Combating Burnout: Effective Strategies for Workplace Wellness
Have you noticed falling productivity rates in your workplace? Wondering why team members don’t seem so motivated? These are both signs that your employees may be experiencing work-related burnout, a state of feeling physically and emotionally worn out.
Burnout can also lead to job dissatisfaction and increased rates of absenteeism, so for employers, finding ways to prevent and relieve stress before it reaches such extremes is essential. This article will therefore go over some ideas for stopping your top talent from becoming overwhelmed.
What is Work-Related Burnout?
Burnout develops as a result of extreme stress at work that’s been left unaddressed, which can be caused by anything from excessive workloads to a lack of employee support. This occupation-related syndrome typically manifests itself as cynical feelings towards work, complete energy depletion, loss of motivation, and a reduced sense of efficacy.
Research shows that burnout can be debilitating for employees, being a significant predictor of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, respiratory problems, and even mortality below the age of 45.
How to Prevent Work-Related Burnout: 3 Strategies
With 77% of professionals suggesting that they’ve experienced burnout at their current workplace, here are some ways that you can tackle stress and improve work quality.
-
Provide Flexible Working Arrangements
Whether having the option to work from home or choose their own hours, embracing flexibility is key to helping employees maintain a good work-life balance.
Hybrid or remote work provides the autonomy for employees to create their own schedule, with more time to take part in activities like spending time with family or attending gym classes. Not only can this boost mental well-being, but statistics show that flexible working arrangements can also improve productivity, with remote employees working 16.8 more days per year on average!
-
Foster Strong Communication
Work-related burnout can be triggered by a variety of issues, including everything from a perceived lack of community to insufficient recognition or reward for good work. However, a common factor that underpins these issues is a lack of communication, which can lead to a toxic workplace culture.
Tackle these problems head-on by holding regular one-to-one meetings with employees. Check in on their well-being, create a plan that outlines their goals and concerns, and find effective ways to manage these and help your employees feel heard.
Encourage better communication between employees too – from arranging team-building activities and weekly lunches to suggesting walking meetings rather than sitting at a desk all day can help to create a sense of community, where all employees feel included and valued.
-
Prioritize Stress Management
Investing in wellness resources is an effective way of showing individuals that they’ll always have the support they need to get through those difficult times. With an annual growth rate of 9.16%, the healthtech market offers plenty of products that are designed specifically to help with stress management.
One company that’s part of this fast-paced industry is Kilo Health, global leaders in digital health and wellness that invest in such products through their Co-found Program. This is a
unique initiative that helps budding entrepreneurs launch and scale their own digital health products.
In return for passion and industry expertise, successful applicants will become Kilo Health business partners and receive the financial, operational, and marketing support they need to make their products a success.
From habit-tracking apps to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) programs, these products are designed to revolutionize the management of chronic conditions at home and work, therefore offering a great solution for companies looking to boost employee motivation and relieve burnout.