Dealing with employee burnout

2. EMPLOYEE WELLBEING:
BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT

3. What you will get out of today
• Understand
 Employee wellbeing
 Why it’s important to think about wellbeing at work
• Learn
 How to create a positive work environment
 How to Negate Burnout
 Some practical things that you can do

4. What is employee wellbeing?
• The overall mental, physical, emotional,
and economic health of your employees.
• Influenced by relationships with co-
workers, the decisions they make, and
the tools and resources they have access
to, Hours, pay, and workplace safety etc.
• It is a critical component of a healthy
working environment and organization

5. Why does wellbeing at work matter?
• A wellbeing strategy can help employees
feel valued and supported at work
• Improve employee engagement and
motivate teams to reach their goals.
• Increases productivity and helps
employees develop better habits
• Higher employee morale
• Preventing lost time due to absenteeism,
stress, and illness

6. Why does wellbeing at work matter?
• Ability to attract and retain skilled
individuals
• Decrease presenteeism
• Raise reputation of company as a good
place to work and progressive, reliable
source of products
• Reduce health care costs (mental health
major driver itself and contributor to
physical health problems)

7. What is burnout ?
• A condition that derives from chronic
emotional stress at work.
• A feeling of mental exhaustion stemming
from workplace duties.
• characterized as a state of exhaustion,
ineffectiveness , cynicism, and reduced
personal fulfillment.

8. Burnout-The Downside
• Strong Positive correlation between
burnout and job engagement. A burned-
out brain can’t concentrate as easily or
separate itself from problems.
• Compromises innovation, Risk
assessment, and decision-making.
• Doesn’t just affect the individual; its
symptoms are contagious and can quickly
infect your entire workplace.

9. Why is it Important to Negate
Burnout ?
• The negative effects extend beyond their
work lives and into their home and social
lives.
• Can increase an employee’s risk for
getting sick or developing a chronic
condition.
• Can lead to more time away from work,
lower productivity, increased workplace
resentment and other negative qualities.

10. CAUSES OF BURNOUT
• Heavy workload- Are any departments
understaffed? Are you proactively
addressing workload issues?
• Intense pressure to perform at high levels,
• Job insecurity,
• Long work hours,
• Excessive travel,
• Office politics and conflicts with co-workers.

11. CAUSES OF BURNOUT
• Unfairness: Have you noticed any
instances of favoritism or discrepancies in
workload or pay at work?
• Conflicting values: Could any tasks or
methods be at odds with your employees’
personal values? Are employees pursuing
a career path they’re passionate about?

12. CAUSES OF BURNOUT
• A lack of control: Do your staff members
have autonomy over their work? Are they
encouraged to take control? Or are they
reprimanded for not following a
predetermined path?
• No recognition: Are you consistently
rewarding employees through verbal
praise, encouragement, or bonuses?
• Cultural breakdowns: Is the team spirit
alive and well in your organization?

13. CAUSES OF BURNOUT
• For HR teams, stressors may also include;
 Dealing with a greater number of employee issues,
 Handling tasks that aren’t typically within their
purview and;
 Complying with fluctuating workplace regulations.

14. ORGANIZATIONAL RISK FACTORS
• Poor organization of work plays a significant role in
Causing Burnout
Content of work
• Workload
• Participation and control
• Job content
Context of work
• Role in organization
• Reward
• Equity
• Interpersonal relationships
• Working environment
• Workplace culture
• Home-work interface

15. CONTENT OF WORK
Workload • Excessive workload
• Insufficient work
Lack of
participation and
control
• Inability to participate in decision-making
• Inability to choose how to complete work
Job content • Monotonous tasks
• Unpleasant tasks
• Aversive tasks
• Killer combination: High demand with low
control

