It is not always easy for a manager to assess how close his employees are to burnout. But it is quite easy to notice that the battery charge of someone from the team is almost at zero. Let's figure out how to help a person who has burned out and cannot cope with the consequences himself.
The burned-out employee understands that the effectiveness of his actions has fallen sharply, and feels guilty because of this. Therefore, he can try to pretend that everything is in order and take on new tasks over and over again. That's just it will be harder for him to cope with them.
Not every person in such a state will come to the boss himself and tell about his burnout. He may be afraid that there is only one way out of the situation — dismissal. Therefore, the manager should start the conversation himself.
The main thing is not to reproach a person, especially publicly. As a rule, the employee is not happy about his condition at all. He would like to become energetic and active again, but he cannot. Therefore, it is worth supporting him — to show that you understand his problems and are ready to help.
Talk to the employee, but do not turn the conversation into an extraordinary report and analysis of errors. Try to find out what takes away his strength and energy.
Perhaps these are working reasons — for example, he barely has time to hand over one project, as the deadline for the next one is planned. We have to constantly work in the emergency mode and at the same time avoid mistakes. Or maybe it's personal or family problems. For example, an employee's house is being renovated, and it is impossible to rest after work. Or he has recently been ill and has not yet been able to regain strength.
In the first case, it makes sense to think about expanding the staff. And in the second case, an extraordinary vacation can fix the situation. Try to determine together with the employee how to lighten his load and what to do for recovery.
With burnout, it can be difficult for a person to get into a working rhythm in the morning, but after lunch he becomes much more productive. Or vice versa: he is ready to work actively after breakfast, but gets tired and exhausted by lunch. Determine together with the employee when his stay in the office will be as productive as possible, and adjust the work schedule.
Perhaps a flexible schedule will help to avoid burnout in the future. Each company has employees whose work is not associated with a strict time frame. They can appear in the office every day, but not spend the whole working day in it.
Let such employees be present at all key events — working meetings, presentations, seminars, brainstorming sessions — that are held offline. But at the same time, they can shift the beginning and end of the working day, provided that they will be in touch at certain hours.
It is important that weekly plans are fulfilled, otherwise the flexible schedule will have to be changed again to a standard eight-hour working day.
It often seems to an employee that his efforts are almost invisible and few people need them. Remember the famous parable about three workers who carried stones to the construction site. One of them believed that he was just dragging heavy boulders, another that he was earning food for his family, and the third that he was building a beautiful temple. The second and third are much less likely to burn out — they see the meaning in their work.
Therefore, it is important that your colleagues and subordinates know that they are not just "dragging stones".
Show that the employee has done a lot of useful and necessary things for the company. Evaluate how his current tasks help everyone to develop. Note which of his suggestions or ways of approaching work tasks turned out to be the most successful.
At first glance, these are trifles. But they perform an important function — they show that the company values everyone.
Make a rule: work on each major project is divided into separate stages with measurable results. And employees at the beginning of the week report what tasks they are going to do in the coming days and what successes they plan to achieve.
For example, call 10 regular customers and find out how they use the equipment they bought from you. Find out if they have new tasks and if they need additional services. Thanks to this approach, at the end of the week, the employee will see that he has achieved his goals — for example, he has agreed on a new sale.
For a burned-out employee, you can set a lightweight plan. Or break the task into very small stages. If a person sees that he is doing well, he will feel more confident. This will help to cope with burnout and increase the plan over time.
For example, do this at the end of a week or month. In each analysis, note which tasks were successfully solved and how they helped the company. Share the feedback you receive to show how customers appreciate the work of your employees.
You can motivate the team with small bonuses. But it's not just money that will help employees feel needed. Congratulate in the general chat those who have passed the probation period or closed a difficult deal.
Mark everyone who took part in a long and expensive project.
If you are already using these methods, add something new. For example, instruct a designer to develop virtual reward badges and create a special page in each employee's profile where they will be stored.
These methods will not help a burned-out employee recover immediately. But they will facilitate his return to working form and reduce the likelihood of burnout in the future.
Sometimes symptoms of burnout appear due to a lack of certain trace elements - for example, iron or magnesium . And constant fatigue can occur due to an untreated acute respiratory viral infection. Or because of other diseases, which so far manifest themselves only as a decline in strength, but in the future may lead to serious problems.
In such cases, a doctor's consultation is needed, who will give a referral for tests and examinations, and then prescribe treatment. Therefore, it is worth giving the employee two or three days off so that he visits a therapist, passes tests and visits other specialists.
It's great if your company issues VMI policies for employees.
Maybe a person is fine with his physical condition, but he needs the help of a psychologist. It is worth finding contacts of specialists in advance so that your colleagues know where they can apply. Or offer an online appointment with a professional psychologist on the portal of remote counseling. It will be great if the company pays for the session.
Give employees the opportunity to discuss more than just work tasks. Maybe they will be interested to learn about the materials of the new profile seminar. Or visit a professional exhibition.
Or maybe you can go to a psychology lecture together and then discuss your impressions and think about what you can use when communicating with colleagues. Or just have a picnic in nature, forget about business there, laugh and tell stories from life.
Let each employee be able to offer their ideas both on the organization of work processes and on the organization of recreation. Provide such an opportunity and try to implement all the interesting offers.
Informal events will help to unite the team and give everyone the opportunity to show themselves from an unexpected side. And also — to relieve tension, to distract from tasks, problems and burning deadlines. Such promotions help employees to reboot and get away from burnout.
