With the prevalence of working from home, mobile connectivity, WhatsApp groups and 24/7 email access, the risk of employee burnout is higher than ever. And it’s an employer’s duty to protect their staff by managing their health and wellbeing, so a strategy that covers employee burnout is essential to your HR toolkit.
Our top five tips for addressing employee burnout are as follows:
Monitor employees’ workloads: It’s good practice to evaluate workloads on a regular basis so you can be confident that they’re manageable and not causing excessive stress. Burnout can be caused by demanding and unrealistic deadlines and responsibilities, so these need careful management.
Encourage open communication: Having an ‘open door’ policy will lead to staff feeling that they can raise concerns about any aspect of their employment without recrimination. Active listening and empathy are valuable leadership skills, and ones that the management team should focus on developing.
Offer staff flexibility: Working life can appear relentless at times, so consider offering flexible hours or hybrid working so that employees can more easily balance their home and professional lives.
Promote a healthy work-life balance: Employers who encourage their teams to disconnect from work outside their contracted hours and to use their holiday allocation are more likely to avoid staff burnout and maximise productivity. But this policy is most effective when this behaviour is mirrored by your senior management.
Provide access to resources: Embracing mental health and giving your staff access to Employee Assistance Programmes, mindfulness training and stress management workshops will not only boost morale but also help employees to practise self-care.
Should you be concerned that an employee is already burning out, organise one-to-one conversations to allow them to express their concerns. You’ll then be in a position to agree a way forward together. And that way forward might include steps such as reorganising their workload, assigning a mentor and encouraging the employee to take more holiday. In an extreme case, you might wish to review their role and responsibilities, especially if they feel overwhelmed, and encourage greater self-care.
By implementing these strategies, you’ll be able to create a fully supportive and resilient work environment that reduces the risk of burnout and promotes employee well-being throughout your organisation.
Fig-HR are a team of HR consultants in Cambridge, Peterborough and Huntingdon. To request an initial consultation to discuss your HR requirements, please call us on 01223 944818, send us an email or complete our enquiry form.
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