Hi there, manager. I see you. You’re living with the constant concern of how your employees are doing, what they think about your company and yes, also about you as a leader.

“Are they happy? Do they like working here? Is any of them considering quitting?”

And no wonder why these questions cross your mind, considering 77% of workers have experienced burnout at their current job.

77% of workers

Let that sink in.

And yes, I know what you’re wondering: nearly half of them quit because they felt burnt out.

But don’t feel discouraged! There are ways to easily detect employee burnout symptoms that will help you prevent turnover.

Before we talk about them, though, let’s touch base and learn how to spot the signs of a burnt-out worker.

What are the Symptoms of Burnout?

Formally, burnout is a psychological response to work stress. And what does this actually mean?

It means that an employee experiences:

• Negative feelings about their workplace.
• Negative feelings about themselves.

Sounds harsh, huh? That’s why it’s so crucial for you and your team to detect any burnout symptoms before it’s too late.

Here you have the most common ones:

Symptoms of a burnt-out worker

• They are less motivated
• They are always exhausted
• They feel useless
• Their productivity drops
• Their work is of lower quality
• Their absenteeism increases
• They interact less with their colleagues
• They’re more irritable
• They have cynical and resentful feelings about work
• They experience physical symptoms, such as:
  • Headaches
  • Stomach aches
  • Sleep problems

As you can imagine, prevention and early spotting are totally key. And this might be the point where you and your company are failing.

So keep reading because you’ll learn how to get much better at it just by tweaking a few things!

Here we go: 5 crucial mistakes you should stop making to quickly detect employee burnout

Mistake #1 You think it’s a “private issue” and that you shouldn’t interfere

Well, let me tell you right now: burnout is not your employee’s problem. It’s your collective problem. An employee is burnt out because things are not working well for them at the company.

And yes, you’re partially responsible for that.

And yes, you’re partially responsible for solving it.

If you detect signs that a worker isn’t doing great, get involved. If you don’t, there will be consequences for everyone:

• For the employee’s mental health. Did you know that workers who experience burnout are 63% more likely to take a sick day?
• For your own fulfillment as a manager. You’ll feel guilty and frustrated for not providing adequate support for your team. ultimately leading to feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction with their role.
• For the business. I know looking at numbers when talking about burnout might seem frivolous but the costs of burnout are incredibly high:
  • The productivity drops. And not just individually: research shows that burnout is often contagious among colleagues.
  • Turnover rates increase. Think of all the costs of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees.

^“The average cost of turnover is around 60% of the worker’s salary.

So every employee who makes $50,000 per year and quits, will cost the company $30,000.^“

Source: Insightful

So next time you think it’s a private issue, remember all of this.

Now, that’s easier said than done so here you have a few tips to help you get started with getting more involved in your employees’ wellbeing: Encourage downtime and unplugging

1. Offer flexible work arrangements
2. Provide resources for mental health support
3. Encourage breaks and time off
4. Promote a culture of work-life balance
5. Check in regularly with employees. Ask them how they’re doing, if they have any concerns and provide additional support or resources.

By prioritizing employee well-being and proactively addressing burnout, employers can create a healthier, more productive, and more sustainable work environment that benefits both employees and the organization.

Mistake #2 You’re relying too much on self-reporting

Seriously, stop being passive. Waiting for employees to tell you something’s off isn’t the best strategy.

Burnout is a tricky thing to gauge, and sometimes people don’t even realize they’re experiencing it.

Plus, even if they do, they might be hesitant to speak up. Why? For fear of coming out as weak, and fear of getting in trouble.

The bottom line is: workers probably don’t feel comfortable opening up to you.

So you’ll have to, first off, accept that. And then put your management skills to work. Take a more proactive approach.

So, what can you do about it? to assess burnout levels amongst your workers.

Start measuring. Yes, you read that correctly. You can measure burnout. Use both objective and subjective measures to get a sense of how your team is doing: what your employees are going through

• Objective measures: absenteeism rate, turnover rate, and productivity levels.
• Subjective measures: surveys and interviews.

Apart from measuring, take real action: create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their concerns and reporting burnout. Schedule regular check-ins, provide resources for mental health, and encourage work-life balance.

By taking these steps, you’ll be better equipped to understand and address employee burnout. And that, my friend, is good news for everyone involved!

