The second quarter of the year is wrapping up, and companies are looking to increase their third quarters through improving client engagement, generating sales and encouraging team members to contribute even more to in-house projects and tasks. With what seems to be a never-ending list of projects and an overflowing email inbox, businesses need to start assessing employees to ensure that every person is not only performing well but that they are getting the rest that they need to continue to contribute to the overall culture of the company. Employee burnout is common, but there are several ways that it can be prevented, and create a happier and healthier workplace for your entire team.

What is Employee Burnout?

Employee burnout is quite common in businesses across North America, causing workers to struggle emotionally, physically, and mentally. Employee burnout is caused by many different factors such as unrealistic expectations within the workplace, long hours, inadequate mental stimulation and issues within the team itself. Three main factors that contribute to burnout are exhaustion, inefficacy, and cynicism, which all come together to cause team members to feel overworked, unappreciated, and disempowered. As a result, employees tend to lose their passion for their work and are unable to perform effectively within their current roles. Many choose to take time off of work, or leave the company altogether, causing burnout to be detrimental to the individual and the company as a whole.

How to Prevent Burnout

Today, companies are working to establish a greater positive atmosphere within the workplace, to not only combat employee burnout, but to improve upon the overall culture of the company. By making a few small changes, businesses are assisting employees in their roles and are speaking to their passions, causing the company to be a place of growth and success. One of the many changes that businesses are making is in redesigning office spaces. Not only are workplaces becoming more open and transparent, but workers can adjust the work environment to fit their needs, through choosing where they would like to work, decorating their own desks, and being able to openly meet and collaborate with team members. A few other ways that companies are decreasing employee burnout are;

• Setting realistic timelines
• Reducing the number of hours worked
• Allowing team members to work from home
• Establishing an ‘open door’ policy
• Organizing team events
• Encouraging mutual support and trust

Focus on Workplace Culture

One of the biggest ways that companies are reducing and preventing employee burnout is by creating a fun and friendly workplace culture. Through planning team events, recognizing other people’s successes as a group, and allowing individuals to work together and share their expertise and resources, team members can feel valued, respected, and feel that they have greater freedom in their work. When employees feel valued, an atmosphere is created that is professional and productive but still personable as well. We spend most of our time at work, which means that it needs to be a safe space that is created for the employee in mind in order to grow and be successful. If team members do not feel comfortable at work, they can become more susceptible to stress and miscommunication which can lead to employee burnout.

Employee burnout not only affects the team member who is struggling to complete their work and remain passionate about their job, but it also affects the company overall as well. To ensure that your employees do not burnout, take some time to get to know their concerns and their needs! Through speaking with your team, you will be able to determine areas of the business that you need to work on or change so that you can keep growing an incredible team of people who love what they do!

If you are wondering how you can make the most of your office space so that it serves the needs of your customers and your team, give us a call!