Workplace burnout can creep up on the best of us. And it doesn’t discriminate. Whether you’re a director, to managers, to employees and apprentices, on your staff without them even realising it and wreak havoc on their physical and mental health. Getting in early, staying late and developing an unhealthy work/life balance in a bid to be the best, most competitive and most dedicated employee can all lead to burnout. And when it hits, it not only throws your employee a curveball, but it has an impact on your business too.
If you have staff suffering from burnout it can affect their performance, which in turn can affect company performance and productivity. Therefore, it’s important to take a proactive approach and tackle burnout before it becomes chronic. Here are 6 tips on preventing work burnout.
Give your employees purpose
Sure, your staff want to be paid for what they do – but they also want to know that what they do matters and has a purpose. Make sure you’re clear from the moment they join what their purpose is within your organisation, why they and their work matters, and how they help other people. You should regularly review job roles to emphasise this with your staff.
Performance reviews and 1-2-1s are a great opportunity to reinforce your employees’ importance to your team and the wider business. This is incredibly easy to manage with the help of HR Software.
Create a mental health training programme
Being proactive and creating a mental health training programme can reap long-term benefits for your organisation. Giving managers the necessary training to spot signs of work burnout and to address them early on can stop any problems from becoming more serious. It also shows your staff you’re a caring employer who considers their wellbeing important.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a useful article from us on how to create an effective mental health programme for your people.
Keep the lines of communication open
It’s very important that your staff know they can talk to you or their line manager about any concerns. You need to foster an open-door policy where talking about mental health is normalised rather than viewed with suspicion.
Encourage exercise and healthy living
As part of any wellbeing programme you implement you should encourage staff to exercise regularly and eat healthily which can help reduce stress and encourage relaxation. You could consider offering discounted gym membership or health perks as part of any benefits package available to staff.
Interested in learning more about the importance of office exercise? Here are 10 reasons why office fitness is good for business.
Make sure staff unplug
Set clear boundaries and make sure your employees know they shouldn’t be answering emails at midnight. If staff don’t feel like they can switch off it can increase long-term stress on them. Create a policy that avoids staff being contacted outside of hours and gives them a proper break.
Audit your workspace
Take a look around the work environment. Could you reduce noise and make it more welcoming? Consider creating relaxation spaces or quiet areas for employees to take a bit of time out. Good lighting is also important and natural lighting has been shown to reduce stress and promote calm, peaceful moods.