Helping your Team’s Burnout
The past few years have taken a toll on so many people in the workforce. From COVID-19, to shifting between working at home and working in the office, kids being home for schooling, businesses closing, new business ventures; all of it affecting majority of the working population. There’s this thing called “Burnout”, which according to Liz Kislik, is an the mental, emotional, and or physical exhaustion that comes with work-related stress, particularly from pushing yourself too hard and/or neglecting your own needs. In her article “6 Ways to Understand and Combat Your Team’s Burnout”, she discusses how leaders in the workforce can improve their employee’s well-being, reduce the impacts of burnout, and potentially avoid burnout all together.
Kislik starts by saying that leaders need to pay close attention to the individuals in the workplace. Leaders should be paying attention to their employee’s well-being, not just their performance. She discusses providing acknowledgement to the stress and work-load employees might feel. Encouraging things like stress breaks, relaxation time, and mental health days can reduce the tension employees are feeling. Structural changes are another thing that Kislik mentions. Changing job assignments, flexible scheduling, and working remotely versus in the office can positively impact employees. Creating personal relationships with employees can also help buffer the stress an employee might feel. If they feel like they have someone on their side, and have a good relationship with their employer, things might not be so bad. Giving employee’s breaks when they need or taking some stress off one person and dividing up the tasks can also provide a safer space for an employee who is feeling overwhelmed. Kislik’s last point is to model some self-checks. Let employees know it is okay to ask for sympathy, or solutions. Helping employees with their emotions will help them feel heard.
If you want to read the full article in more detail, outlining all six improvements to help with burnout, see them here:
6 Ways to Understand and Combat Your Team's Burnout
Kislik, L. (2021, May 27). 6 ways to understand and combat your team's Burnout. Forbes. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizkislik/2021/05/27/6-ways-to-understand-and-combat-your-teams-burnout/?sh=27bf3f034955