Employee burnout is the reality organizations are waking up to in the new normal workplace situations. Excessive screen time and lack of face-to-face social interactions during the pandemic have further aggravated the situation.

A study shows that India has the second-highest number of employees dealing with corporate burnout!

The result of chronic stress can be disastrous not just for an employee but also for an organization.

Why should you ease workplace stress to combat Burnout?

The need to support the employees is crucial for organizational success. Reason: Stressed employees will have lower productivity, which will affect the goals and targets a company wants to achieve.

According to a recent survey conducted by ADP, global Payroll and HR leader, that surveyed some 1,908 Indian employees, found that about 70% of the employees had experienced stress at least once a week. The stress experienced is during the work week, and it is regular.

The results that were published in the People at work report revealed some interesting findings. According to the report, Indians were amongst the most forthright about their mental health issues. About 89% of Indian respondents revealed that they would not feel discomfort about talking about their mental health, especially at work.

With these statistics, while Indian employees are ready to talk about their mental health, companies need to be ready with their strategies to help their workforce. Here are some of the ways organizations can support their employees.

Ways for companies to combat Workforce Burnout

To combat your workforce burnout, it is crucial to know the signs. There are some peculiar symptoms that the various experts from the medical field have shared. These include,

• Chronic anxiety
• Mental and physical exhaustion throughout the day
• Loss of energy
• High BP, chronic reflux, burning sensation in the pit of the stomach
• Decrease in productivity
• Low motivation and feeling of negativity
• Difficulty in concentration
• Insomnia and forgetfulness

So, what can organizations do to help their workforce combat burnout? Here are some ways-

• Create career paths and goals:

  Lack of opportunity for growth can be extremely stressful. Companies can help their employees upskill or reskill themselves and advance in their careers. Set clear goals together with employees, let them know what is expected from them, and provide them with the required support to meet those goals.

• Offer incentives to keep them motivated:

  Incentives need not be only monetary; they can be specially crafted coupons like lunch at a fancy restaurant or extended time-off.

• Be there for your team:

  Another way to ensure the mental health of your employees is by being approachable to them. When employees approach their managers, they feel empowered to battle any stress.

• Provide expert help:

  Introduce mental health and wellness counselors to help employees get expert advice and guidance on dealing with difficult situations.

• Make fitness a priority:

  Overall fitness of employees is essential to combat any burnout. Help your employees take care of their health by helping them switch off from their work and indulge in some recreational activities. Or offer gym membership.

• Take every opportunity to appreciate:

  Appreciation goes a long way in making employees feel happy about their work and the workplace. A job well done must be appreciated by sending out the email to all the team members with a special mention of the employee who is being appreciated. It will also motivate other members to perform well and earn that appreciation.

• Offer flexibility:

  Flexible work hours and work-from-home work well to avoid burnout. Managers can ensure employees stay healthy by limiting their work hours.

• Deal with empathy:

  Empathy is another trait managers need to show their employees. And for that, managers need to reach out and communicate with their team. A casual chit-chat about their day and how the work is going will help employees foster trust in their manager. If an employee is facing challenges at work, managers need to tackle the situation with a lot of empathy to help their people perform better.

• Lead by example:

  Finally, it is important for the managers to lead the team by example. So, managers must set their work timings and indulge in recreational activities, as this will encourage the team to do the same.

Wrapping up

Workplace burnout is one of the primary causes of employee disengagement. If organizations want productive employees, profitable business, and efficiency in operations, they need to understand the most common causes of burnout and cut down on the triggers to ensure the mental health of their employees. Only when employees are well-supported by the organization and can take care of their well-being, can businesses succeed.