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February 21, 2024
Employers always want to see their employees giving 100% at work, but what happens when an employee gives too much? Burning the candle at both ends and overcommitting to work projects can lead to a condition known as employee burnout.
This happens when employees become exhausted by their contributions and are forced to step back from their role for the sake of their health and wellbeing. It’s something that no employer ever wants to see, but it has become a common issue in the UK and around the world.
In this article, we will explore the causes, effects and suggested actions to help prevent and reverse the effects of employee burnout. By becoming aware of the signs and symptoms of employee burnout, employers will be better equipped to protect their workers and ensure a healthy working environment.
Employee burnout is about more than just overworking or feeling tired. It’s often a combination of factors, including a high workload, lack of control over workload, unclear expectations from employers and a poor work/life balance.
Some employees are more likely to suffer from burnout than others. While some employers are very good at setting work boundaries and saying no to additional responsibility when they are overworked, others are more likely to allow these boundaries to be crossed.
Workers with a tendency to people please, and those who are heavily invested in a project or cause are more likely to suffer from employee burnout. Burnout could also be the result of organisational deficiencies, such as failing to address worker and skills shortages in a timely manner.
Workers suffering from burnout will be increasingly unable to manage their workload. They might also be more quick to become emotional in the workplace, and this could result in anger, irritability and emotional outbursts. Situations that wouldn’t normally rattle the person might become too much to handle.
Employees suffering from burnout might become ill more easily or they might start to take more sick days. Obviously, being ill and unable to work will further aggravate the sense of burnout. Some employees will have unexplained absences or struggle to let their employer know what is happening due to the fear of punishment or losing their job.
Other signs of burnout include making mistakes and a lack of attention to detail. This is usually a concerning sign for employers, as it might come as a shock to see a previously high performer become less effective in their role.
Burnout can also come with physical symptoms, such as increased headaches, muscle tension, digestive issues and a change in appetite. While some people might see their appetite decrease, leading to unexpected weight loss, others will start to eat more due to their stress, which can lead to weight gain.
While burnout might affect employees individually, the fallout of one person’s burnout will be felt throughout the organisation. If an employee is forced to take time away from work due to burnout, this will impact their colleagues and direct line manager who will all need to step in to pick up the slack.
Rather than placing the pressure on their colleagues – and risk more people suffering from burnout – it’s important to address how their work will be managed and explore if you can outsource or delay delivery to give everyone time to adjust.
Burnout should be taken seriously, as it is a symptom of poor management. Managers should be trained to spot the signs that their team members aren’t handling their workload effectively and take steps to ensure there is sufficient support available.
Prevention is always better than cure when it comes to employee burnout. By training everyone in your organisation to spot the signs of burnout and disengagement in their colleagues and subordinates, there is a far greater chance of catching it before it becomes problematic.
It’s also important to have regular check-ins with your team where they are able to voice concerns and raise issues without fear of being labelled as difficult. Many employees will keep quiet about an unreasonable workload for fear of being seen as incompetent or incapable.
It’s also important to ensure your departments are adequately staffed so that no one is taking on more than they can handle. While there might be seasonal changes in the workload, any busy period should always be matched with an equal amount of quiet periods.
Employees should also be forewarned that busy periods are coming up so they can prepare. Keeping everyone in the loop and fostering a culture of transparency is one of the simplest ways to help prevent burnout.
You should also address work/life balance to ensure your team members are able to switch off and step away from work fully. If they are expected to be on call for any reason, this needs to be a short-term arrangement for a specified timeframe. In general, workers need to be able to protect their evenings and weekends and not feel the pressure to take their work home with them or to be available around the clock.
If a team member has already experienced burnout, it’s important for them to know they have the support of their employer. Supporting an employer back to work is far better than leaving them to handle it on their own.
The first step is to encourage them to take care of their physical and mental health. This could mean stepping back from their role for a specific period of time. Encourage them to seek medical advice and their doctor can then determine how long they should be signed off from work.
When they are ready to return to work, introduce responsibilities slowly and encourage ongoing dialogue to help ensure they don’t take on too much too fast and repeat mistakes. And finally, ask for their insight and feedback to help implement policies that will prevent this from happening again. This will be helpful for the entire organisation.
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