Burnout represents a danger in any business. The constant push to beat the competition and meet the demands of an evolving market can take its toll. It’s up to you, as the manager, to take action to minimize the risk of burnout and help your team back to more sustainable stress levels.
It’s important to realize how prevalent burnout is. A Gallup study showed about two out of every three workers feel burned out at least some of the time. What’s more, almost a quarter of workers (23%) described themselves as feeling burned out most of the time.
These elevated stress levels can have a drastic impact. Stress impacts the mental and physical health of your team members. And, if that wasn’t enough, burnout can lead to unnecessary errors and significantly curtail output.
One study of physicians suggested that doctors were more likely to make mistakes when they suffered from symptoms of burnout. Errors by your team may have fewer life-and-death consequences than when doctors commit them. Still, it can have a significant impact on your business.
Avoiding burnout provides several benefits, both in terms of health and overall production. Luckily, there are steps you can take to minimize the risk. Here are five ways to prevent burnout from engulfing your team:
Keep Your Cool
Start with yourself. The same stressors that impact your team will also take their toll on you. However, you have to stay in control. Do what you can to keep your cool and provide a good role model for the rest of the team.
Stay Positive
Go out of your way to foster a positive atmosphere in the office, even when things get stressful. When everyone is tired and frustrated, tempers can flare. These bad feelings can fester as the stress mounts. It‘s up to you to maintain a positive tone.
Be on Their Side
Some leaders purposely drive their workers to the limit. They accept any project and make timelines as aggressive as possible. This might spur excellent production in the near term, but it‘s likely to cause long-term problems. Burnout becomes a definite risk.
Instead of continually pushing your employees, pick your spots. Know when it makes sense to push, and when you should give people a breather. Longer–term, you’ll elicit more reliable and sustainable results.
Schedule Whatever Breaks You Can
In history class, we learn about the horrors of trench warfare in World War I. But even in the midst of that life-or-death struggle, soldiers didn’t spend long stretches at the front. Instead, the troops were rotated from the front to safer, less stressful roles in the rear. In total, WWI soldiers only spent about one in five days under fire.
Take the same approach with your team. Try to rotate times of high stress with jobs that take a less intense toll. Also, encourage your workers to take a vacation when they can. It will help them avoid burnout over the long haul.
Blow Off Some Steam Together
Stress can be a team killer. However, you can also use it to bring your workers closer together. Host outings to help your employees blow off steam and build social bonds. It lowers the chance of burnout and doubles as a team-building experience.
Building a strong team is difficult. You need flexible, competent people who can work together and survive the stresses of an aggressive business environment. By teaming with a top-ranked staffing agency, like Recruiting In Motion, you make it easier to find this type of worker.
Contact Recruiting In Motion today to find out how you can find the perfect people for your team.
