It’s easy to overlook that your best employees are also people who can become burnt out and overwhelmed. Remember, even the hardest-working member of the team can get tired. When this happens, it’s important to give that person the space they need to decompress.
This is why weekends and vacations are so vital to a functioning workplace: rested workers are good workers.
So, what are some behaviors managers should avoid to keep employees from getting burned out? Here are a few answers from real office employees who’ve quit jobs due to burnout.
Don’t Ask Too Much
There’s a tendency some managers have to give the hardest workers even more work. The stalwart person who rockets through the work you give him might seem like the guy you want to hand extra assignments to. After all, he’s so good at this!
However, consider this carefully. If you’re only loading the few standout employees up with extra work, they might get burned out on how much you’re demanding of them.
This can compound if they notice their colleagues are not only working less, but are also putting in a worse job. If your instinct is to send more work to someone who is a standout employee, you should actually be promoting them to compensate for these new responsibilities.
Remember, that’s what promotion is for: highlighting the best and brightest on your team and paying them accordingly.
Allow for a Balance
Work-life balance isn’t just a buzzword that only applies to upstart tech companies. Every single person on this planet needs a healthy work-life balance, but few people are afforded that luxury. However, studies have shown, time and again, that an employee who has more time to tend to their personal life is also happier in the workplace.
It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s also good for your bottom line. Remember: a happy worker is a hard worker. When employees burn out, you lose them, and that’s bad in a number of ways.
Breaks are Key
Workers need breaks. No one is a machine. Even workers who say they don’t need breaks need breaks. Whether that’s a ten-minute breather or a weeklong vacation, everyone needs to spend some time away from their desk. Identifying this isn’t tough, either: you can tell when someone is sluggish and hardly wants to be there.
After a nice break or a vacation, workers tend to come back reinvigorated and ready to tackle their tasks. So, allow for a bit of humanity, and the people that work for you will be performing at their very best.
