As an employer, you don’t want your employees to suffer from burnout. Burnout will make your employees stressed and unhappy on the job, which could push them to look for positions at other companies where they feel like their workloads will be easier to manage.
Even if an employee decides to grin and bear it, burnout will weaken their performance in the workplace. They’ll be more likely to make mistakes. Their morale will drop. They’ll take more time off for sick days. Why? One of many symptoms of burnout is becoming more susceptible to illnesses because of a lowered immune system response.
Burnout is bad for your employees, and it’s bad for business. As an employer, you should do your best to prevent it. Here’s how.
Hire More Staff
A common cause of employee burnout is short staffing. If your team isn’t large enough to manage the workload they are given in a reasonable time or manner, you might find that your employees work really long hours, skip lunch breaks and answer emails at all hours in order to keep up with their tasks on time. This is not a sign of good morale — this is a sign that your employees need help, and they need it fast.
The best way to resolve this problem is to increase the size of your staff to match the given workload. You can appropriately divide the tasks between employees so that they can finish them on time without any unnecessary stress.
How can you start? Go to an elite recruitment agency that specializes in the positions you’re trying to fill. For instance, you can get help hiring great salespeople from a professional sales recruitment agency in your city. You’ll find the best candidates for the sales jobs in no time, which means you’ll be able to fill those sales openings and start the onboarding process before your current employees succumb to burnout.
Set Breaks
Your employees need breaks. It’s scientifically proven that taking breaks is crucial for productivity— employees do better when they have opportunities to relax and refresh.
So, how can you get employees to take breaks at the office?
- Set up comfortable break rooms or lounge spaces.
- Remind them to take short breaks immediately after team meetings.
- Arrange special discounts/deals with nearby coffee shops, incentivizing your employees to go out for coffee breaks.
- Schedule activities away from their desks, like group lunches and meditation sessions.
- Consider a company sponsored office yoga program to promote their physical and mental well-being and decrease stress levels.
- Schedule team appreciation days where employees can meet outside of the office and do activities to build up morale and bond with their coworkers.
Encourage Work-Life Balance
Overworking will lead to burnout. To avoid this workplace disaster, you should encourage your employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance. How can you do that?
- Set workplace boundaries, like limiting overtime and prohibiting emails at late hours/weekends.
- Offer plenty of PTO through sick days, vacation days and flex days.
- Instruct managers to send employees home when they are not in the right state to work, like when they are sick.
- Give employees the option to work remotely (as long as it’s possible to do so). Or, set up a hybrid working environment — this is when the workplace schedule is divided between in-office and remote work.
- Offer perks that will help them with life outside of the workplace, like pre-paid metro passes or discounts on gym memberships.
As an employer, you can set up an environment where your employees maintain their spark without burning out.
