Hope Is Not a Strategy

Spotting Employee Burnout and Making a Plan To Prevent It

A close friend and professional mentor said something to me today that put me at a loss for words. (If you know me personally, you understand how rare that is.)

While chatting over coffee, we began discussing the topic of employee burnout. I casually mentioned that I hoped I would know if my team was feeling overwhelmed or burnt out. She quickly interrupted me and said,

“Hope is not a strategy, Miles. What are you doing to make sure your team is okay?”

This statement, intentionally or not, definitely made me pause and think. At countless times throughout my professional and personal life, I have made the statement “I hope that ______.” The blank space in the statement can be filled with many things:

• ‘… I can help my team to always love our company.’
• ‘… I can do my all to ensure our company’s continued success.’
• ‘… I find a cure for male pattern baldness.’

Undoubtedly, there are numerous things that each of us hope for on a daily basis.

The positive effects of hope and positive thinking have been proved by countless sources, and articles such as this one, in Psychology Today, do a great job outlining how hope and positivity tie into overall happiness and employee performance, showing that hope can even increase the length and perceived value of life.

However, when problems or stressful times arise, simply hoping that everything will work out is not enough. Hoping for something may be valuable, but it can be very passive. Hoping for something doesn’t call you to grab the bull by the horns… it doesn’t even require that you attend the rodeo.

Employee burnout is a problem, in all industries and business-sizes, and it can be easily identified, if you know what to look for. In looking at warning signs of employee burnout, I love this post by Christine Chartrand, with Atman Co, which outlines the following 7 things you should look for, if you’re worried that some of your teammates may be feeling burnt out.

— Disengagement

— Being exhausted in every sense

— Increased absenteeism and accidents

— Showing signs they are not built for the job

— More isolated and distant than usual

— Higher sensitivity

— Extreme thinking

If you see these characteristics in a team member, do not simply assume that they are having a bad day and hope they feel better soon. To move beyond passive hope, you need a plan of action. Every organization and situation is different, but here are 3 concepts that you, as a manager, company leader, or HR professional, can use to prevent employee burnout:

1. Create a positive, or even fun, work environment. Employees who enjoy coming to work will burn out far less often than employees who despise their work environment. Recognize birthdays and accomplishments. Don’t be afraid to laugh. Have a “bring your dog to work” day. Do anything, anything at all, to help your employees associate being at work with positive emotions.
2. Listen — really really listen — when your team talks. If you think (or even hear) that a team member is feeling burnt out, meet with them immediately and attempt to get to the heart of the problem. Do not wait until then to listen to them, however. If you want to know how your team feels, listen when they talk casually, with one another. The things our teams communicate around the ping-pong table or water cooler may be far more true than those they say when they are being encouraged to be vulnerable in a meeting or review with their manager.
3. Be fair. Like it or not, we learn as young children that things in life just aren’t fair at times. However, this doesn’t mean (just as when we were children) we like it or accept that reality without animosity or anger at the injustice. When dealing with your team, treat each member fairly, and be clear with reasons for promotions, recognition, or anything that could be perceived as preferential treatment. The best way to avoid that perception? Celebrate every team member in every success — great or small.

In what ways are you circumventing employee burnout in your organization, and not just hoping that your employees are doing well? Send me your ideas!