Guide for 2021 - The Reasons behind Employee Burnout & Ways to Control it

For a sound business growth characterized by high-quality service provision, and employee productivity is a must. One of the obstacles to this way though is employee burnout that arises due to long-term workplace stress and leads to huge costs incurred by the businesses globally. Here we highlight different means to avoid it or at least minimize it to the least level. The article discusses employee burnout’s seven key causes as well as measures to control it.

The Employee Burnout

This psychological condition, related to employee physical and mental exhaustion arises due to the workplace's chronic stress. Being so prevalent nowadays, it had been categorized as an occupational phenomenon in 2019 by WHO (World Health Organization).

Some professions that are more vulnerable to burnout include sales personnel, remote teams, warehouse staff, and the workforce in time-sensitive positions.

However, the warning signs are the same in other roles too, some of which include:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Sadness
• Anger
• Irritability
• Loss of motivation
• Lack of enthusiasm for the job
• Decreased productivity
• More negative outlook.
• More time off and absenteeism

As per Flexjobs’ survey, 75% of respondents reported burnout symptoms while 40% mentioned Covid-19 as the period of their suffering from this condition. High burnout rates are alarming for the bottom line and thus, should be taken seriously.

The best remedy to avoid a high burnout rate is to reduce or remove the factors that cause it.

Some of the factors are discussed below.

The Top Seven (07) Employee Burnout Causes / Reasons

https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexjobs-mha-mental-health-workplace-pandemic/

These are the key reasons that cause employee burnout.

1. Excessive Workload

Overburdened employees tend to feel excessive stress and eventually experience burnout. Statista Survey found excessive workload as the key reason for 39% of employees’ workplace stress that led to burnout.

Some of the key causes of excessive workload are:

1. Less number of employees: Having short of employees can have more workload on the team that causes stress.

2. Overburdening experienced employees: Experienced and skilled employees are often given more work due to quality. This can, in turn, cause burnout and affect their productivity.

3. Relying on software: Management may consider software as an ultimate solution to reduce employee burden; however, software often has limitations due to which employees might end up doing more work, which Management overlooks to consider.

2. High Expectations

Setting high targets for the workforce without giving them time and space to develop required skills leads to stress and eventually burnout. This is because even after working hard, they fail to achieve what is expected from them due to a lack of skills. It causes demotivation and increases the stress level. Moreover, frequently changing targets and deadlines make them unable to set their priorities.

3. Unfair Treatment

Unfair treatment leads to a negative relationship between managers and employees and disengages employees from their job.

Some unfair treatments examples are:

• Biasness: giving priority to a specific employee or group
• Mistreatment: Having a negative or cruel behavior with a specific employee or group
• Unfair policies: discrimination based policies
• Low compensation: Giving less than market-based compensation

These factors lead to employee dissatisfaction, high turnover rate, and eventually burnout.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/315848/employee-stress-sources-at-work-in-north-america/

4. Harsh Attendance Policies

An attendance policy that does not give space to employees’ life leads to burnout.

For instance, being on time is an attendance policy that if implemented without exceptions can urge the employees to rush to work without taking their safety or health into consideration.

In addition, if it does not consider sick leaves, it can affect employees' health and increase the potential for burnout.

It means that attendance policies if not consistent with employees' wellbeing can lead to a high turnover rate.

5. Negative Work Environment

A supportive and collaborative working environment among managers and employees can help find solutions to unproductivity. If the managers are confrontational, the employees do not like to discuss, as they feel afraid and unsafe. It leads to stress and the possibility of burnout.

Though such environments can be balanced with family and friends' support yet not many people have that support to overcome the same.

6. Poor Activities Management

Through training, formal and informal meetings, team gatherings, and other events should be organized but they should not be poorly managed to ensure they do not affect employee productivity.

For instance, even a training session about client interaction, which is good for employees and company growth, should not be conducted at peak working hours.

Inconvenient and inflexible timings can decrease productivity. Giving employees some freedom about their way of work empowers them and prevents a sense of helplessness.

