How Do You Address Burnout As A Leader?
- Dec 23, 2021
- 5 min read
Written by: Dr. Tomi Mitchell, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Corporate burnout is an essential topic of discussion. Corporate burnout arises at workplaces the most often. The reason behind it is more or less similar to job burnout, that is, a continuously stressed environment, acute job burdens, and reduced relaxation time. These factors lead to decreased employee performance, affecting the organization's performance and employees' health. For example, when you compare burned-out workers to individuals experiencing clinical depression, no diagnostic differences were found between the two. Organizational burnout is a serious issue for those suffering from it.
The amount of pressure an individual feels in the workplace and how the organization responds are related, so leaders need to be aware of workplace morale. An individual may not necessarily be under much pressure, but if they do not know how to deal with the stress, their perceived stress level will escalate. It is the compounded stress experienced by each employee, which contributes to organizational burnout. When the stress is left untreated, it then turns into a chronic stressor, further compounding the problem.
Those who have a high-stress job might find themselves taking their work stressors home. These stressors can negatively impact their relationships, impacting their work-life balance. It's only natural to see that as work stressors reach a tipping point, the worse the burnout will be. Unfortunately, some employees feel that management does not pay attention to their workload with unrealistic expectations. Also, with the heavy workload, the needed support and recognition that they need might be lacking.
The organization needs to be mindful of their employees' morale and stress levels.
Dr. Beverly Potter, a renowned psychologist, presented a questionnaire that can help an organization assess the state of its staff:
Do you think that employee turnover is high in your organization?
Do you feel people are just putting in time?
Are your employees using too much alcohol and drugs to the point that it affects their performance?
Are your employees often absent?
Is there too much conflict between colleagues?
Do the employees follow the orders given by managers?
Do you think people are cheating at work?
Does your organization have a disturbing environment? Are the employees meeting work deadlines?
Do you think colleagues engage in backstabbing?
Are there too much politics in the organization to the point that it interferes with the employees' performance?
Are the employees giving less effort than required?
Do you feel a sense of hopelessness in your employees?
Do you see mysterious behavior in people at the workplace?
Are your employees too rigid to socialize with each other?
Do you think teamwork is poor in your organization?
Do your employees complain too much?
Are your employees not interested in participating in different activities being performed at the office?
Do you think people hesitate to give input to managers?
Unlike the other questionnaire, this one is not for the employees. Instead, it is to be used by management or other leaders in the organization to determine if they might have the potential for employees to develop burnout. Even though the problems an organization is experiencing might seem like a problem the employee needs to work out on their own, it ultimately becomes the responsibility of management. For example, if employees begin to experience burnout and it is not dealt with, their effectiveness as a worker and their work performance will go way down. Burnout left unchecked results in decreased employee productivity, ultimately affecting the organization's bottom line.
As a leader, you should be concerned about job burnout occurring with any of your members. Take the time to answer some of the questions in the list above. These should be able to assist you in determining if job burnout is prevalent in your business or if it is something that could develop soon in the future. Figuring this out and getting it taken care of as quickly as possible can help satisfy workers and make it more likely that they will be able to get the work done.
A leader who desires to see motivated and burnout-free employees must identify the following factors and strive to create an atmosphere that does not encourage stress or burnout.
reduced workload
allow everybody to regard personal control
encourage positive feedback and rewards
enhance workplace community
improve fairness among and between everybody in the workplace
promote proper values within the workplace
The workplace cannot thrive in the presence of poor leadership. If employees and management alike thrive and enable the organization to achieve its goals, proper and strong leadership must be present.
Proper and strong leadership enables employees and management to excel with lessons regarding avoiding mental burnout. Job burnout is a universal issue that the administration cannot push the problem off on the employees, and it is not an issue that the employees can push off to management. When job burnout occurs, everyone in the organization will suffer because of the lack of morale and motivation for doing the work.
Learning how to overcome management burnout is beneficial to the managers in the office as well. For example, management should be available for employees to discuss whatever might be ailing the organization and interfering with productivity.
No longer can leadership remain distanced from their employees well being. Burnout is real and must be actively managed in a holistic, respectful way.
Dr. Tomi Mitchell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Tomi Mitchell, MD, is a leader in the health & wellness industry, known for her advocacy for social issues, including health reform. She believes in the whole person's approach to life and health. Rather than resorting to quick fixes, she gets to the root of problems by taking the time to understand her client's emotional, physical, mental, environmental, financial, spiritual, and social health. She believes these factors affect individuals' behaviors and beliefs about themselves and others. Dr. Tomi Mitchell believes that people feel lost or overwhelmed when there is a loss of balance, so she takes such a holistic approach with each client's situation. Dr. Tomi Mitchell has appeared in many publications, including but not limited to Thrive Global, Fox, NBC, CBS, Global News, CBS & many other news outlets. She has her own blog & leads two ClubHouse clubs, and has been a guest speaker numerous times. She is a game-changer, and she gets her clients' results and refuses to compromise her integrity by sugar-coating issues. Using over 10 years as a family practitioner and certified life & health coach, she is able to help her clients create transformational, long-lasting results!
