When you hire a new employee, the last thing on your mind is whether or not they will eventually burn out. However, employee burnout is actually very common, and it’s continuing to rise. According to Mercer’s 2024 Global Talent Trends Report, more than eight out of ten employees were at risk of burnout, and the American Institute of Stress says one million employees are absent from work every day because of stress. While employees’ mental health and stress levels may not be the first things employers consider, they should be.
Those experiencing burnout often perform worse at work, get less done, and have negatively impacted views of their company. Companies that have employees facing burnout will see less productivity amongst their employees, which can harm your company’s profits. So, how do you tell if your employees are experiencing burnout? And more importantly, how can you prevent new and past hires from experiencing it? It may not be as difficult as many think.
What Is Burnout?
Employee burnout is work-related stress that affects a person mentally and physically. It does not describe temporary stress like that associated with a pressing deadline. Instead, it refers to a long-term state of feeling drained, overwhelmed, and exhausted from one’s job-related responsibilities.
If left untreated, burnout can lead to depression, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness, as well as various physical ailments. It also wreaks havoc on a company’s retention and morale; workers who are burned out are significantly less likely to go above and beyond what’s asked of them at work and are nearly three times more likely to be searching for a new job.
The Top Symptoms of Employee Burnout
Employee burnout can often be attributed to a lack of support at a person’s job, high periods of stress or frustration, a toxic workplace, and tight deadlines. It can be described as a person feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. Here are the warning signs to look out for with your employees:
1. Leaving work early/more absenteeism
Are your employees constantly missing work? If you’ve noticed that one of your best employees is suddenly sick and missing work more often, they may be struggling with employee burnout or headed there quickly. When people feel emotionally and physically exhausted, they will miss more days at work. They may hope that a day off of work will refresh them, but as more deadlines pile up, this usually has the opposite effect, and they end up leaving early and missing even more days than before.
2. Increased cynicism
If you’re the boss, this one may be a bit harder to spot. Increased cynicism is often noted by coworkers when an employee is experiencing burnout. However, spotting this with a simple conversation with the employee may be possible. If they seem to take your advice or feedback with a sarcastic attitude, they’re probably experiencing burnout, and you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Checking in with their managers or other coworkers on their team can help you to see whether the employee is struggling more than they’re letting on.
3. Taking feedback personally
Feedback can always be difficult to process. Those who are experiencing burnout are much more likely to take the feedback personally and get offended, even if it’s over something minor. Sometimes, the employees will blow the feedback out of proportion, or it seems like they go from zero to a hundred over something small. They may feel like they can’t do anything right, get offended, and take the feedback as a personal attack.
4. Inability to concentrate
When stress occurs, it can be hard to concentrate. Those who are experiencing burnout will find it incredibly hard to concentrate. They will jump from project to project without seeming like they get anything done, and you may find these employees “goofing off” more than normal on things like social media. As burnout worsens, they lose their passion for their job, and their inability to concentrate grows until they miss deadlines and have difficulty getting things done.
5. Decreased productivity
As burnout worsens, you can easily spot an employee’s productivity decrease. They will miss their deadlines, fail to get things done, and the company will suffer. However, employee burnout doesn’t just affect the company; it also affects the person’s life. They will also be less productive in their own lives, which carries over from the exhaustion they feel at work. As this cyclical process continues, it gets bad enough that the employees will detach themselves emotionally from the company. At that point, they will often look for a new position to try and breathe some life back into themselves. But, in reality, the problem is burnout in general, and this can be fixed.
6. Physical symptoms
Is your employee repeatedly complaining of headaches, stomachaches, or insomnia? It might be more than a routine illness that’s causing their ailments. Burnout can manifest in several physical ways that stem from prolonged exposure to stressors. Many of these physical symptoms exacerbate one another; if employees struggle to sleep because they’re stressed, they’ll show up for work the next day exhausted. Their exhaustion makes it difficult to perform their duties, which compounds their anxiety and overwhelm, and the cycle continues.