7. Big Decision-Making Chain

Having more people in decision-making, often end up employees attending unnecessary meetings and calls that affect their work. This leads to mismanagement of time and employees feel stressed, which leads to burnout.

For instance, a team leader forwarding the leave application for approval to HR can be distracting for the HR personnel since this approval needs to be approved by the team leader.

Top Seven (07) Ways to Prevent/Control Employee Burnout

Avoiding burnout completely is not possible since it affects both personal and professional life. However, there are ways to control its effects and reduce their intensity in the long term. Here are the top 07 ways to control burnout.

1. Know Performance Issues

Know about the burned-out employees by assessing their performance. Such employees usually have a sudden performance decline. After identifying such employees, organize a personal meeting to discuss the causes, show your support and help them address their workplace stressors.

2. Ensure Autonomy

Give employees freedom and autonomy to do their work the way they can do better. For instance, setting deadlines with their consultation can prevent the burnout that could have arisen due to unrealistic deadlines.

3. Appreciate

Acknowledgment and appreciation as a part of the company's culture make employees feel esteemed and lead to a higher retention rate.

You can appreciate with:

• Awards
• Bonuses
• Free lunch vouchers
• Discounted vacation vouchers
• More paid leaves.
• More days of remote work.
• Appreciation letter
• Verbal appreciation

Appreciated employees experience more emotional strength to bear work and time pressures, which in turn, decreases burnout possibility.

4. Maximize the Usage of Workflow Management Software

The optimal software can greatly streamline business processes. Good software should be able to simplify tasks and enhance employee productivity. Some recommended software include:

• Workforce Management Software (WFM)
• Payroll Software
• Accounting Software

5. Encourage Informal Activities

Informal activities like walking, napping, watching TV give employees a break from work and make them feel rejuvenated. Informal gatherings, office trips, and night outs can make them relax and reduce their stress levels.

Moreover, urge them to adopt healthy lifestyles like yoga, breathing exercises, and other well-being activities.

6. Develop a Mental Health Friendly Environment

The organization's culture should consider employees’ mental health and employee wellness.

Such an atmosphere help employees facing emotional issues feel accepted and understood which reduces stress and avoids worker burnout.

You can do it in the following ways:

• Create a wellness program like EAP (Employee Assistance Program).
• Discuss with employees about their stress in their professional and personal life.
• Educate them on signs of burnout and causes for the same
• Develop sound workplace absence policy, mobile phone policy
• Encourage vacations on time to help them maintain a work-life balance.
• Redistribute devastating workload

7. Utilize Productivity Management Software

Productivity management tools can help you determine on time if employees are overworked and approaching the burnout stage. A productivity management software like Time Doctor is helpful for employees to work efficiently. They don’t need to have piled-up tasks under strict deadlines.

About Time Doctor?

Both small and big businesses use Time Doctor; an employee productivity and performance management software. The tool keeps track of employees' time spent on tasks and gives insights to both managers and employees about work productivity.

It also tracks and monitors employee breaks times and lets managers schedule breaks into the employees’ timetable who are overworking to maintain their well-being. Moreover, Time Doctor has a Work-Life Balance Widget that can help managers and employers detect and prevent employee burnout before it happens.

Through Time Doctor Widget, it is easier for managers to determine:

• Excessive hours a day.
• Additional shifts frequently.
• Late hours.
• On weekends. With Time Doctor, you can:
• Track idle time and let the employee be focused
• Help employees to be on their schedules
• Determine unproductive times via reports
• Determine absenteeism
• Reduce accounting team’s load via payroll feature

Final Thoughts

Factors such as excessive workload, inhumane policies, and a negative work atmosphere can make employees prone to stress. Hence, ensure they do not face burnout. If you know the causes behind burnout, you can find solutions to prevent it. Using the tips given in this article, you can control the burnout rate.

To start, deploy an employee-oriented software like Time Doctor and start monitoring your employees’ potential burnout rate.