Combatting Employee Burnout

Author

Dave White
October 23, 2024

🥺 This week: Combatting Employee Burnout

  • 9 Ways to avoid employee burnout

    • đź“™ “Startup Working Hours: Burnout, Pacing, and Hustle Culture”

    • đź“™ “Success or Burnout: Two Types of Burnout…”

  • 9 Ways to combat burnout once it happens

    • đź“™ “Bye Bye Burnout…”

  • 3 Quick Tips: Avoiding Founder and Exec Team Burnout

  • đź“™ Recommended Reading:

    “The Startup Founder’s Guide to Managing Stress & Avoiding Burnout”

  • Parting Thought

  • You can help

You can go from A to B

“Your job is to get the job done, not to kill yourself doing it.”

Jason Fried, Co-founder of Basecamp

9 Ways to Avoid Employee Burnout

Be open, honest, and direct. Do not assume people have the same rewards system or motivations you have. Know what drives each person.

#1 Create an open and compassionate culture of continuous feedback, reward open communications.

  • Encourage team support of each other

  • As a leader, be open yourself and lead by example

  • Provide break areas where people can gather away from their work areas

#2 Acknowledge changes and challenging times.

  • Let them know you understand the challenges these changes create and give them your commitment to work through it with them.

#3 Align the team’s work, goals, and priorities with the company mission and goals.

  • Show how their work directly contributes to the team and company success

#4 Be available and open on a routine basis, even when traveling.

  • Look for and recognize the early signs of burnout and take action

#5 Routinely evaluate workloads and priorities with the team and team members.

  • Solicit their input and gain agreement and make changes quickly as needed

  • Hire when needed and able

#6 Plan team events that promote teamwork and connection while building skills and alignment.

  • Have the team provide input and help set up

#7 Offer short-term and long-term recognition, appreciation, and rewards for performance. Align career growth with company needs.

  • Celebrate small wins

  • Ensure pay raises and bonuses are aligned with goals and performance

  • Develop career plans with each team member

#8 Offer peer mentorship programs (internal and external).

#9 Provide professional development opportunities for growth and fulfillment.

  • Address professional, career, and personal aspirations

  • Provide skill building opportunities

  • Provide professional wellness programs from outside the company

9 Ways to Combat Burnout Once It Happens

#1 Recognize it openly and talk freely with the team and team members.

  • Identify the causes

  • Make it a 2-way conversation and be open to whatever they have to say, draw them out

  • Do not take anything personally and look for changes that make sense

#2 Encourage feedback and be open to what they offer every day.

#3 Check yourself! If you are feeling burnout they may be picking up on this.

  • Your employees are dialed into you more than you might know. They can see it and feel it, sometimes before you do.

#4 Pragmatically go through workloads and priorities with the team and team members.

  • Help with priorities and examine ways to manage workload

  • If the workload is too high, help realign it

#4 Encourage time off and rest, but make sure it will be beneficial for them.

#5 Revisit company vision and mission and ensure their work aligns correctly.

  • Make adjustments so they see the value of their work

#6 Reset your expectations with them and focus on progress, not on perfection or unattainable goals.

  • Create a plan with them outlining progress on a daily basis

#7 Examine and bring in new resources and productivity tools with them.

#8 Revitalize their workspace.

  • Improve the office is some way; change their work area, and create work areas and break spaces that allow them to relax, socialize, and work away from their desk.

#9 Check in with them often and provide an “open door” policy so they feel free to check in with you.

đź“™ Exceptional report: Bye Bye Burnout: Four Ways to Keep Employees Engaged and Avoid Burnout - Giselle Jenkins

Managing Your Own Burnout

  1. Be tuned into your own burnout symptoms and indicators.

    • Recognize how change impacts you as a leader.

  2. Have a strong external support network that you can call on routinely and be extremely open.

  3. Monitor your relationship with your team. Burnout can come from the pressures of leading the team.

  4. Bonus tip - Give yourself a break! Take time away from the pressure. Have down time to take care of yourself, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Parting Thought

“Saying no to things that don’t matter is key to staying sane in a world full of demands.”

You Can Help

Simply reply to this email and let me know what you think. What would you like to see in upcoming issues? Your feedback is appreciated. Dave

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