How do you cope with the stress and burnout of working in a contact center?

Ask others what leads them to frustration ad what they do to return to a functioning mindspace. This way even if an individual doesn't recognize burnout in themselves, then peers can offer to help when a break is needed. Repetitive work can easily become boring, so sometimes it would be good to swap roles, or tasks so the mind has time to get out of a rut. When needing to have an open mind, we can get a set way of thinking, our minds need to flow like water on a flat surface to reach different solutions, if we keep moving one way, we eventually create a current and its hard to make water flow (ideas) in a cut out path.

Stay alert and pay attention to the signs not only for yourself but for your peers as well! Working in contact centers in any role is difficult, exhausting and the pressure runs high. Sometimes it might be difficult to spot the signals for yourself, so you need to look for one another. Here are some examples to pay attention to and if you spot these situations or hear these words, you need to take action: “I am off but I will do this” -> you really shouldn’t “Yes, yes, yes, yes” - saying no is amongst the healthiest and most important skills you can learn

Addressing stress and burnout in contact centers begins with staying connected to your team. Take the pulse regularly, be present in break areas, and simply be part of the team. Understanding the 'why' is crucial. Keep channels open, evaluate the need for team reassignments, and consider stability if there have been frequent changes. Provide comfort, explain past changes, highlight successes, and offer a concrete vision for the future. Together, we navigate challenges.

I sit with the team and listen to calls with them. Shows frontline you empathize while learning their frustrations - leading to innovation. I share transformation plans with front-line, so they know they'll soon get tools to make their jobs better.

For me this is focusing on your team's behaviours, when you notice they've been a bit quieter than usual, or sometimes the opposite, they become more feisty than normal. Check for people retreating into their shell, more absence than normal. booking last minute random days off. You need to pay attention, otherwise you won't notice whats going on until it's too late.

Taking care of yourself is crucial in the high-pressure environment of contact centers. ?? Prioritize a balanced diet and regular exercise to boost your energy and resilience. ?????♂? Incorporating relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga can significantly reduce stress levels. ??♀? And remember, seeking professional counseling is a sign of strength, not weakness. ?? Your well-being is the foundation of your success! ??

It's tempting to spend your breaks and lunches doom scrolling, mind lost in your screen. However, a walk around the complex, or nearby park, can do wonders for your mental health when stressed. Also, meeting with colleagues and forming a support team can be helpful. Rather than just complaining (do vent, but don't only vent) also take that time to ask each other about best practices, and share with each other about life events and what life giving activities you're each participating in outside of work.

Some people, myself included, ease my own problems by helping others that have the same problems. Find someone in worse condition and help lift them up. Its hard to help or give advice when it is not something you have experienced or overcome yourself.

This sounds cliche but TAKE YOUR BREAKS. And don't just sit at your desk. Get up. Walk around. Go outside. Chat with your co-workers. Play ping pong (every contact center should have a ping pong table). The best is a combination of these. Get with a few of your favorite work buddies and go take a walk around the building. This may not be the most physical job in the world, but it's definitely just as tiring as working a manual-labor type role. When you're off work, you need to relax. Don't stay up super late or stay out all night at a bar. You really need to take care of yourself if you're a contact center agent/manager.

Managing stress and burnout requires prioritizing your physical and mental well-being. This includes nourishing yourself with balanced meals, staying hydrated, and engaging in regular exercise. Additionally, reaching out to your support network can provide valuable assistance. If things become overwhelming, don't hesitate to seek professional help, such as counseling.

You know what a successful day looks like as a contact center agent/manager. Plan your days out and seek to accomplish all the things that you planned for. It may be tempting to act as a super-agent, taking call after call and skipping breaks. Trust me, that will make you burn out faster than a 99 cent candle. Do NOT overwork yourself. Remember, the work will always be there for you but you can't do the work if you burn yourself out.

