Burnout in the Workplace
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in remote working, it has become a normal day-to-day task for employees, employers, and their staff to work from home and even though there are many benefits of remote working, it also comes with its downsides. A large percentage of people are finding that they are working extra hours due to remote working, turning them into ‘’modern-day’’ workaholics.
Employee burnout is a problem, during stable times let alone stressful times. Lower productivity, emotional and physical exhaustion, lack of concentration, less recognition from managers, negativity, and a decline in health are all alarming signs of burnout at work. And employees are at risk now more than ever – 40% of employees state that burnout is one of their top reasons for leaving their job, according to Employee Care Report on the Great Resignation. Reducing burnout in the workplace and further knowing how to prevent employee burnout is vital for the sake of retention and overall employee well-being.
This article provides useful tips on how to prevent employee burnout, how to reduce burnout within the workplace, and how to inform managers on how to deal with and combat burnout amongst their employees.
Here are a few takeaways about workplace burnout:
- Remember the most common causes of burnout at work is work overload, pressure, lack of feedback and support from managers and so much more other aspects that you need to be aware of.
- Burnout can happen when highly engaged employees experience low well-being due to unmanaged personal and or workplace stressors, this is “contagious’’ and can spread toxicity across people and teams.
- The good news is, burnout is preventable. With a strong manager support and an understanding of what causes job burnout, employers can prevent burnout amongst their employees.
What is employee burnout?
Firstly, let us dive into what exactly is Burnout. Burnout is defined as a response to prolonged exposure to emotional, physical and interpersonal stressors that is characterized by a chronic feeling of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy according to Limeade.
Exhausted: ‘’I’m so tired’’.
Cynicism: ‘’I’m so fed up; I just don’t care anymore’’.
Inefficacy: ‘’I’m not making a difference’’.
Are all signs of burnout. Even a “broken” psychological contract between an employer and employee. Any of these factors alone or in combination can lead even your best people to withdraw from their work.
How to reduce burnout within the workplace?
The good news is that burnout is preventable! With strong managers’ support and an understanding of what causes job burnout, employers can more readily prevent their top talented employees from burning out. Managers and companies should strive to prevent workplace burnout in the first place by focusing on their employee’s well-being and manager support.
When employees are faced with burned out, companies and managers need to take an active role in helping the employee recover. Burnout is not a personal issue, it’s an organizational issue. Burnout needs to be addressed at all levels of the company in order to effectively prevent and combat it. For more information on how managers can reduce burnout within the workplace, click here:
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