Work burnout: what is it and how do you prevent it?

Workplace burnout can creep up on the best of us. And it doesn't discriminate. Whether you're a director, to managers, to employees and apprentices, on your staff without them even realising it and wreak havoc on their physical and mental health. Getting in early, staying late and developing an unhealthy work/life balance in a bid to be the best, most competitive and most dedicated employee can all lead to burnout. And when it hits, it not only throws your employee a curveball, but it has an impact on your business too.

What is work burnout?

Burnout is now recognised as a medically defined condition. Pre May 2019, many experts believed that other medical conditions were to blame, such as depression or anxiety. Fortunately, that is no longer the case and burnout now describes an acute state of physical or mental exhaustion where even simple tasks feel like climbing a mountain for an affected employee. A worker may also feel like they’re losing their personal identity or not accomplishing as much.

Burnout can occur as a result of long-term stress at work or if a worker has failed to get the results they expected at work, leaving them feeling as if all they effort they put in wasn’t worth it.

Ironically, according to Mind Tools, work burnout usually occurs in people who initially shine very brightly, love their work, care deeply and do a fantastic job. But anyone can become exhausted and although this can be overcome with rest, there is also a deep sense of disillusionment which people who are more cynical about their job in the first place are less likely to feel.

What are the symptoms of work burnout?

There are a number of symptoms you can look for that indicate burnout, and these include:

Feeling hopeless about life and work
Having less patience with colleagues and friends than normal
A feeling that every day at work is a bad day
Frequently phoning in sick and feeling unable to cope with work
Feeling physically and emotionally exhausted a lot of the time
Lacking in motivation to do the job or go into work
Experiencing negative emotions all the time such as cynicism, despondency, frustration and pessimism
Greater difficulty in concentrating or carrying out normal tasks
A drop in job performance
Failure to take care of oneself e.g. drinking too much, not exercising, eating lots of junk food, smoking, not sleeping
Health problems – burnout over a long period of time can cause physical problems such as digestive issues, obesity, heart problems and depression

Learn why health & wellbeing is crucial to business success

6 ways to prevent burnout in your workplace

If you have staff suffering from burnout it can affect their performance, which in turn can affect company performance and productivity. Therefore, it’s important to take a proactive approach and tackle burnout before it becomes chronic. Here are 6 tips on preventing work burnout.

Give your employees purpose

Sure, your staff want to be paid for what they do - but they also want to know that what they do matters and has a purpose. Make sure you’re clear from the moment they join what their purpose is within your organisation, why they and their work matters, and how they help other people. You should regularly review job roles to emphasise this with your staff.

Performance reviews and 1-2-1s are a great opportunity to reinforce your employees' importance to your team and the wider business. This is incredibly easy to manage with the help of HR Software.

Create a mental health training programme

Being proactive and creating a mental health training programme can reap long-term benefits for your organisation. Giving managers the necessary training to spot signs of work burnout and to address them early on can stop any problems from becoming more serious. It also shows your staff you’re a caring employer who considers their wellbeing important.

Not sure where to start? Here's a useful article from us on how to create an effective mental health programme for your people.

Keep the lines of communication open

It’s very important that your staff know they can talk to you or their line manager about any concerns. You need to foster an open-door policy where talking about mental health is normalised rather than viewed with suspicion.

Encourage exercise and healthy living

As part of any wellbeing programme you implement you should encourage staff to exercise regularly and eat healthily which can help reduce stress and encourage relaxation. You could consider offering discounted gym membership or health perks as part of any benefits package available to staff.

Interested in learning more about the importance of office exercise? Here's 10 reasons why office fitness is good for business.

Make sure staff unplug

Set clear boundaries and make sure your employees know they shouldn’t be answering emails at midnight. If staff don’t feel like they can switch off it can increase long-term stress on them. Create a policy which avoids staff being contacted outside of hours and gives them a proper break.

Audit your workspace

Take a look around the work environment. Could you reduce noise and make it more welcoming? Consider creating relaxation spaces or quiet areas for employees to take a bit of time out. Good lighting is also important and natural lighting has been shown to reduce stress and promote calm, peaceful moods.