming emails are auto-deleted.  Again, you will know what would work best for your teams – something that will encourage people to truly disconnect.