Addressing employee burnout in hybrid and remote workforces

Across the globe, many people are working longer and harder than ever before. Despite an increased focus on topics like work-life balance and wellbeing, 82% of professionals we surveyed globally reported experiencing burnout even before the pandemic.

In this article, we explore strategies organisations can use to help battle burnout among hybrid and remote workforces to ensure employees maintain a healthy relationship with their work.

Why organisations should care about burnout

While burnout is hardly a new phenomenon, the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated employee burnout. As more companies adopted telework, many employees have experienced their work and personal lives overlap. The chronic stress that accompanies burnout not only affects workers—it has a direct impact on organisations too. Poor mental and physical health across the global workforce results in millions of sick days taken annually.  Additionally, job performance of employees who are suffering from burnout dips, causing massive tolls on productivity.  And while overtime and busy schedules are occasionally inevitable, continuous overwork and stress can drive talent away in search of better work-life balance elsewhere. 

Measures to combat employee burnout

So what can be done to address and prevent burnout among workforces? In this section, we share six measures that organisations can adopt to ensure their employees’ wellbeing and productivity levels are optimal.

1. Manage workload expectations

It’s important that goals and objectives are clearly communicated on a regular basis as this makes it easier to identify major outliers or areas that may have become crowded with excessive tasks. Ensure that you communicate with your employees which tasks should be prioritised so that they can focus the bulk of their time on the tasks that will create the most profound impact.

To prevent burnout amongst your employees, actively encourage them to take time off throughout the year to relax and recharge. Taking regular breaks from work will help to improve employees’ morale, productivity and mental health.

2. Give employees autonomy and control

A major cause of burnout for many employees is feeling a lack of control in the workplace. That could mean a lack of autonomy in how they do their work or even a lack of control over their future career prospects. To address this, it is helpful to include employees in important decision-making processes as this helps them gain a clearer understanding of how their responsibilities contribute to the performance and goals of the business which, in turn, nurtures a sense of ownership over their work. Getting employees involved in shaping the organisation’s future can also lead to increased job satisfaction and morale, as employees feel that they have a professional and personal stake in the business’ success.

3. Recognise results

Ensuring that employees feel fairly rewarded for their contributions is a key way to improve job satisfaction and avoid workplace burnout. Rather than merely focusing on the number of hours worked, recognising results is essential to creating a positive working environment and preventing burnout. A little recognition can go a long way— recognising top performers in internal communications or in front of the team is hugely valuable in raising employee morale.

4. Encourage work-life balance

Leaders have an important role of reinforcing and leading by example when it comes to promoting a healthy work-life balance. This is especially important when professionals working from home and find it more difficult to switch ‘on’ or ‘off.’

One example of actions that managers can take is setting clear boundaries and expectations for working hours. This can be done by offering flex-time, sharing work shifts among teams and scheduling meetings within common working hours. Encourage employees to respect each other’s private time by implementing a ‘no emails after work hours’ policy.

5. Create a culture where everyone belongs

Our survey revealed that having colleagues and a work culture that inspire employees to do their best is what professionals value most from their employers in 2021. Developing meaningful interpersonal relationships among colleagues is critical to help people feel connected to each other and engaged at work.

One way to foster a sense of belonging is organising team-building activities that everyone can do outside of the office together. This can be done in-person, such as gathering together for a meal or doing an outdoor activity, or virtually, such as holding an online quiz bowl.

6. Listen and communicate

Although the signs of burnout are usually visible, it can be more difficult to pick up when employees are working from home. In this case, listening can go a long way. Scheduling regular 1-on-1’s can help managers check on their teams and flag down any changes in behaviour, attitude or performance that may be linked to burnout.

Other strategies include keeping an open line for communication between managers and employees and encouraging feedback through various channels (e.g. surveys and anonymous suggestion boxes). If employees feel that their managers genuinely care about them as individuals, they will be more likely to open up about their concerns in order to address them together.