Understanding Burnout
Being burned out is not the same as being overworked, although they have common symptoms, including issues with concentration, memory, and sleep. Feeling overworked or exhausted can be addressed by resting, but burnout cannot.
Recognizing burnout in ourselves and in our team members is the first step in fighting this productivity killer. The following are generally agreed-upon symptoms of burnout:
- Having a negative attitude about work.
- Dreading going into work and wanting to leave once there.
- Showing little interest at work; decreasing the workload or output; becoming apathetic.
- Having difficulty sleeping.
- Being absent from work frequently.
- Experiencing physical ailments, such as headaches or an upset stomach.
- Being annoyed or losing your temper easily.
- Pulling away emotionally from team members.
- Feeling that your work is undervalued.
- Thinking about changing jobs.
Oftentimes, the leaders are the ones who experience job burnout.
Why Is Burnout So Rampant?
As organizations try to cut costs — as they were during the pandemic — many have downsized their staffs, and supervisors often expect more work to be accomplished with limited resources.
Additionally, mobile technology constantly connects employees to their work and doesn’t permit them to disengage.
In high-achieving people, their drive and internal measures of success can also contribute to work-related burnout.
Causes of Burnout
Burnout is caused by more than merely having to do more with less. Often, employee burnout is related to management style. Employees cite a feeling of helplessness, which is more accurately defined as a lack of autonomy. This feeling manifests itself in employees sensing that they have no control over their workday, assignments, and deadlines.
Another common reason for burnout is a conflict between employees’ values and those of the organization. The stress of unclear job expectations, exacerbated by having to work with a dysfunctional team, handling an excessive workload, and feeling a lack of support from a supervisor, also contributes to employee burnout.
Consequences of Burnout
Clearly, the consequences of burnout can be severe. If team members’ productivity declines dramatically, they can become a negative influence on the organizational culture. Decreased engagement can lead to stagnation in creativity and problem-solving. Absenteeism of employees who are in the throes of burnout and missing a significant number of workdays shifts the burden of their deliverables to other team members, often creating a toxic, cyclical environment that is difficult to resolve.
Helping Employees Avoid Burnout
Many people who are beginning to feel burned out focus on short-term interventions, such as taking a vacation or more breaks during the workday. Such interventions can alleviate stress; however, they are not solutions for burnout. Nevertheless, team leaders can pursue the following suggestions to help employees return to a productive, positive state of mind.
Manage employees’ workloads and clarify their roles. High-performing team members feel as if they are solely responsible for ensuring their team’s success. They take on additional responsibilities without being asked, fill in when others are not meeting expectations, and continue to perform their own job functions with precision. It is easy to take these employees for granted; however, their ability to maintain this level of engagement will be short-lived. In the end, they will crumble from the stress and move on to a less demanding and more supportive work environment. Leaders should note employees’ workloads and ensure that the high performers are not enabling others to shirk their responsibilities.
Communicate with team members. Open communication between a leader and team members is crucial. Good leaders are able to connect with employees on an individual level, listen to their concerns, and help solve their problems. Consequently, team members know they are cared about as individuals and that their contributions are valued. Acknowledging team effort and providing positive, appreciative feedback go a long way toward ensuring that team members can stave off burnout.
Treat team members fairly. Team members are keenly aware of favoritism, unequal treatment, and bias toward other employees. High-performing leaders know that treating all team members fairly is a critical component of ensuring a positive work environment.
Create realistic, achievable goals for task completion. Paramount in the discussion about workplace burnout is the disconnect between the expectations for task completion and the reality of the work to be done to meet deadlines. Unreasonable deadlines set up team members for failure. The savvy team leader understands the nuances of each team member’s job and structures deliverables in a manner that is achievable.
Encourage teamwork. The leader’s job is to ensure that all staff members receive job satisfaction as they operate as a strongly bonded team.
Make work purposeful. Team members are significantly less likely to experience burnout when they can connect their work to a greater purpose. Most people — especially those who work in schools — seek altruistic reasons to be engaged in the work that they do. As leaders, the more we can connect their daily tasks to a greater mission, the more engaged our team will be. It is our job to show them how their contributions make a difference.
Focus on team members’ strengths. According to Gallup, most people will not experience burnout if they are engaged in work that maximizes their skill set. Sometimes, employees are misplaced in the organization. Leaders too often focus on employees’ deficits, failing to see the strengths those employees can provide to the organization. It’s about “getting the right people on the bus in the right seats.”
Leaders Experience Burnout Too
Oftentimes, the leaders are the ones who experience job burnout. They give so much of themselves that they have nothing left to keep them afloat. That means that leaders need to find meaning in what they themselves do; they should reflect on their impact on the lives of students and staff to ensure a thriving future. Education leaders choose this route because they want to make a difference. Their job is to keep that passion front and center and pass it on to their teams.
Conclusion
Although burnout is commonplace in organizations, supervisors can take steps to ensure a healthy, happy work environment for their teams. But it is equally important to monitor their own feelings toward work and be proactive in finding satisfaction in the work they do. When teams are happy, the workplace can be a rich environment that invigorates everyone.