April 13, 2017
Being overworked and overstressed in the workplace are the fastest ways to reach burnout. However, they are not the only two factors that come into play. When your plate is overloaded, it’s easy to feel out of control and overstressed. This is a recipe for slipping into prime burnout zone if not properly managed.
As our company has grown, we’ve learned how to spot and prevent burnout so our team can continue to work at their maximum capacity without sacrificing work quality or employee health. We have discovered these 5 factors to avoid burnout.
Knowing yourself will help you spot the early signs burnout. It’s important to know which tasks drain you and which tasks fuel you. We all have menial, unenjoyable tasks in our daily jobs. If we incorporate tasks that energize us, we can stay fueled for the tasks that don’t. Knowing yourself and how you’re wired takes self-reflection on a few questions:
In fitness, athletes need to incorporate rest days into their workout routine. This helps repair their muscles for the next round of training. By resting, athletes feel more energized and their output has more intensity. In the same way, taking a break from work will make us more productive and engaged instead of running on fumes. In the workplace, a time-management technique to help manage distractions and eliminate burnout is called The Pomodoro Technique. This technique sets up intervals of 25–60 minutes of devoted focus, while taking 5–10 minute breaks in between. Our team has found a natural flow of this method, switching between stretches of intense work periods and breaks for nerf wars, snack breaks or quick walks. It helps productivity while also keeping things lighthearted and fun.
Let your ‘ons’ be ‘ons’ and your ‘offs’ be ‘offs’. Being a motivated person who genuinely enjoys what I do, it’s easy to bring work outside the office and constantly stay connected. To protect ourselves and the relationships in our lives, we must know how to draw the line and turn off the notifications engage in the other aspects of our lives. Drawing boundaries communicates to the team to respect your time when you’re ‘on’ because you won’t be easily accessible when you’re ‘off’. These boundaries may look different for everyone, but setting some sort of on/off switch will conserve your energy allowing you to rest and refuel for the times when you’re switched on.
If your week were to be divided into pie slices, work would take a pretty big slice. Balancing outside activities will keep work from being the only slice in your life. It’s easy to make excuses for why we don’t have time for hobbies or other activities that truly energize us. However, being intentional and committed to these external activities will be the secret power keeping you energized and motivated throughout the workday. Find activities or opportunities inside and outside the workplace can get you excited. Whatever it may be, having energizing activities will help fill your tank.
No one likes being alone. Even Mother Teresa once stated, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” If you work full time, you’re spending a third of your week with your coworkers. Feeling alone at work is a drain that can lead to burnout very quickly. The reason Webconnex is able to produce at the capacity it does is that we have a sense of togetherness — that we ‘are in the trenches together’. We work hard together and we play hard together. Part of finding such a team chemistry begins at the hiring process. Since team chemistry is a priority, our team members enjoy coming to work each day, they feel safe to express their needs in order to flourish. It’s the responsibility of team leaders to create an atmosphere where team chemistry can build, at the same time it’s the responsibility of the individual to connect with those around them instead of isolating.
It has taken our team time, experience and even some failures to learn what keeps our team members from burning out. Though the gremlins of burnout still creep in from time to time, we are able to spot it early on, take the actions needed and come back continuing to kick butt.