Employee Burn Out Prevention
If you love your job and want to keep doing it, you have to take care of yourself. Employers are seeing this more and more as employees burn out on a regular basis. There are many reasons for this such as lack of proper training, excessive overtime hours, too much work with little or no pay off or perks, lack of conflict resolution skills or professional development opportunities. It's easy to see why when people hit the wall that they would be working tirelessly without end; they may not even realize that they need help. So how do we help them?
When an employee reaches a point of almost total frustration, they have given up. Their spirit is broken and they don't even know it. When this happens, it is essential to invest time in helping them before they leave you high and dry.
If your employees are working long hours more than 8 hours a day or longer than 5 days a week, then there is a good chance that they are burning out. The solution to burnout is not always to give them more work; in fact that may make things even worse.
The first thing we must do when we see the signs of burnout is to get the employee's attention and let them know that you are available for their personal needs. This can include anything from needing a ride home to their sick child, complaining about their workload or just getting a cup of coffee with them.
It is important to make yourself available. Make it easy for them to come to you and have one on one meetings with each of them at least once a month if not more often.
You need to work on your listening skills as well as your conflict resolution skills. It may be hard to hear that someone doesn't like their job and may even consider leaving, but you need to do it as much as possible. If you don't, then you won't fix the problem.
During these personal meetings, make sure that you are focusing on their needs and not your own. This is what keeps them in the office. You have to be a listener and not let them feel like they have to talk about something that isn't working for them.
You need to show them that by taking care of their needs, they will be able to keep doing your job. Make it clear that support is there no matter what they want to do while at work. Just because they don't want to ask for help doesn't mean it isn't needed so be prepared when the time comes; take care of yourself too.
The Employee Assistance Program is another great way to keep an eye on your employees and get to know them on a more personal level. They are trained to help you and your employees handle any issues they may be having with their jobs, or even their home life that is interfering with their work place. You can make them available 24/7, so there isn't pressure on the employee if it's a personal issue. This program is another great way to get to know the people you work with, but the best way is by listening to what they have to say when they feel comfortable enough to share.
You can hire a professional trainer or an employee relations manager to work with your employees on their professional development needs. This will give you the resources that you need to see your employees grow in the workplace whether it is with their job responsibilities or through life skills training.
There are many things that make each of us unique; it's just a matter of knowing what your employees want and need to help them keep doing what they do best.
If you love your job and want to keep doing it, you have to take care of yourself. Employers are seeing this more and more as employees burn out on a regular basis. There are many reasons for this such as lack of proper training, excessive overtime hours, too much work with little or no pay off or perks, lack of conflict resolution skills or professional development opportunities. It's easy to see why when people hit the wall that they would be working tirelessly without end; they may not even realize that they need help. So how do we help them?
When an employee reaches a point of almost total frustration, they have given up. Their spirit is broken and they don't even know it. When this happens, it is essential to invest time in helping them before they leave you high and dry.
Conclusion
If you don't take care of yourself, then you are gonna give your best to the rest of the people who want to be in that position. (#disclaimer) However, if you would like a new job, and it is scary enough for you, talk to someone that can help you. There are many different types and type of people to help through out this whole process.
I am not the proper way to go about helping someone just start talking things out with them, but this is pretty much my thoughts today on what I would do in that position.