One of the most taboo topics in the world of business is professional burnout. Despite this, it happens to every business at one point or another and can have serious, real impacts on business profits. If you’re looking at what to do about your business’s future, addressing burnout is a great starting point.
What actually is business burnout?
Burnout is when work-related tasks and responsibilities become so overwhelming that they overwhelm workers or the business owner to the point that their professional and personal lives suffer. It’s a kind of mental exhaustion that requires rest and stress relief for workers/employers to be able to recover.
How does burnout manifest?
Burnout itself can look and feel a bit different to each company and person, but there are some common themes that pop up from one professional world to the next.
The first detail is that people realize they are running behind due to exhaustion, so they try to speed up to get more done in the same amount of time. Despite this, they only end up slowing themselves down. Typos, clerical errors, missed appointments, etc., all result from employees trying to multi-task and get too much done in one period. So, basically a lack of proper time management.
Another sign is an increase in irritation, temper tantrums, etc. Even the best professional workers can snap and have full-blown tantrums at home or at work if they are pushed too far into burnout. It’s bad enough for it to happen in the workplace, of course, but it’s even worse to have that happen in a board meeting or in a client meeting!
Another common issue is staff members suddenly getting amnesia. They can’t remember how to log into the cloud storage. Or they forget about a client meeting that has been at the same time, every week, for years. This is a small yet very large indicator of burnout.
The bad news is that inflation in the workplace is making burnout even more prominent and chronic in the modern business world.
How to deal with burnout
Dealing with burnout isn’t impossible. It’s about addressing it and working together with employees and business coaches to help find a way through tough times stronger than ever.
1 – First, have logical and achievable goals for every employee and team. Anything too lofty or large just sets up everyone to fail.
2 – Next is to ensure that you promote and prioritize work/life balance with every team member. Does it mean more time off over the holiday season to recharge? Maybe. But, it’ll make for stronger and more focused employees.
3 – Perhaps the most important is to make burnout recovery a corporate thing. Ask workers what they want to help them recharge. Collaborate with employees, team members, from CEOs to front line workers, everyone should have a choice. Maybe consider some group coaching for your employees. Do corporate retreats that focus on rest activities like spa trips, yoga, massage therapy, etc. Doing all of this on “company time” helps each worker know that their needs are met, and their voices are heard, too.
Until then, take the time to recognize burnout and rest up over the holiday season or weekend so that your entire team, and business, as a direct result, can come into the new year (or new week) feeling its best and strongest possible.
Should you need some help getting your business back on track, working on some group coaching or collective thinking, contact Team Stetzel and let us help attack burnout for you or your employees, whether it is the holidays or just another day, week or month at the office.
