A burnt-out employee is often on sick leave for 6-12 months or longer. There is also a high risk of the employee leaving the workplace altogether and taking both experience and valuable expertise out the door. In any case, burnout requires a lot of facilitation when returning to work. Perhaps the employee can no longer do the tasks he/she did before.
Burned-out employees are a disaster not only for those concerned but for the employer as well. It affects colleagues, customers and the company’s profitability and attractiveness in the market.
The Swedish Labor Inspection Authority estimated in 2014 that a burned-out employee costs the company on average around SEK 400,000. Sweden and Norway are not as different as countries, and these numbers are probably also very real in Norway and other European countries. It’s a bad business to let employees burn out.
One of the strongest myths associated with burnout is that burnout is the employee’s own “fault”. This turns out to be wrong. The workplace is an extremely important factor, and employees are influenced by the culture and environment in which they work. This can either contribute to them burning out or that they are passionate about the job in a good way.
Research shows that there are in general 6 reasons why loyal and competent employees end up being burned out:
- Values
The company and the employee’s values are not aligned, or the employee must perform tasks that are contrary to his or her values - Fairness
The employee experiences that he / she is treated unfairly in one form or another. - Workload
The employee’s workload exceeds capacity over time - The reward systems
Not good enough or lack of reward systems. This can be about positive feedback, salary, bonus, etc. Employees do not feel seen and appreciated. - Community
The employee doesn’t feel community and companionship with other colleagues. Feeling alone at work. - Control (lack of)
Decisions concerning the employee’s work are made over his head, and she is not involved in processes that are relevant to her.
The employer has a great impact on many of these reasons, and also the opportunity to do something about them. No two employees are completely identical, and will therefore not have the same reason for burnout. But in most cases, one or more of the reasons can be found on the list above.
When we are going to start laying out a plan for the prevention of burnout, it’s an advantage to find out as thoroughly as possible what the problems are for the individual employee. Everyone has their very special “burnout profile”. The effect of measures will largely depend on how well this has been examined.
So what can you as an employer do?
First and foremost, you as an employer must acquire competence in how burnout manifests itself. What signs should you as a manager look for in your employees (or yourself)? Ask the employee to take the test (link) to get an approximate indication of how it is, and as an introduction to a conversation on the topic.
Implement the 3 R’s as a strategy for the workplace, ie have a conscious and clear action plan for burnout and communicate it to everyone who works there.
The 3 Rs is taken and developed from Jacinta Jimenes brilliant book about burnout called “The burnout fix”:
- Recognise
Myth # 1 about burnout is that it is easy to detect. On the contrary. Burnout is difficult to detect because it creeps in over time. Burnout can develop over years and is not a switch that is either on or off. Regular follow-up is needed to detect the signs early enough. Implement systems to measure the 6 burnout indicators of employees.
There are many signs of burnout in the employee, but researchers have identified 3 main symptoms that are useful to know, and that occur in employees who are about to become or who have been burnt out:
1) Exhaustion: Intense emotional, physical and / or cognitive fatigue
2) Cynicism: Low levels of job engagement (a lot of surfing the internet, procrastination)
3) Inefficiency: Declining productivity and a feeling of never being or doing enough.
2. Respond
Myth # 2 is that burnout is only the individual person’s fault. That some people handle stress worse than others and therefore are “weak” and get burned out. As the 6 points above show, burnout is much more complex than a person working too much.
Burnout is the result of an imbalance between the workload and our capacity as human beings.
As an employer, you have a responsibility to do something when your employees show signs of burnout. The earlier the measures are implemented, the greater the effect they will have.
3. Replenish
It is a myth that stress in itself is dangerous for you. Stress in small doses leads to growth and increased performance. What is dangerous is chronic stress without repair. This is where the burnout zone is.
The human nervous system is divided into two parts.
1: The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
2: The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
When we stress, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, and the body is in “fight or flight” mode.
The fight or flight mode is not a place for lingering. But what we know is that modern work life often makes us stay here too often and too long.
When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, we are in “Rest and Digest” mode.
For many, it’s difficult to connect to this state, but this is where we should be most of our time to avoid the harmful effects of chronic stress.
As individuals, we must find out for ourselves which activities activate PNS, and a health coach can help with this. The employer should make arrangements in the workplace for the employees to actually take time during the working day for meaningful breaks and PNS activities.
How can a health coach contribute to the workplace?
A coaching conversation is a very special form of conversation. It is an open, caring, non-judgmental, supportive and motivating form of conversation that puts the client’s needs in the centre. A coach can assist the client in resolving “the knots” that have made work life and life otherwise feel so difficult.
As a health coach, I work with the employee by focusing on their strengths and values, helping to set realistic goals and offering to hold the client accountable when they need it. A health coach can also function as a bridge between the employee and the employer, making communication about difficult topics easier.
As a health coach, I can also lead group coaching with a focus on burnout and relevant sub-topics, for a team or a department.
How can health coaching help your employees?
Get in touch for a free and explorative first conversation. Let’s find out how we can work together!