How to Cultivate Better Employee Morale & Prevent Burnout
We survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Does that mean that employees nowadays do not get burned out?
Boosting Employee Morale and preventing burnout is not something that we need to address during critical situations alone. Being a manager, it is one of the toughest situations to see your employee go through burnout.
I strongly believe in the methodology of building a workplace that offers a healthy environment for boosting employee morale at all times. When you work towards keeping your employee’s morale high, they work with full engagement. This is a win-win situation for both you as well as the employees.
As a manager, it is essential for you to understand that burnout does not end with short-term effects. The results are long term which will prove to be a problem for your company. The productivity of those employees lowers, but they go through health conditions as well.
I would recommend all managers or employers reading this article, completely understand Burnout and take immediate steps to boost Employee Morale in your workplace.
What is Employee Burnout?
Before actually going into the details of Burnout, let me share findings from a recent survey.
Gallup published a finding, in which they surveyed more than 3000 employees. 28% of them revealed they are ‘always’ burned out. However, 24% revealed that they ‘rarely’ or ’never’ go through burnout.
Employee burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It’s also the result of a personal feeling that they’ve lost control over their work.
Burnout can happen to anyone. It doesn’t have to be related to a specific occupation or industry. People who work in the same field for too long are more likely to experience burnout than those who switch jobs often.
But even those who don’t work in a high-stress environment can experience burnout if they have other factors like a lack of sleep, exercise, or social support at home.
The best way to avoid employee burnout is by taking steps to prevent it from happening and recognizing the signs early on so you can take timely action.
What Are The Causes of Employee Burnout?
Employee burnout is a growing problem in the workplace. There are many different causes of employee burnout, but some of the most common are:
- Lack of purpose and meaning
Not having a clear understanding of why they are working on a certain task. This makes your employees work without interest and purpose. As a manager, you should provide your employees with a platform that exhibits their presence.
- Lack of control over work
Your employees start feeling like they have no scope in decision-making. This happens when you are micro-managing or setting up stiff work guidelines. It is essential for you to give adequate freedom to your employees to work.
- Unclear job expectations
Your approach as a manager should be clear. Convey the exact requirement to your employees. This way they will know the direction in which they are working. The employees need to understand what you are expecting as a manager.
- Lack of social support
Your employees should feel safe and comfortable at the workplace. There should be no sense of feeling disconnected, which leads to a lack of motivation and interest in work. You should also be aware of any kind of personal problem your employees are going through.
- Decreased rewards and recognition
Employees crave rewards and recognition. When your employees perform well, ensure that you appreciate them very well. Lack of appreciation results in lower interest in work. This results in low productivity.
The symptoms and signs can vary depending on what factors are causing someone to feel burned out. However, they often include:
- Decreased productivity
- Depleted energy levels
- Irritability
- Reduced Engagement
Read More- Work From Home Burnout: 5 Red Flags And Ways To Prevent Them
What are the Effects of Employee Burnout?
Employees that are burned out are not just less engaged at work but also less healthy. “Workplace stress costs more than $300 billion each year in healthcare, missed work, and stress reduction,” according to The American Institute of Stress. Increased worry, anger, weight gain or loss, frequent absenteeism, and disease susceptibility are all common symptoms of burnout.
The consequences of employee burnout are not just limited to the person suffering from it. The whole company also suffers because of the decrease in productivity, increase in absenteeism, and high turnover rates.
Employee burnout has been found to affect the company’s bottom line directly. There are also indirect effects like lower morale and higher turnover rates which can lead to more vacancies for other employees to fill up, which means more time and money spent on recruitment, selection, and training of new employees.
Start building a happier workplace today with these 8 Employee Management System Apps that helps streamline communication, automate tasks, and boost morale.
How to Prevent Employee Burnouts in Your Company?
Workplace stress is a significant issue in the current economy. It is estimated that 1 out of 3 people are struggling with it. This can lead to a decrease in productivity and an increase in absenteeism, which results in a higher turnover rate.
As a manager, you need to be able to identify Employee burnout and take effective steps to eradicate it. There are many ways to prevent employee burnout and reduce workplace stress. The primary method is ensuring your employees’ well-being. This includes providing them with ample breaks and healthy snacks and ensuring they are not overworked or stressed out.
