Preventing employee burn-out with Stephanie from SH Consulting

Preventing Employee Burn-Out

Preventing employee burn-out is incredibly important for all businesses. The term burn-out is discussed frequently but what really is it?

Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
  • Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
  • Reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

-World Health Organization

As an employer, this leads to disruption in the workplace, poor morale, staff shortages, negative reviews, and loss of profit from low output, among other issues. To prevent employee burn-out and the negative consequences, you must understand that there are many causes that will range between employees.

What’s Causing Burn-out?

  1. Too Much Work and Not Enough Time
    1. Feeling like there isn’t enough time to finish the work leads employees to have high stress levels. This presents as missed deadlines, sloppy work and co-workers needing to ‘pick up the slack’.
  2. No Autonomy within the Work Place
    1. Employees want to be trusted that they can do their job. Micromanaging shows disrespect of their abilities. 
  3. Work Monotony
    1. Doing the same job over and over again gets boring quickly and can leave an employee with a feeling of emptiness. 
  4. No Support
    1. Ever heard the saying, “People don’t leave jobs they leave managers’”? Those who leave don’t have support, lack clarity on expectations, and poor communication with management. 
  5. Being Unappreciated and treated poorly
    1. Everyone likes to be appreciated, at home or work. Ignoring an employee who is doing well at work can be disheartening. Treating an employee as ‘less than’ someone else will create a toxic environment.

Preventing Employee Burn-Out Tips:

Losing good employees hurts your business. You need to take time creating a job listing, finding candidates, interviewing and training. Keep your time and effort on the employees you already have and help them to feel appreciated and grow within their role. It will yield a greater return on investment!

  • Communicate clear expectations and deadlines
  • Ask employees for feedback on workload
  • Adjust workloads and provide support
  • Create teams that co-workers can rely on 
  • Have a fun work environment – have random rewards for your staff
    • Appreciating both larger goals and everyday work
  • Never micromanage – offer support and be available to your employees
  • Trust your employees and stay in communication with your team
  • Admit mistakes (yes, managers can make mistakes too)
  • Invest in your employees – extra training, team building
  • Establish a wellness committee and encourage stress relief at work
  • Remember humans make mistakes – don’t belittle a staff member when it happens
  • Respect employees time off

Money and benefits are important but if an employee isn’t feeling valued and gets burnt-out they will leave. Don’t let your business become apart of the ‘quiet quitting’ phenomenon. Take care of your staff and they will take care of you. 

For help with staffing, creating wellness plans or any other HR questions please reach out to SH Consulting. We are here to help.