5 Methods To Combat Employee Burnout
Publié le 18 November 2020
The overall well-being of employees should always be a main concern for companies and organizations. Burnout among workers is a rising trend, and is having negative consequences for people experiencing its effects. People and employers should familiarize themselves with 5 methods to combat employee burnout, which aim to help support workers and improve their well-being.
While there are plenty of things that could cause feelings of stress and anxiety, employee burnout is a specific type of work-related stress that leads to physical and mental exhaustion among other serious symptoms. There are many different signs of employee burnout, and it can be caused by different work-related factors. No matter the reason for burnout, employers and employees alike need to be aware of its seriousness, and be unafraid to combate employee burnout for the betterment of each worker and the workplace as a whole.
5 Methods To Combat Employee Burnout
- Take A Break
- Reset Work-Life Boundaries
- Get A New Work Environment
- Seek and Accept Help
- Go Easy On Yourself
Take A Break
It may sound like a simple thing to do in the face of a complex problem, and taking breaks from work can have tremendous benefits for mental and physical health. Short periods, such as 15-30 minutes breaks or an hour for lunch, provide time for your brain to rest during the workday. If you are stuck on a particular problem or task, taking a breather can even help lead to new solutions after returning to work. Adopting a more structured work schedule in the day that includes regular breaks can help to prevent stress and anxiety from building to a breaking point over the course of the day, leading to employee burnout.
Longer vacations from work are also an important method to combat employee burnout. Your brain is like any other part of your body, it needs periods to recover after prolonged and intense use. Studies have shown that it can take up to eight days for built up stress to dissipate, so a long vacation is exactly what is needed. A majority of full-time positions include a guaranteed number of vacation days that employers have to give employees during the year. Despite this contractual guarantee, over 31 million vacation days go unused by Canadian employees every year. People have to be encouraged to use these vacation days in order to avoid and treat the symptoms of employee burnout.
With the different working arrangements millions of people have had to adapt to throughout 2020, taking breaks and vacations can sometimes feel like an afterthought. Nevertheless, employees working from home should still take breaks throughout the workday and use the vacation days that they are entitled to in order to help avoid employee burnout and maintain mental well-being.
Reset Work-Life Boundaries
Maintaining a proper work-life balance is a hugely important method to combat employee burnout and promote strong overall well-being. This is why having the support from employers to maintain a proper work-life balance has become increasingly important to job seekers over the past few years, sometimes even more so than salary and other benefits. The lines between work life and home life have become increasingly blurred, partially as a result of technology. It can be hard to disengage from work when you can see an email from your manager pop up on your phone in the evening. One method to combat employee burnout out is to reset and reinforce the boundaries between work time and personal time. Examples of this include explaining to your colleagues that you will not be returning emails or other messengers after work hours, during days off or on weekends. If your work contract stipulates you are an hourly employee, you are not obligated to keep performing work functions outside of these designated times.
While the importance of proper work-life balance is widely acknowledged by the business community, what no one could have predicted is that the events of 2020 would eliminate these boundaries all together for a large number of workers. Millions of people now work from home, and the resulting difficulty in separating work and personal time has caused difficulty for countless workers. It’s important to still attempt to impose some sort of boundaries, such as only working in a designated part of your home, having designated work times, and turning off notifications once work hours have been completed.
For people with families and children who are now working from home, these two aspects of their lives are now completely overlapped, leading to tremendous stress and anxiety, increasing the chances of employee burnout. Company leaders and managers need to recognize the inherent challenges facing these workers, and offer support and resources to avoid and mitigate employee burnout before it takes its toll.
A New Work Environment
Many of the factors that led to employee burnout can be out of your control. Poor relationships between colleagues, lack of support from management and a generally toxic workplace can all play havoc with employee well-being. It is not up to a single person to fix all the problems with a toxic workplace, nor is it even possible. If these causes are pushing you closer to a burnout, the only option may be to consider leaving your employer and seeking a new work environment.
Leaving your job can be an intimidating and frightening decision, but it can also be the correct choice to make. Businesses have to recognize the importance of strong company culture based in respect, collaboration and support. This not only leads to better work and a more effective team, but all is increasingly important for recruitment. For people experiencing employee burnout, seeking new opportunities can hopefully lead to a better work environment where well-being is supported and burnout is avoided or at least mitigated.
Seek and Accept Help
Employee burnout is far more than just an inconvenient rough patch, and it can seriously damage mental, emotional and physical well-being. Burnout has been linked to increased instances of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Anyone who may have experienced these issues should always be encouraged to seek help and support from qualified healthcare professionals.
A modern employee benefits plan should always provide coverage for counselling, therapeutic support and other forms of mental health assistance. Businesses must ensure that employees are fully aware that these resources are at their disposal, and encourage their use without any hesitation or embarrassment. People can also be directed to support resources in their own area which are designed to help with mental well-being during the ongoing pandemic, including the Federal government and the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Go Easy On Yourself (And Each Other)
Employee burnout occurs after a long period of stress, anxiety and exhaustion. Experiencing these things can make you feel frustrated with your own emotions, which will certainly not help improve the situation. Getting mad at yourself will only lead to more frustration, and make it harder to deal with burnout. It’s important to be patient with yourself, and allow yourself to feel however you really feel at any given times instead of trying to ignore your own emotions. With so many things changing everyday that are completely out of your control, it’s incredibly draining just to keep up. If you or one of your colleagues is experiencing employee burnout, be understanding and patient. Health is more important than work.
Employee burnout is a real problem, and there is no easy all-purpose solution that will be a perfect solution for everyone. Employee burnout needs to be properly addressed in various different ways in order to help people maintain their physical, emotional and mental well-being while doing their jobs.
Please note: This is not meant as a substitute for medical advice. Always contact qualified healthcare professionals if you feel that you may be suffering from any issues related to physical, emotional and mental well-being.
