In recent years, workers have experienced significant changes in their jobs and personal lives and previously unheard-of health and well-being worries. Due to high levels of work stress, more than 50% of employees experienced moderate-to-severe anxiety. Numerous factors contributed to the stress, including the ongoing health crisis, financial worries, and work-related pressure.
During the worldwide lockdown in 2020, remote working seemed so convenient that shifting from remote or hybrid working has also given employees a sudden shock and disrupted their work-life balance.
Workplace disruptions, excessive workloads, a lack of social support, and a blurring of the lines between work and personal life have all contributed to the pressure cooker environment for employees, raising worries about burnout among workers.
Managing burnout and prioritizing employees’ mental health and well-being is the enterprise’s responsibility that can enhance overall work processes, employer productivity, and the employee experience. Here are six suggestions that any enterprise should take into account.
1. Build a Better Work Culture:
Office work culture is one of the main stress factors that can push employees to develop mental health issues. Examine current rules about working hours, flexible scheduling, time off, and employee benefits that may affect how people feel about working and taking time off. Promote better work culture and maintain the habits that promote work-life balance.
2. Focus on Managerial Support:
Give management the knowledge and abilities they need to spot workers at risk for burnout and provide resources for those already suffering from it. Maintain acceptable and sustainable work expectations, workloads, and time pressures. When senior leadership delivers this message to the employees, it becomes even more powerful.
3. Encourage Employees to Take Breaks:
One of the main reasons for job burnout is all work and no free time. It is essential for your employees to take vacations and breaks from their work now and then. Even if the job requires them to stay online most of the time, giving them a few days of vacation will only increase their productivity.
The concept of workcation has also increased nowadays, and if your employee is requesting you from the same, then it only makes sense to approve the request. The company can offer them all resources to stay connected to the network while they are on vacation so that the work does not get affected. If your employee plans a workcation to Europe, get them a Europe travel eSIM to ensure that they do not stress out about staying connected to public WI-Fi, which gives them the flexibility to move around and always stay connected.
4. Hire Internal Well-being Coaches:
Determine individuals at work who will support a large and diverse network of people to promote emotional and mental wellness at work. You can also hire an agency to do it for your employees. Employees can engage with mental health promoters to improve resilience, challenge negative thinking, and identify and address sources of stress with the aid of well-being coaches.
5. Encourage Team Building:
Allow employees the chance to engage in social activities outside of work on a regular basis, such as attending clubs, organizing work parties, arranging a family get-togethers, or celebrating significant occasions. Set up online catch-ups and team-building activities like virtual charades or online culinary arts classes for coworkers who work remotely.
6. Make Your Employees Feel Heard:
It is essential to let your employees know that the organization cares about how they feel about the work culture. Set up focus groups and pulse surveys to get a sense of how your staff is doing, to help uncover the underlying causes of stress and take appropriate action before it develops into occupational burnout. Additionally, managers can schedule a time for workers to securely voice their concerns about their jobs and talk about possible solutions.
7. Provide Employees with Tangible Resources:
Assist employees in overcoming their obstacles by offering them support services. This could be offering them an employee assistance program and access to online resources. Offering them access to a few mindfulness apps along with internal therapist access can help them deal with daily stressors and enhance wellness in general.
The Bottom Line:
While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all cure for burnout, companies can approach employee welfare with sensitivity and innovation. By putting their employee’s physical, social, emotional, and financial welfare first, employers may effectively support their employees’ mental health and overall wellness.