How to Avoid Employee Burnout: A Complete Guide
Employee burnout simply means that employees are completely and utterly mentally and physically exhausted from stress at work. There is no proper way to measure employee burnout for it to be categorised on a scale of good to bad. But, it is likely that if you have poor health in the shape of musculoskeletal disorders, depression and cardiovascular disease, then you have probably experienced employee burnout.
Burnout usually occurs from workplace stress, increased workload, increased pressure, responsibility, and lack of support. The signs of burnout include:
- A decrease in productivity
- A lack of motivation or enthusiasm
- Exhaustion
- Unexplained absences
- Consistently leaving work early or arriving late
- Irritability
- Feelings of cynicism and detachment towards work
- Feeling of ineffectiveness
- A lack of accomplishment
- Health problems, such as headaches or musculoskeletal disorders
- The desire to be alone
These signs of burnout will obviously impact your life on a very negative level. Therefore, it is important for your workplace to implement interventions that will alleviate any of the effects of burnout. Organisational- level interventions include:
- Promoting a team-based environment
- Promoting open communication
- Providing flexible working options
- Restructuring job functions and tasks
- Employee involvement in planning and implementation of interventions
As well as this, communication is key! It’s important that all staff feel comfortable talking to one another, and most importantly their line managers! Talking to their line managers about any work/health issues they may be facing will help prevent the build-up of stress and pressure that might eventually lead to employee burnout.
As well as implementing interventions at work, it could be worthwhile for the individual suffering from employee burnout to implement their own interventions at home. This could be anything from doing yoga and practising mindfulness to going on a long walk or doing your favourite hobby.
DSE Assessments
One of the main causes of stress at work can be the setup of your workstation. If you find your workstation set up is uncomfortable and is causing you pain, then our DSE Assessments can help you identify any issues with current setups or identify specific products that may allow DSE related issues to be resolved.
If you feel you are suffering from employee burnout it is important to speak to your line manager!
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