By creating a supportive work environment, employers can better understand and address employee burnout.

Mistake #3 You just look at individual factors

Ok, you’ve learnt about the importance of detecting employee burnout. But then, when trying to scope any symptoms among your workers, what do you look for?

I’m pretty sure you’re just focusing on individual factors.

Huh?

Yeah, like how stressed someone is. Or how they’re coping with their workload.

But…The truth is: burnout is not only caused by individual factors but also organizational factors.

For instance, take that “how they’re coping with their workload” example. When you look at this factor only from an individual perspective, you end up blaming the employee for how they’re handling it.

But…What if you focus on the workload itself? How did it get so crazy? Why did you fail at preventing it?

You need to do some self-analysis. Analyze your management style and the work environment to find the root causes of that burnout:

• Are you a supportive manager? If not, maybe you want to improve in this area, considering that bad relationships with direct managers cause 75% of turnover.
• How would your workers describe the work culture? It they don’t feel the environment is supportive, transparent and fair, you’re failing at making them feel safe.

So yeah, remove the band-aid and start addressing these underlying issues.

Master a culture of communication and support and you’ll be catching all those burnout signs early, before they become a bigger problem.

“So, the next time you’re thinking about what training you can offer to make employees more resilient I’d urge you to look at your culture and think about what behaviors you can implement to provide people with a sense of purpose, meaning and nourishment.”

LinkedIn

Taking a more holistic approach to burnout can help you understand the root causes and make lasting changes that benefit everyone involved. So, let’s get to it!

Mistake #4 You’re trying to fix employee burnout with a one-size-fits-all solution

Every person’s different. People have different ways of handling stress.

Everyone’s job is different. And each position comes with different types of stress.

So, yeah. If you treat everyone the same, you won’t be able to help any of them completely.

What should you do instead?

In order to solve burnout, you need to identify the individual differences between your employees, and the specific stressors of each role.

And how can you do that?

• Learn about each person’s unique stressors and needs. Hear them out, understand their personal circumstances, and appreciate how burnout has affected them individually.
• Do personalized assessments of each job position. Use both objective measures (like workload and productivity data), and subjective measures (like surveys and interviews).

Once you’ve done that, focus on providing tailored solutions to each individual:

• Develop specific resources for each job role. This could mean offering mental health support for employees in high-stress jobs, or flexible work arrangements for those who have caregiving responsibilities. / f someone’s job is hella stressful, let’s offer them some mental health support. And if someone’s got a lot of caregiving responsibilities, let’s hook ’em up with some flex time.
• Identify and encourage employee strengths. When you help your people build up their skills, the whole company gets stronger.

As you see, individual solutions are the ones that are gonna end up reshaping the organization.

You now know that burnout implies changing the work culture. And that won’t come until you prioritize the individual needs, and offer a flexible range of resources.

Mistake #5 You’re not following up and monitoring employee burnout

Hear this out: burnout is NOT a one-time thing.

Are you keeping an eye on the employees who suffered from it? If you don’t, there’s a big chance they’ll experience it again and again.

Follow up with them

It’s the only way to ensure they get the right support to fully recover from burnout.

Plus, what type of message are you sending if you don’t check in regularly?

You guessed it right: employees will feel like you don’t care about their wellbeing. And so they will be less likely to speak up and seek help in the future.

So…What steps should you take to avoid this mistake?

• Schedule regular check-ins. You’ll see how employees are doing and will spot any recurring or new symptoms of burnout.
• Do periodic assessments. Track changes in employee burnout symptoms over time.
• Create a culture of openness and support. Let them know it’s okay to ask for help.
• Provide ongoing support and resources. This can include flexible work arrangements, mental health support, training, and promoting work-life balance.

You can also opt for monitoring objective factors:

• Check your staff’s hours. If an employee is consistently putting in extra hours, they’re probably pushing themselves too far.
• Track their attendance. Calling out sick frequently or not showing up to work on time could be a sign of burnout.
• Keep an eye on productivity data. If your employees take way longer to finish up their usual tasks, it could be a sign that they’re getting burnt out. Using a productivity tracker could come in handy!

Final tip: Take action today!

Prevention is better than cure. Call to Action for Employers to Detect and Address Employee Burnout & Final Thoughts on the Importance of Prioritizing Employee Well-Being.