5 Hot Tips to Stop Employee Burnout Before It Starts
When it comes to burnout and other workplace mental health issues, you’ll want to prevent it, not just fix it when you see it. Here’s a series of HR management tips and tricks for preventing burnout, improving employee engagement and retaining staff.
It was an epidemic long before the onset of COVID-19, affecting workers all across the globe. We’re talking about the mental health phenomenon known as burnout—but never fear, there are strategies to prevent burnout so it never has a chance to take hold of your employees. But before we start on how to prevent it, we need to understand what burnout is and why it starts.
What is Burnout?
Simply put, burnout is the state of exhaustion that occurs after prolonged periods of stress. The demands of work coupled with long hours at work can quickly cause burnout for the modern-day employee 1.
The effects of burnout spread quickly through an entire organisation. A study concluded that 95% of surveyed members of HR management admitted that burnout sabotages a company’s efforts in retaining staff 2.
Hot Tip #1: Build Flexibility Into Daily Work
A poll of 3,500 employees revealed that 81% held flexible work as a high priority 3.
Flexibility comes in many different forms, but in short, employees want to be trusted to manage when, where and how they work. Consider shifting the focus to results, rather than the amount of time spent working to deliver those results.
Hot Tip #2: Consider Going Remote
Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but not everyone has the resources to use them effectively. With remote work, employees can plan their own schedules, allowing them to balance the demands of their jobs and personal lives. Making productive use of downtime helps employees to break up the monotony of sitting at a computer desk for hours, and leaves them with fewer tasks at home to finish at the end of the workday.
Hot Tip #3: Reconsider Your Self Care Benefits
The problem with most company-wide “self-care” options is that employees often don’t have the time to indulge in them. While scheduling a day for team bonding in the outdoors might seem like a good idea, it can cause even more stress by taking time away from your employees to finish the work they’re swamped with.
When considering benefits, think of practical options that save time and money, for example: transport allowances, paid mental health days, and subsidised medical checkups or dental health.
Hot Tip #4: Monitor Employee Workloads
While the amount of work required may increase seasonally, the responsibility of sustaining the company through a demanding period shouldn’t be on the shoulders of employees.
Through regular performance reviews, employee engagement channels and scrum meetings, managers should be committed to ensuring their employees are not overworked.
Hot Tip #5: Employee Engagement is Key
Your employees are your organisation’s first customers, and they’re the experts on their own mental health. Listen to them, take note of their wants and needs, and ask them for their honest opinions on new company policies.
Of course, the power dynamic between employers and employees often makes it difficult for workers to speak up for their own needs. AYP is an award-winning HR organisation that’s well-versed in the challenges of achieving effective employee engagement.
Contact us to find out how our outsourced PEO and HR services can help your company beat employee burnout.
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