Has one of your best employees suddenly become cynical and disengaged? It can be shocking when someone that regularly exceeds expectations is all of sudden the weakest link on the team. Chances are, your super star is experiencing employee burnout. As a manager, evaluating employee enthusiasm and figuring out why employees may be facing burnout is a critical part of your role. Employee burnout leads to decreased productivity and high turnover. Here are a few strategies to help overcome employee burnout and increase productivity.
Pay attention.
Watch and study the choices employees make on a daily basis, and you’ll start to see a consistent pattern of the decisions they make. If a team member starts to make more careless mistakes (big or small), chances are they’re being overworked—especially if these are the kind of mistakes that shouldn’t be happening given their experience and training. Re-assess their workload now to prevent them from becoming burnt out.
Empower employees.
In order to be excited about their job, employees need to feel empowered. A little praise can go a long way when it comes to motivating employees. Positive reinforcement makes employees feel inspired to do their jobs well. Make sure employees have the resources they need to do their work well and prove to them that there are abundant opportunities for growth and advancement within the organization. A chance at a promotion or bonus can empower even the most overwhelmed employees.
Evaluate manager/employee relationships.
When someone is being treated unfairly in a relationship whether professional or personal, they will be unsatisfied and draw back from the relationship. This is a leading factor of employee disengagement. If your employees feel they aren’t being treated well by their supervisors, are undervalued, and never receive appreciation, there is a high change that they are not going to perform at their best. Have frequent one-on-one meetings and an open door policy so that you’re more aware of employees’ perceptions of how they’re being treated.
Facilitate balance.
When an all-star employee has too much on their plate, they’ll do anything to get the work done. Working through lunch, working late, working on weekends—they don’t want to drop the ball. This can quickly lead to stress and exhaustion. When you see this happening, step in. Work with the employee to develop tactical ways to avoid this pattern. Make them take their lunch hour and set a time that they need to log off for the day. Setting these expectations with the employee will help eliminate their stress.
The earlier you recognize the warning signs of burnout, the sooner you’ll be able to address the situation and prevent it. While many employees are accustomed to high stress work environments, there’s a fine line between being stressed and getting completely burned out.
Need to staff up in order to alleviate employee burnout this summer? Let the experienced team of recruiters at BOS Staffing help. For more than 35 years we have helped clients throughout Northeast Georgia and nationwide complete work cost-effectively, hire smarter, and manage their workforces more efficiently. Contact us today to learn more about customized staffing solutions for your organization.
