101: Employee burnout
A sure contender for the most dramatic story of employee burnout is the tale of Arianna Huffington. Two years after she launched the Huffington Post – exhausted – she collapsed, hit her head on her desk and broke a cheekbone. Since then, she’s been an advocate for preventing burnout. Here are things companies should consider regarding employee burnout, classified as a mental health condition by the World Health Organization in 2019.
Streamline channels. Excessive collaboration, prompted by an organization with too many decision-makers and leading to endless meetings and conference calls, results in fragmented work hours and burnout. Harvard Business Review found senior executives get 200 or more emails a day. “The overload problem is compounded for companies, because the best people are the ones whose knowledge is most in demand and who are often the biggest victims of collaboration overload,” writes Eric Garton, the author of a book on overcoming organizational drag.
Offer employees stress-reducing amenities. Workplace Culture Consultant Heidi Lynne Kurter tells Forbes many companies are offering grocery deliveries at work, for example – reducing the need for that supermarket stop on the way home. Pet sitting is another convenience some workplaces have introduced. “Likewise, no-meeting days are becoming increasingly popular,” she said, “having the ability to have a meeting-free afternoon during the week is crucial for a deep work session without interruptions.”
Managers, reflect. Workable.com’s Nikoletta Bika has a few questions managers should ask themselves to see if they promote burnout: “Do you send emails to your team members late at night or call them on weekends about work? Do you rarely push back when other departments or teams try to force their projects on your own? Are you rewarding hard work and long hours instead of focusing on results delivered? Do you treat some team members unfairly or struggle with your own work so much that you don’t have time to talk with or help your team?
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