Let us explore the top five tips for cultivating a better workplace and boosting employee morale!
Top 5 Tips For Cultivating Better Employee Morale & Preventing Burnout
#1 Take Employee Feedback
Employee feedback is a meaningful way to prevent burnout. It’s a practice that organizations should put in place to boost morale and get a better understanding of what their employees want.
Employee feedback should be two-way communication. As a manager, you should listen to your employees and work on implementing their feedback. This creates a positive environment for the employees. An employee who has the comfort to share their honest feedback works efficiently for the company.
When burnout appears, speak with your employee to determine the source of the problem. Sometimes the answer is obvious, while most of the time it is complicated. You should pay attention to even small changes.
#2 Emphasis on work-life balance
As a manager, the prime step to fulfilling work-life balance is by avoiding calls or emails after work hours. Ensure your employees are able to spend quality time with family at home. You should encourage your employees to work on their hobbies. This will help in relaxation and also in diverting their mind to different things.
Allow your employees to take small breaks during work schedules. This will help them to focus better on the task at hand. Organizing social events at the workplace is also an option to create a better environment for the workers.
#3 Take The Pressure Off Deadlines
Deadlines are a part of the work-life, but they can be toxic if not appropriately managed. They should be used as deadlines and not as goals.
Deadlines are what push us to be productive and do our best work. However, when deadlines become goals, it can lead to burnout and stress. It is essential to take care of yourself to take the pressure off deadlines that you might have.
The first step is deciding how much time you need for the task and then setting a deadline accordingly. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed by a deadline that is too close for comfort or feeling like there is no end in sight to your project because it feels like it will never finish on time.
Take control of your time today! Explore the top time management tools on ProofHub and boost your productivity now.
#4 Talk About Employee Well-being at The Workplace
In the workplace, mental health is a huge factor. It can affect your mood, productivity, and even your relationships with coworkers. Mental health issues are not just about someone’s state of mind — it’s about their physical and emotional well-being.
Many companies have realized that mental health is an important issue to address and have been developing ways to help their employees cope with stress. Some companies offer free counseling sessions or wellness programs, while others provide more hands-on approaches like yoga classes or meditation sessions.
#5 Lead by example
There are a number of ways in which you can be an example. As a manager, you need to be accountable for your responsibilities. This will create a positive impact on your employees. Setting up positivity will promote collaboration and engagement among your employees.
You need to display a strong work-life balance. Ensure that your employees are able to see that you prioritize your well-being. This will encourage them to focus on their well-being and build a proper work-life balance.
Be emotionally available for your employees. Build a workplace culture that is supportive and understanding. Make sure that your employees are valued and appreciated. This will lower stress levels and prevent burnout.
Why is it Important to Address Employee Burnout?
When an employee is burned out, you will see a drop in performance or output. They may feel pushed to turn in work with mistakes if they are overwhelmed or start slacking off entirely.
Extreme burnout can result in increased absenteeism and employee turnover, which are costly to your company.
Employee burnout has the potential to permeate your company. You will have a hard time dealing with burned-out employees, and also they can become a toxic presence in the workplace.
They continue to transmit their stress (and job) to others as they begin to display burnout symptoms. You would even be tempted to demote or fire a burnt-out employee, but this can backfire frequently. Other employees may become burned out due to the increased burden or begin to fear for their jobs.
As a manager, you need to take a strong step when you see your employees go through burnout. Try to understand the real reason behind their feeling. Take steps immediately to solve this issue.
Employee burnout is contagious!
In Conclusion: The Importance of Proper Planning and Management in Reducing Worker Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are not just physical symptoms but mental ones as well. The most common sources of stress in the workplace are deadlines, lack of recognition, and workload.
One way to reduce worker stress is to have a proper planning and management system. This will help avoid unnecessary overworking and give workers a sense of control over their work.
You should be open to discussing the challenges your employees face in the workplace and taking effective steps to solve them. The more you talk about how hard it is, the easier it becomes to deal with.
If you enjoyed reading this article:
Clap: So others can find it
Comment: If you have a question/suggestion you’d like to ask
Follow: ProofHub to read all the articles
If you liked reading this post, you are surely going to love this as well -
