Battling burnout

COVID is creating enormous stress for working professionals

Beyond the disease’s direct health impacts, the second-order effects on workers and their families are mounting:

• Larger workloads and working longer hours

• Employee mental health is plummeting, with 48% at higher risk for depression

• More than 2 million women have left the workforce, setting back diversity and equality

How do we battle burnout in a time of limited connectedness, with our people scattered across various spare bedrooms and kitchen tables, with our only snippets of interaction coming through a webcam?

Start with the cause

Here’s a hint: look in the mirror. It’s the workplace, not the workers.

Gallup’s top five causes of workplace burnout:

1. Unfair treatment at work

2. Unmanageable workload

3. Lack of role clarity

4. Lack of communication and support from their manager

5. Unreasonable time pressure

Blaming our workers for burnout is like blaming the canary for dying in a toxic coal mine. Telling your folks to take a 30 minute midday walk, or be sure to connect with their peers about something other than their projects is tone-deaf and insulting advice when you’ve created an environment regularly comprised of 12 wall-to-wall Zoom calls.

We have the power to accomplish great results without burning our folks out. It starts with clear, reasonable expectations of results and timelines, and ensuring people know the role they play in each initiative.

Leaders take responsibility and action

This week, I’m focusing on reducing burnout by asking two questions:

1. Are you clear on your role in [Objective X]?

2. Do you understand what’s needed on [Objective X], by when, and its priority?

How will you battle burnout in your team?