The right to say no is critical, when the 'big opportunity' is something that would increase stress with little return, the reaction should just be, to clarify why the offer was declined and when burnout is determined to be the reason, there needs to be a procedure in place to help

Many times, we struggle to establish boundaries and decline requests by saying 'No.' It's crucial to prioritize our core responsibilities by adhering to a schedule, maintaining a to-do list, and breaking down large projects into smaller tasks. Avoid excessive context switching, which involves constantly shifting focus between different tasks, activities, or contexts.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is write down tasks, so we can prioritize them, but sometimes we need most to feel like we have accomplished something. Some days there is so much to do and it is easy to feel like we are drowning in work, so completing several small tasks first can give us the motivation to overcome the harder more tune consuming tasks.

I'd say this portion is speaking more to the contact center leaders. I've been there. Emails from customers come in on the weekends and you want to respond right away. Admirable, but ill-advised. You HAVE TO unplug when you're not on the clock. When work starts seeping into your personal life, you'll might find yourself hating your role before too long. Unplug. Recharge. Reset. Then get back to work on Monday.

Going above and beyond duties is work called service. So defining work/all other things we spend time on according to the value we have for them gives needed insight for workload. Prioritizing needs & wants of our selves to those we work with, &with family is key. Some people love working their job as it brings joy, fulfillment, &sense of pride to their life; versus some people hate their job & want to spend the least amount of time working as they can. So in a family one person is a workaholic w/ot, one has more free time. So a balance at home/work give and take needs to be put in view. Defining individuals needs, as well as what they provide & what they see as valuable regarding $ and/or time allows balance overall.

To combat stress and burnout, prioritize work-life balance by allocating time to both professional responsibilities and personal rejuvenation. Establishing set work hours and disabling email notifications after work hours can help maintain boundaries and promote well-being.

If you're not growing, you're dying. You will absolutely 100% without a doubt burnout in any role or facet of life if you are not continuously seeking to improve. Take just a little bit of time, each day, to be intentional about getting better at something. You'll find the challenge will keep you wanting to come back for more.

Embracing a 'can-do' attitude and committing to continuous learning are effective strategies for minimizing stress and burnout. Actively participating in webinars, audio events, and relevant subscriptions keeps us informed about industry trends and best practices, enhancing our effectiveness in addressing evolving customer service challenges.

A great employer knows their greatest resource are their people. Investing in them isn't just a great idea - it's a game changer. Programs designed to take employees at all levels and prepare/train them for roles with more responsibility not only prepares bench strength, it can provide motivation and retention for ambitious employees. And this sort of training isn't only for large corporations with dedicated training teams - apprenticeships can occur at virtually any size company and can have a lifelong impact on the apprentices (and the companies that train them!) that succeed in such programs.

Humor is such an important part of work and life however I would suggest that you balance humor and fun with the mission and vision of your company. I would consistently try to find fun challenges and opportunities for employee engagement that remind everyone of why the contact center is critical to the companies vision. This should start during employee onboarding, teaching people about the core values and how they can achieve success in the company. Most of your leadership likely started as an agent so celebrate those milestones. I still remember to this day what it was like to be on the phone for 6 plus hours every day and the leaders that balanced the mission with fun made it so much better to be a part of the team.

One way to avoid burnout is to have duties that are non-contact. Frequent round tables, discussion groups, quick training/refresher courses, and team building g events are all options. The sessions do not need to be long to be impactful, as little as an hour a week, spread over two or three days, will help reduce the stress. Think of the burnout being a kettle on the stove. The pressure is the heat and burn out as the steam, leading to it boiling and the whistle. Non-contact duties takes the kettle off of the heat, lets it cool off. Adoption of frequently scheduled cool off periods become highlights of the days, weeks, and months. Contact associates will benefit by just knowing the next session is coming and will anticipate it.

Brief, cogent employee satisfaction surveys, given intermittently throughout the year can help establish "pulse checks" with staff. But these pulse checks and the value of ESAT surveys in general will fall flat if no action is taken given the results. Similarly, a "comment box" will not fix any problems whatsoever if staff do not see actions materialize from their feedback. While not all feedback is feasible or even constructive, listening to (and acting upon) employees feelings is essential to managing burnout and morale.