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Worker Burnout – How Much Can It Impact Your Team?

TimeWellScheduled
Some business owners believe in hard work and determination, which translates into less than stellar circumstances for their employees. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t any fair and successful business owners out there that have this philosophy, but there’s a reason why most major corporations have turned to building slides in their office buildings.

Worker burnout is one of the most detrimental things that can happen to your company, and when it does, you’re going to notice it almost immediately.

While it’s a major issue that many business owners will face for the first time during the recent pandemic, I hope that this article can teach you a thing or two.

What is “Worker Burnout”?

According to the medical professionals over at Mayo Clinic, they’ve determined that worker burnout is a “type of work-related stress”. This can come in either the physical or emotional form, and workers can even deal with both at the same time. While it isn’t a true medical diagnosis, most people would compare it to the likes of depression (which is likely the main culprit behind worker burnout).

How Can I Tell If My Team Suffers From It?

Figuring out if any of your team members suffer from worker burnout is the first step to helping them deal with it. While not every company will have employees who feel this way, there’s a high chance that at least one person is dealing with this issue.

Questions You Can Ask

If you notice that your team is beginning to lag a little bit or underperform, odds are they are suffering from some sort of worker burnout. The best way to figure it out is by directly asking your team members, although some of them may not be comfortable with answering the questions at first (or at all). Some of the questions you could ask them would be:

  • Have you become over-critical of your work?
  • Do you have a tough time getting up in the morning and feel like “dragging yourself” to work?
  • Do you lack the energy you used to have and is it impacting your production?
  • How are your sleep habits as of recent?
  • Do you have any unexplainable physical symptoms, like a headache or even nausea?

There are seemingly hundreds of questions you could ask your employees to figure out whether they’re suffering from worker burnout or not, but for the most part, it will be quite obvious.

Potential Causes of Worker Burnout

There are plenty of common symptoms associated with worker burnout, as well as obvious causes. Anybody with common sense will be capable of identifying many of these, but some of them are trickier to spot. Some of the most obvious signs of worker burnout would be:

  • Feeling like they lack control or ability to influence important decisions
  • Uncertain of their role on a team or even their job expectations
  • Bad workplace dynamics that make their job “hard to enjoy”
  • A monotonous routine that requires all of their mental energy to accomplish
  • A dire lack of social support from both peers and family members

If any of your workers express the feelings I’ve listed above, it’s almost certain that they suffer from some form of worker burnout.

How to Treat Worker Burnout?

Assign New Projects or Roles

Assigning new projects or roles will allow your team members to do something else for a change, giving them a new perspective on work. When you can break up the “autonomous” feeling that comes with working at some companies, you’re going to help workers deal with their burnout much easier.

“Spice Things Up” a Little Bit

It never hurts to introduce quirky events and other ideas into the workday, especially when it feels like the team is lagging behind everybody else. Morale is important when it comes to treating worker burnout, and if you can keep a smile on their faces while they clock in for work, it’s only a matter of time before they break out of their slump.

Additional Bonuses or Time Off

Employees are always going to benefit from either additional bonuses or more time off because that’s what they’re working desperately for anyway. Great companies will make it so that employees want to clock in daily, but regardless of how “fun” you make things, your employees have an outside life they’d like to live.

If you can reward them with additional bonuses or even more time off, odds are it will translate into more productivity when they get back (as well as help treat their worker burnout).

Worker Burnout Is A Real Problem – Treat It the Right Way!

Worker burnout is clearly an issue that many people are dealing with these days. When you throw in the pandemic on top of tight deadlines and long hours, it only makes sense – thankfully, this article should help you understand (and treat) the problem a little better.

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