Help employees avoid burnout
Working from home because of Covid is an additional source of stress: extended workdays and endless video calls are exhausting. Many of your employees are struggling to find a balance, and happy hour on zoom is just another obligation. What should you do?
Take another look at the Maslow pyramid; problems begin at the second level, with the need for physical and psychological safety. Everyone is worried about their health and that of those close to them, or about their job security. Before suggesting online yoga classes, make sure your employees’ basic needs are covered. Here are a few avenues you could pursue to help them avoid burnout:
- Get creative with working hours for parents with young children so they can manage childcare;
- Make sure they really have time off in the evenings and on weekends;
- Lighten the workload, if necessary;
- Employ stricter health protocols if colleagues are anxious about falling sick in the workplace;
- Use informal communications channels (chat rooms and forums, etc.) to gauge the mood;
- Simply asking the question “How can I help you?” is a pretty good start.
In short, put in place a real plan of action, as you would for your production line.
To go further
“Preventing Burnout Is About Empathetic Leadership”
dby Jennifer Moss (Harvard Business Review, 28 september 2020).
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