7. Isolation
As we’ve established, people experiencing burnout feel overwhelmed. As a result, they may withdraw from coworkers, friends, and even family members. They may decline to participate in activities they previously enjoyed, like team lunches or after-hours social gatherings.
8. Self-doubt
If your high-performing employee is suddenly questioning their capabilities or seeking your approval for things they’d typically manage independently, it could be a symptom of their chronic fatigue. People who are burned out often experience feelings of failure that can cause them to doubt even their long-held skills and ability to overcome challenges.
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How to Prevent Burnout of Your Employees
If you care about your business and your company, doing everything possible to prevent burnout is important. Not only will it make your employees happier and healthier, but it will also make your company more productive and, in turn, more profitable. Chances are, it’s not just one employee, but rather whole departments and the majority of your company feeling burnout. Here are a few things you can do to prevent employee burnout:
Talk to your employees
Whether you’re a manager, in HR, or the CEO of your company, you never know what’s truly going on with your employees unless you talk to them. And while they may not openly admit, or even realize, that they are experiencing burnout, they can explain how they feel. Maybe the work environment isn’t a positive one. Or, maybe the deadlines are a bit too strict, and they’re having difficulty hitting them. If this is true, having regular reviews with your employees can help. Talk to them, get to know them, and foster an environment where they will feel comfortable opening up about issues they may be experiencing during the workday.
Stop micromanaging
Micromanaging your employees may make you feel like more is getting done, but it can also cause a lot of stress. If you’re hiring someone, you should trust them to do their job. It would be best if you weren’t looking over their shoulder or questioning every move they make. Empower them by trusting them to do what they were hired to do.
Reward your employees
One of the largest reasons for employee burnout is that many employees don’t feel appreciated. They may think that no one notices their work, which can lead to resentment and stress. Rewarding your employees may seem silly, or you may think they shouldn’t be rewarded for simply doing their job. However, rewarding your workforce is more about showing them that you appreciate the work that they’re doing and that you see everything they do for the company. These rewards can be as simple as free lunch, company swag, or even telling the team they are doing a good job.
Related: Unique Employee Recognition Ideas
Make health a priority
Employee wellness systems don’t have to be over the top or insanely expensive. Sometimes, just ensuring that people are taking care of themselves is enough. If you don’t have a wellness program, it may be time to implement one. You can do simple things to promote good mental health, like ensuring enough light in the room, encouraging outside breaks, and ensuring employees are using up their vacation days each year. You can also work to promote physical health with things like monthly fitness challenges or group exercise logs. Healthier employees are happier employees, and this can help with burnout.
Related: Ways to Improve Employee Mental Health
Create a happy work environment
So many aspects go into a happy and healthy work environment. These things are necessary for people to experience burnout much quicker. The first thing is to ensure that you have enough people working. If you are short-staffed, the people who are working for you will be overwhelmed and exhausted at every turn. This will only make employee burnout worse. Hiring an adequate number of people can distribute work evenly, decreasing the stress put on each individual.
The next thing to create a happy work environment is ensuring that everyone gets along. There will always be differing ideas and viewpoints, but if you have an employee who is constantly rude, dismissive, or can’t get along with others, it may be time to reevaluate who you have hired and get rid of toxic individuals. Finally, be sure that you give your employees adequate time. They should have plenty of time to get their work done, and if you’re giving too tight of deadlines, stress and anxiety will increase.
Related: How to Reduce Stress in the Workplace
Employee Burnout Is Real and Increasing
With employee burnout increasing, you want to be sure that your company is ahead of the curve and works to prevent it from happening. As soon as you see the signs of burnout in your employees, it’s time to step in and make some changes. If not, your company will suffer in productivity and profitability and experience higher levels of turnover. Work with your HR team and managers to implement some great prevention strategies for burnout.
If you’re unsure where to start with your HR department or need help hiring more qualified individuals to prevent workplace burnout, 4 Corner Resources is here to help. We’re a full-service staffing company that can act as an extension of your HR department and help you recruit top talent for your company.
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