Burnout in the workplace is a problem often overlooked by managers and employees alike. The American Psychological Association concludes that more than half of American workers are experiencing some level of job burnout. The effects can be felt throughout an entire organization as well as in client-facing situations, ultimately affecting your bottom-line.
How can we prevent or reverse job burnout to ensure a happy team and a healthy organization?
IDENTIFYING BURNOUT
To identify burnout in yourself or your team, look for signs that indicate apathy towards work. Some employees know when they are feeling apathetic, yet many are completely unaware how they are feeling and presenting themselves in the workplace.
How can you know your team is experiencing burnout?
Psychologist Christina Maslach cites three primary symptoms to look for: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy, which is a feeling of incompetence or lack of accomplishment. To put these into context, do you have a lack of energy, experience difficulty concentrating, put off meaningful tasks, experience trouble sleeping, or are easily agitated or angered?
Stress in the workplace is often quoted as the reason for burnout. Yet, have you noticed that some people handle stress in the same workplace much better than others? This leads us to believe that stress is not the sole cause and there might be other places to look when identifying burnout.
At the CrossGroup, we’ve worked with many teams in vastly different environments experiencing varying stress levels. When we see a team in distress, we work with leadership to identify causes and work towards solutions. Because of our experience in working with these teams, we can confidently say job burnout can be both prevented and reversed by making a few key changes.
HOW TO MANAGE BURNOUT
KNOW YOURSELF
Stop and do a personal inventory. Take a break from the routine and get to know yourself for just a few hours. How do you feel when you get up in the morning? After you’ve been at work for a few hours?
Think back: What has been my response to stress in the past two or three months? How do I express it? What are some new ways that I can act now to better control my personal response? What are my strengths and weaknesses? Who can I surround myself with and seek support and help? We all manage stress in different ways. Some of us create our own stress by being chronic overachievers. Others take on the stress of other people around them.
Examine your assumptions and limitations. What is within your control and what might be outside of your control? Take control of the things you can and understand there are going to be some things you have no control over. Then, seek feedback from others. Ask them about their perception of your attitude and personality at work. What do they have to say?
We ask every team experiencing burnout that we work with to take a personal inventory. We have found in our Leadership Programs that those who examine and rekindle their personal passions are able to recover from burnout.
SEEK OUT CONNECTIONS
The Mayo Clinic has found that poor relationships lead to burnout more so than stress. Due to these research findings, the Mayo Clinic is heavily investing in a new program called “COMPASS”, which stands for Colleagues Meeting to Promote and Sustain Satisfaction.
Humans thrive when they have meaningful connections. When you spend most of your day with coworkers, doesn’t it make sense to get to know them on a more personal level? Spend time with your coworkers in formal and informal settings. Learn about each person and stay curious about their lives. Generously share your life with them. Learn together, help each other, and cultivate an atmosphere at work that promotes solutions and positive working relationships.
Make connections outside of work as well. Spend time with family, but also cultivate relationships with neighbors and other worthwhile organizations that fit your values and passion. Working with and serving others is a wonderful stress reliever and refuels our energy.
DIMINISH UNHEALTHY CONFLICT
Conflict in the workplace is inevitable and not necessarily unhealthy. The difference is that healthy conflict helps us find better solutions; it can build trust when we are honest and vulnerable as a team. On the other hand, unhealthy conflict can be demeaning and aggressive; it festers and causes rifts in a team. In working with teams, we find that the more curious, understanding, and positive team members are, the stronger the team is. As Stephen Covey taught us, the more we seek to understand the other person, the more we win the right to be understood.
So, instead of avoiding conflict or escalating it, first seek to understand. Step into the other person’s shoes and focus your attention on what they are trying to communicate to you. Not only will you be building trust with this individual and the team as a whole, you will also be broadening your influence.
RENEW YOURSELF
We all have a different rhythm in our lives. Some of us need time off in the form of short but frequent breaks. blasts more often. Others need vacations in long sustained periods. What is your optimal renewal rhythm? Pay attention to it and honor it. Take your full vacation and make sure it that is truly “re-creational.”
When not on vacation, how do you renew yourself during the workweek and on weekends? What are some relaxing activities you can implement during your week?
ARE YOU FEELING THE BURN?
Fortunately, burnout is controllable. You can build healthy habits that control your stress and diminish burnout by knowing yourself, seeking out connections, diminishing unhealthy conflict, and taking time to renew yourself. This takes time and patience, but it has rich personal dividends for you and others around you.
Tell me, have you ever noticed burnout in your team? What did you do?
