In this bustling work landscape, work-life balance has just stayed as a term rarely implemented. Managers and employees feel that giving everything to attain their goals is normal! If you are healthy and passionate enough to follow this, then continue, but what if the fatigue knocks in and we don’t respond to it?
What if the employees want to respond to it, but the organizational culture cannot acknowledge it? This situation results in low levels of employee engagement, which later gives way to employee burnout.
Let’s learn more about it in the upcoming sections.
Table of contents
Meaning of Employee Burnout
Employee Burnout is when the employee is “burned out” or exhausted enough to perform any organizational task. The mounting work pressure and demands result in physical and mental exhaustion and disrupts employee productivity.
World Health Organization (WHO) has identified this condition as an occupational phenomenon. As per a survey, 77% of employees endure burnout at work. This gives a glimpse into the severity of employee exhaustion.
This condition is broader than stress and tiredness. But fortunately, it is diagnosable. Managers should be vigilant enough to manage their workforce to prevent employee burnout. This needs a check on the work environment to make it optimistic. And detect and correct any burnout issues as and when they arise!
The following signs will help an organization recognize burnout in employees.
Signs to Detect Employee Burnout
Employees face burnout mainly because of work-related issues and partly due to personal factors. Whatever the case, detecting and addressing employee burnout is the moral obligation of an organization. After all, disinterest in the job is the most significant workplace disruption for both parties involved.
Early spotting of the following signs will prove helpful in controlling the repercussions:
1. Decrease in Performance
If a relatively decent employee shows a sudden shift in his work submission patterns, this needs attention. If the employer is observing workforce analytics regularly, the change in performance patterns can be easily detected.
2. Physical Changes
This might be relevant if an employee consistently looks exhausted and tired. A drastic change in weight, chronic fatigue, or an increase in sick leaves are common signs to notice here. Studying employee behavior will prove helpful in this case.
3. Display of Withdrawl Symptoms
Here, employees start isolating themselves, showcasing zero or low engagement levels. Social withdrawal, disengagement in team activities, and least interaction with colleagues are some signs to notice. Please note that this point might not be valid for employees with asocial personalities.
4. Decrease in Productive Time
Time-tracking softwares can help employers judge the way employees spend their time. If they are lost and idle consistently, this signifies their limited zeal to work. Post this, physical judgment is also required to check whether an employee is lazy or going through burnout.
5. Increase in Negativity
If an employee is irrationally hostile and irritable with work, colleagues, and the environment, it implies his saturation point has arrived. This significant change in employee behavior is a clear sign of employee burnout.
6. Increase in Absenteeism
Burnout can lead to higher rates of absenteeism in the case of most employees. This happens because they are trying to eliminate their feelings by avoiding the stress areas. An employee monitoring software is relevant to keeping track of this inconsistency to know and address the intensity of this issue.
These are some clear signs to detect employee burnout in an organization. But only detecting won’t help. These need to be addressed by helping remote workers avoid loneliness and burnout.
Ways to Manage and Prevent Employee Burnout
The following measures will help in managing and preventing burnout issues.
1. Encourage a Healthy Work-Life Balance
Talking about work-life balance and maintaining it are two completely different tasks. But what if it changes? What if even the organization works on it? All know the importance of hard work; what if the significance of health is also made equally important?
Believe me, it is good for employees and even better for an organization’s operational efficiency! Follow these traits:
Avoid late-night calls, meetings post-work hours, over-burdening of employees, and normalization of overtime. And promote a healthy lifestyle, working-hour compliance, and activities to build focus to achieve higher productivity without facing exhaustion.
2. Allow Time for Breaks to Recharge
It is a fact believed by 90% of employees that taking a break helps boost their mood. Once the spirits are lifted, the enthusiasm to work is visible in the employee’s performance.
Managers should realize monitoring employees’ break time is irrelevant if the assigned tasks are achieved accurately. However, the manager should be vigilant while giving out this flexibility. Hybrid or remote work allows this flexibility and can be promoted to prevent employee burnout.
3. Listen to the Employees and Act Accordingly
Employers should listen to their employees. Be it feedback, a grievance, or a complaint, an employer be all ears to its employees. There should be clarity in communication and collaboration, specifically in remote work setups.
An employee can converse freely if he can count on his superiors. Here, managers must be skillful enough to tackle employee demands in liaison with the organizational goals to make it a win-win for both factions. The trait of efficient workforce management comes in handy here.
4. Use Employee Analytical Tools in the Right Way
Workforce analytic tools, like Leapmax, make it simple for managers to track employee productivity and performance progress. It gives managers an insight into employee’s capabilities and working capacity.
This process helps managers to guide their employees in time management and skill development. However, managers should avoid impeding employees’ privacy by indulging in additional micro-management. This might not feel impressive to an employee.
5. Lead and Maintain a Healthy Work Environment
Nothing is better than leading with an example. Employees at lower levels look up to their seniors, so if seniors can portray the balance between productive work and a healthy lifestyle, the employees can, too.
The heaviness of work is not felt in a light-hearted environment. Many organizations have taken steps to make such a conducive environment. Many organizations have planted indoor games to promote team-building and lighten the corporate mood. Activities like these can indirectly improve an employee’s productivity.
Conclusion
So, to summarize, being aware of symptoms and ways to prevent employee burnout is extremely important for an organization. Since an organization comprises its employees, taking care of their well-being is its obligation. Employee monitoring tools can give managers insights into employee performance management. This will help them to be aware of their well-being.
Employee burnout is diagnosable but can’t be cured with time breaks or vacations. It is a consistent process that needs to be addressed. Find ways to bring satisfaction to employees. This will allow them to perform efficiently.
Leapmax is there to assist you at every step. Sometimes, we need to step back to leap, so consider the burnout issues an opportunity to improve and work better!
