Burned out? How to tell if it's you, or your workplace...

Working during the Covid-19 pandemic was fraught with uncertainty. Employees were faced with new challenges across all fronts, from homeschooling to blurred boundaries between work and home life and a sense of precariousness around job security and changing job roles.

Understandably, this has taken a toll and workplace burnout has increased dramatically, with a new report by MindEdge and HRCI stating that 80% of respondents have reported an increase in employee burnout in the past year.

Workplace burnout is characterized by depersonalization from work, a decreased sense of accomplishment, and emotional exhaustion. Although there are numerous resources online that offer help to workers suffering from burnout, it puts the onus on employees to fix themselves. Leaders and managers need to address chronic work-related stress triggers and consider the wellbeing of their workers as a strategic asset.

Tackling burnout should not solely be about workers embracing rest, relaxation, and reset. Implementing meaningful, long-term measures that focus on burnout recovery and prevention are an investment in the future success of any organization.

Yours,

Michelle

According to a report by the American Psychological Association, companies that do not have policies, processes, or practices that support employee wellbeing have higher turnover, lower productivity, and higher healthcare costs.

With employee burnout at an all-time high, leaders must prioritize recovery and prevention strategies.

Here are three actions that leaders can start taking today:

Be Human First, A Boss Second

Research by Gallup found that employees whose manager is always willing to listen to their work-related problems are 62% less likely to be burned out. The uncomplicated and straightforward act of asking questions such as “How are you?”, “What are the ups, downs, and crunch-points for this week?”, and “Is there anything I can do to make this week or next week easier?” go a long way if leaders and managers meaningfully address any concerns while checking in with employees.

One-to-one time is also a great opportunity for leaders and managers to lead with heart and vulnerability. When leaders are willing to admit that they also face challenges, it can make it easier for employees to openly admit when they are not showing up as the best version of themselves, their tasks or the results-driven culture feels like too much, or that they are having a bad day.

Discourage ‘Always-On’ Culture

Leaders set the culture tone by modeling behaviors that employees follow. When managers don’t take holidays, consistently work after-hours, or send emails at night, employees often mirror this to try to keep up with the pace and thus will not unplug. Anyone in a leadership position must communicate and live the value of disconnecting.?

Embrace Collaboration Across Differences

When projects and responsibilities are shared and discussed in the team, employees don’t need to worry about the work they are coming back to after taking time off because the openness allows other employees to step into tasks and duties to carry work forward in their absence. Leaders and managers must safeguard against scenarios where only one person is delegated to responsibility, as this creates a single pressure point that exacerbates the burnout symptom where employees feel that no one else can do it.

Additionally, it is exhausting when employees feel they cannot be their most authentic selves at work. Being more ‘this’ or being less ‘that’ when it is unnatural creates a culture of mistrust, which can be further amplified when leaders reinforce a narrative of valuing more of the same over differences through hiring, reward, and development decisions. The onus is on leaders to celebrate differences in the company so that employees do not burn out trying to fit into a narrow set of expectations.

Learn more here:

• Companies Are Finally Fighting Burnout During the Pandemic
• 4 Meaningful Ways Managers Can Help Employees Struggling With Burnout
• Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski: The Cure For Burnout (Hint: It Isn't Self-Care)
• Are You Burned Out? Or Is It Something Else
• Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People
• Rep. AOC Advice For Dealing With Burnout From Job Exhaustion?

She recommends that tackling the authority gap starts with being conscious of how our individual behaviors perpetuate it, championing female leadership, and challenging traditional masculine leadership ideals.?

Read in Forbes

Women Do More to Fight Burnout — And It’s Burning Them Out

Women are caught in a Catch-22 when it comes to burnout at work: They suffer it more and also do more to combat it. Forty-two percent of women and 35% of men in Corporate America have felt burned out in the last few months (up from 32% and 28% respectively last year), according to McKinsey and LeanIn.org’s latest Women in the Workplace Report. Companies can take three actions to alleviate burnout: 1) Set company-wide working norms to take some of the pressure off managers; 2) Equip managers with the training and resources they need to lead, and 3) Formally recognize their efforts by making managers’ support of their employees part of their performance reviews.

Read in Harvard Business Review

The Employee ‘Class Gap’ Leaving Workers Behind

It’s well understood that social class is often correlated with earnings and career progression; the more money you come from, the better positioned you’re likely to be. But even getting a foot on the ladder isn’t enough, because of persistent biases and the lack of support structures.

Read in BBC Worklife

News Half Of Workers Concerned Hybrid Working Could Lead To Discrimination, Report Finds

The?Poly Evolution of the Workplace report, which polled 2,003 UK hybrid workers, found 57 percent were concerned they would face discrimination because of their working arrangement.

Nearly half (46 percent) said they were worried that working remotely could impact their career development and progression, while 54 percent said they were concerned they would miss out on ad hoc learning and development opportunities, including learning from peers and seniors, while working from home.

Read in People Management

Equality Forward Masterclasses

We have curated a series of interactive masterclasses to enable all employees to put equality into practice and embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into every aspect of working life.

Our learning series enables employees to advance their knowledge of foundational diversity and inclusion topics, understand how this shows up in their workplace, and, most importantly, how to take action every day to build a workplace that works for everyone.

Transforming the behaviors, norms, and culture in a team begins with ensuring employees are paying attention to the inequality moments that happen and taking action to manage them. As employees take action, they will begin to understand how making workplaces more inclusive and equal serves to benefit them. This is equality in action.

Learn more here

Copyright ? 2020 Michelle King, All rights reserved.