People Matter - December 2023

Managing burnout in 2024

Work-related mental health issues shot up after the pandemic and have remained persistently high compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Burnout sits at the more serious end of the mental health spectrum, a consequence of prolonged stress, long hours and lack of support.

One survey found that nearly 70% of full-time employees claimed to have felt burnt out at some point, while a recent study by Deloitte reported that more than nine out of ten professionals work beyond their contracted hours.

In America, it’s said that employees experiencing burnout were 63% more likely to take a sick day and two to three times more likely to be actively looking for another job. In other words, if an employee is struggling with burnout, the impact is likely to be felt by colleagues and the business as well, eventually.

Many believe that this issue of burnout will hang around in 2024, so do you have a plan to address it?

First up, you need to be able to recognise the signs of burnout when it strikes, or preferably beforehand. These may include exhaustion, pessimism, negativity and reduced effectiveness.

If you think you may have a case, or one is brewing, schedule a 121 meeting in which you can start to address the issue. Talk to them to find out how they are feeling and if they recognise that they may be at, or near, burnout.

If they agree, the chances are they’ll say it is because of a combination of an unmanageable workload, a lack of communication or support from their manager (maybe you), impossible deadlines and trouble with colleagues or customers. It could of course be connected with a personal issue, too.

Even this very act of communication is a start to resolving the issue – a problem shared is a problem halved as the saying goes. They’ll feel less isolated. Your next move will depend on the exact ?causes, and the resources available to you.

Some good ideas may be to check they are using their annual leave (its primary purpose is to give employees a break), encourage better teamwork and perhaps a restructuring of workload. You could also explore training and development if you both think it could help.

We often advise an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) as part of a benefits package, which includes access to confidential helplines which can also be a useful and cost-effective tool in tackling mental health issues like burnout. Ask us if you want to find out more.

Three HR issues to look out for between Christmas and New Year

The Christmas period makes for an unusual time to manage a workforce. While many people, including business owners, like to unwind, there will still be some work to be done unless you have a complete shutdown. And of course in some industries, Christmas is the busiest time of year.

Here are three particular challenges that may arise, with suggestions on how to manage them.

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Travel disruption – Train companies running a Sunday service midweek, engineering works or bad weather all combine to make travel more difficult around Christmas. These are things out of your (and your staff’s) control, so you’ll need to plan workarounds if employee commutes are impacted.

Fortunately, forewarned is forearmed and it does happen every year so you can plan. What you do depends on your business, but agreeing to remote working or flexitime, swapping shifts around or getting extra staff in could all be options.

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Unfit for work – Christmas is a time of excess and that does extend to alcohol and late nights for many. It’s down to your staff what they do outside of work and not your place to cramp their style – so long as they show up on time and do their job properly when required. If you have a track record of trouble, you may issue staff a reminder of expectations beforehand.

If they do cross a line though, it’s time to take a stand (remember to be fair, no favourites).

There’ll be little to gain from giving someone who is a tad off form a hard time. But if their excess results in some serious poor performance, you’ll need to address it. Most seriously, if there is a safety issue, or they have shown up to work clearly under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then your formal disciplinary process should start, including possible suspension. Do, though, ?get advice to ensure you follow the correct procedure.

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Lack of productivity – Sometimes there may genuinely not be much to do between Christmas and New Year. Other times, those that come into work may be too distracted to get stuff done if not tightly managed. Either way, it’s a loss of opportunity and productivity for you.

This is a time to be proactive in your line management. If it is quiet, plan to set some extra tasks which wouldn’t normally get done but will help the business get off to a flyer in 2024 – an office cleanout or some 121 appraisals for example. If there’s a lot to get done, could you keep in the Christmas spirit with some work-based challenges and rewards for the top performers?

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If you find yourself facing an HR issue over Christmas, don’t forget that we are only a phone call away – and our job is to prevent people problems for you.

Discussing Christmas

It is fair to say that Christmas has transcended Christianity for years, decades even. As an employer though, it is important to consider its Christian roots when managing your team.

This doesn’t, of course, mean cancelling Christmas; but it does mean giving people of other faiths safe space to opt out if they do not wish to take part in the Christmas routine like party or jumpers, without being pressured by colleagues.

A welcoming workplace may also give a friendly acknowledgement to their own religious festivals around this time – Hailing a “Happy Diwali”, for example, which passed in November.

Other employees may have more personal reasons for not getting in the Christmas spirit, such as suffering a bereavement at this time of year, being estranged from family or they simply dislike the fuss. Be in-tune with your whole team, and mindful of this in the build up to Christmas and when people return from festivities keen to chat about how wonderful it has all been.

Supreme Court ruling: Deliveroo drivers remain self-employed

The Supreme Court has become the fourth court in the land to rule that Deliveroo drivers are self-employed. It is a decision in contrast to that made on Uber drivers previously who did win workers’ rights in court.

A trade union had brought the case, seeking collective bargaining rights for its members. But the court found that owing to important factors like the right to refuse work, to appoint a substitute and work for competitors, that there were fundamental inconsistencies with any notion of an employment relationship.

The rise of the gig economy has muddied the waters of employment status, and who is and is not entitled to rights such as holiday pay and minimum wages. We would always argue for treating people who work for you fairly and to do that you must decide their employment status correctly. If you would like clarity on the employment status of staff and your compliance with employment law, please contact us.

In the case cited in our title above, ￡15,000 was awarded specifically for injury to feelings after being left out of a WhatsApp group – it was part of a larger ￡134K settlement. In another example, a supermarket worker was awarded nearly ￡9K after being made to feel extremely upset. She had been asked to return to work from an extra break she was taking due to stress.

A case of a delivery driver suing for unfair dismissal after being sacked for stealing packages did not stand. So a line in the sand is drawn – just not where many rational people may think.

All claims are expensive in terms of time and legal fees before you think of any award payment. Our Advice Line comes with tribunal indemnity insurance that can protect you from the costs of such cases, so long as you act on our advice from the outset. If you are not already signed up to it, ask us for more details.

Working through Christmas!

For those that have to work through Christmas, new legislation coming in 2024 may make things better next year. Why not position your business as if it is law now, tackling two of the issues that can make working over Christmas difficult?

A new law is coming into force in October 2024 which puts a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to protect their workers from sexual harassment. You may already do this, but if you recognise you need to be more robust, this is a good time of the year to make sure your staff know you will not accept any inappropriate customer behaviour, and empower your managers to deal with any incident.

Another new law, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act is expected to come into force in May 2024. This means employers must share 100% of all customer tips, including those paid by credit card, without a deduction. Now could be a good time to reward staff on festive duty by introducing this before Christmas, if you have not already done so.

Don’t forget to review your own year

Good line management dictates that you probably give your team 121 annual appraisals. It’s your time to review the year with them, assess the successes and failures, look to the future and set goals.

But do you take the time to do this yourself? It may be the kind of activity that you do if you are signed up on a business coaching programme, but even then it can be hard to find the time.

It is worth following through with, though. It is important to recognise your accomplishments, and check that you are on course with what you want to achieve – making adjustments if necessary.

And unlike many an employee, you don’t need to dread that meeting with the boss!