16. CONTEXT OF WORK
Role in organization • Role conflict
• Role ambiguity
Lack of reward
(recognition)
• Lack of recognition of work (e.g., through salary)
• Low status
• Inadequate social support in the workplace
Inequity (lack of
fairness)
• Perception that workplace is not just or equitable(e.g., in terms of workload,
salary, or promotion)
• Poor management of organizational change (e.g., downsizing)
Poor interpersonal
relationships
• Unsupportive supervision
• Poor relationships with colleagues
• Bullying, harassment or violence
• Isolated or solitary work
Working conditions • Inadequate physical environment (e.g., noise, pollution, light, danger)
• Irregular working hours (e.g., shift work or excessive working hours)
Workplace culture • Poor communication
• Poor leadership
• Lack of clarity about workplace objectives and structure
Home–work interface • Conflicting demands at home and at work
• Lack of support for home at work
• Lack of support for work at home

17. Symptoms of Burnout
• Fatigue or energy depletion
• Decreased engagement at work, feelings of negativism or cynicism related
to one's job
• Reduced productivity or efficacy
• Mood swings
• Uncharacteristic sensitivity
• Working more than usual
• Decreased socialization
• Increased time away from work
 Doesn’t always look the same for everyone. Yet, the impacts of burnout
are typically uniform—lower-quality work and detrimental health effects.

18. Burnout Pointers!
• Negativity- Cynicism is a chronic symptom
of burnout that can quickly drive down
morale. Complaining, backstabbing, and
belligerence can affect the tone and
temperature of your office environment.
• Productivity Dips- They’re less motivated,
less committed, and less interested in the
work.
It’s not just a case of monitoring absences
or missed assignments–people can be

19. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT
• Treat Burnout Individually-Not everyone
displays the same signs of burnout, so you
need to get to know your employees
personally
• Encourage Employees To Audit Their
Emotions - Emotions don’t cause the pain
associated with burnout; a person’s
relationship with them does. Emotions
become debilitating when you resist them or
try to fight them off.

20. BUFFERING AGAINST
BURNOUT
• Ensure appropriate workload in both
quantity and type of work (i.e., try to avoid
passing payroll duties onto an HR
professional if they are uncomfortable with
the task just because the workplace is short-
staffed).
• Meet regularly with teams to gauge their
emotional states and pare down work duties
as needed.
• Take immediate action on negative and
illegal actions in the workplace immediately

21. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT
• Recognize and celebrate employees’
successes. This contributes to improved
morale and decreased stress levels.
• Promote exercise among employees, as
it’s a proven stress reliever.
• Encourage employees to utilize their
allotted paid time off.

22. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT
• Train other managers on how to keep
employees engaged and motivated at work,
and how to spot signs of burnout.
• Clearly communicate that employees
should reach out if they are experiencing
burnout, and that there will be no
punishment for seeking help.
• HR leaders should also be ready to adapt
these actions to conform to the unique
needs of their teams. If some tactics aren’t

23. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT
• Invest In Your Employees’ Home Life-The
office isn’t the only stage where the
symptoms of burnout surface. Workplace
stress is tied to tension at home.

24. BUFFERING AGAINST BURNOUT
• Set Up A Burnout Prevention System-
Create a system to monitor burnout, and
intervene when necessary.
• Instill Meaning In Your Workplace-
People who don’t find meaning in their
jobs are more prone to burnout.
Contextualizing every task in terms of the
company’s overall goals and bringing each
of your employees into a transparent
discussion about their personal

25. INVOLVE EMPLOYEES
• Solicit feedback and ideas from employees on:
– Things that stress them out at the workplace
– Things that they love about the workplace
– What changes would make them feel happier in the
workplace?
– Do they have positive experiences from other companies that
might be adopted?
• Create a workplace wellness committee

26. Key elements for creating positive
environments
• Leadership commitment
• Encourage communication
• Policy and processes
• Evaluating and reviewing

27. Challenges of wellness initiatives
• Setting and Measuring goals-Getting a
clear idea of what your current employee
wellbeing looks like can be tricky.
• Inability to provide the programs that
they promised to offer. Or if they do take
action, the resources and policies they
endorse may not be widely used.
• Having a constant eye on employee
reactions to the program and obtaining
feedback can help solve this problem

28. QUESTION AND ANSWER
SESSION