The Insurance Soup Blog

Preventing Employee Burnout - 6 Ways To Avoid It

Written by Taylor Dobbie | Jan 19, 2021 8:11:00 PM

 

If you are the manager or leader of a business, it’s important to have a great team of people to work with. But it’s also essential to provide them with a positive, happy work environment. That means being on the lookout for employee burnout. If your employees get overwhelmed or start feeling burned out, that can lead to lowered productivity and more tension in the workplace. Your employees should feel engaged and energized as they work. Here are a few tips for preventing employee burnout at your business.

 

1. Be alert for signs of burnout

You need to be aware of some of the signs of burnout as you interact with your employees. Some of these things can be fatigue and not being engaged or interested in the work. If someone who’s normally very communicative all of a sudden becomes very quiet, something could be up. Likewise if one of your team members isn’t completing the work they normally would. Getting to know your employees is important so that you can tell if they’re happy and satisfied with their jobs.

 

2. Let your employees know that they can always talk to you

It’s essential that you keep communication open. Let your team know that they can always drop by and talk to you. Your employees need to know they can talk to you if something’s wrong. So, if you have a meeting, be sure to let the team know that they can stop by and see you if they need anything afterwards. And then when people do come by to talk to you, be sure that you take a break from whatever you’re doing and give your full attention to your employee. You need to help them work through whatever issue is happening. It’s also important to communicate that you truly value and care about them, so give them your attention. Come up with a plan that suits both of you and talk through the situation. And then afterwards be sure to follow up afterwards to see how things are going.

 

3. Make sure employees have the resources they need

Your employees need to have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs. Make sure they know they can tell you if there’s a software, for example, that would be helpful to them. Or maybe there’s a training that would be beneficial for them, a good opportunity to learn something new and something that could help them with their job. Or perhaps you need to hire a new team member to help your current employees feel less overwhelmed. The team members you have need to have the equipment they need in order to succeed at their jobs. That can help them avoid a lot of frustration.

 

4. Designate job responsibilities

It’s really important to have clear job responsibilities at your business. Your expectations have to be made clear to your team. That way no one gets blamed for something not getting done. Everyone should know what they need to do and get done – and that they can talk to you if they feel their responsibilities need to change. Anyways, just remember that it can be really frustrating to chase a target that you don’t know or haven’t had defined for you.

 

5. Give plenty of feedback

There also has to be plenty of opportunity for feedback. If you’re making decisions about a project someone has been working on, be sure to let them know why you’re making the choices you’re making. Having feedback lets people know how they’re doing and if they’re meeting your expectations. Besides, giving positive feedback lets people know that they’re doing well and that their hard work has been noticed and appreciated. Feedback is important so that your employees know how things are going – and it can also give them an opportunity to talk about how they’re doing so they can avoid burnout.

 

6. Listen to your team

It’s also important to listen to your team. They’re the ones who are doing their jobs and fulfilling those roles, after all, and so they’ll probably have some suggestions. They may have some really great insights and ideas to bring into the conversation. All of that means that you need to invite your employees into the conversation. If your employees know that their voices are being heard, maybe that can help them avoid feeling burned out and gloomy. There could be a huge store of ideas hiding in your employees’ heads if you give them the opportunity to share them.

There are a lot of reasons why people might feel a bit burned out. As the manager of the business, you need to be aware of how your employees are feeling and how you can help people avoid gloom and burnout. Let them know that they can talk to you and communicate with you about how they’re feeling or if they need something. Your team is crucial to your business, so it’s important to look after them and take care of them. That’s what can make a big difference.