PREVENT EMPLOYEE BURNOUT THIS WINTER

EMPLOYEE BURNOUT AND YOUR TEAM:

With the colder weather, shorter days, and holiday season fast approaching, many of us face the threat of winter burnout. The consequences of employee burnout for a business can often be severe. Productivity decreases while absenteeism increases. However, for the individual work-related stress and burnout can often greatly impact mental and physical health.
As the pandemic continued throughout 2021, many employees also haven’t taken sufficient breaks from work.
This can have a massive impact on your team’s mental health and wellbeing. However, you can help your team this winter by taking steps to reduce the risk of burnout. Read this blog to find out more.

WHAT IS BURNOUT:

Burnout is a specific form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped or overwhelmed. In many cases it is work related. Employee burnout can have a negative impact on both mental and physical health. The symptoms of burnout vary from person to person, however, here are some common signs you should keep an eye out for in your team members:

• Self-doubt
• Feeling tired or drained often
• Procrastinating and taking longer to complete tasks
• Having a cynical outlook
• Struggling to concentrate
• Irritability or impatience

HOW TO PREVENT EMPLOYEE BURNOUT:

• Perform regular job analysis: This can help clarify what is and isn’t expected of individuals, hopefully easing any feelings of overwhelm. It also gives employees a specific place and time to raise any concerns which can also help relieve anxiety.
• Give control: By giving your employees more autonomy over their responsibilities you can help reduce stress and reinforce your trust in them to achieve a project or task.
• Encourage regular breaks: Whether it’s a company wide hour for lunch or encouraging taking a walk after each meeting. Taking time away from a project or deadline can prevent feelings of overwhelm and also lead to better, more efficient work. This especially important for those employees who spend most of their day at a desk looking at a screen.
  Start the conversation: Lead by example and make speaking up about burn out or mental wellbeing acceptable in your workplace. Your employees will feel appreciated and supported to know you care.

HOW CAN THE DOCTORS CLINIC GROUP HELP:

The Doctors Clinic Group offers many mental health supports and services to help with employee burnout including:

• Same-day GP appointments – all GPs have mental health training
• Rapid referrals to our consultant psychiatrist and other specialists covered by all major PMI insurers
• Mental health wellbeing questionnaire for a company-wide benchmarking exercise
• Wellbeing workshops and webinars
• Mental health first aid training