When your staff becomes fatigued at work, this is known as employee burnout. It is a psychological process that arises as a result of excessive work hours or chronic stress. Employees who are under a lot of stress are more likely to leave because of it. Not just that, but burnout has a big impact on your overall goals. This is because it costs you money in terms of reduced productivity, low morale, and considerable product delays. Therefore you should establish some ways to prevent burnout with remote teams.
Burnout is a common problem that occurs when people are overworked or treated unfairly. It not only increases team members' burnout, but it can also increase turnover and have a broad impact on your company's culture. Instigating a culture of pessimism that discourages top performers and dissuades excellent prospects from entering your team can be as simple as one unhappy employee.
We listed some common signs of burnout in remote employees and eleven ways to keep it under control, to help you reduce remote work burnout problems on your team.
FAQs
What is a remote working team?
A remote working team is a set of individuals who operate from different places across cities, countries, and even continents. Remote teams have been around for quite a while, but they became more essential once digital work apps, tools, and ecosystems became available. Remote teams now make up a major portion of the global workforce. This seems to be particularly true for companies in the information industry.
What is employee burnout?
Employee burnout is a sort of work-related stress characterized by physical or emotional tiredness, a sense of diminished accomplishment, and a loss of personal identity. Burnout is not considered a medical diagnosis. However, other conditions like depression are thought to be the cause of burnout according to some experts. Consequently, Individual characteristics such as personality features and family life impact who experiences job burnout.
What are the possible causes of employee burnout?
Identifying the roots of burnout is essential to properly address this condition. It can be caused by a number of circumstances, including:
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Lack of control on assigned tasks.
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Expectations for the job are unclear.
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Workplace dynamics are not working.
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Extremes of physical exertion.
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Social support is lacking.
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Balancing between work and life is a struggle.
What are the consequences of employee burnout?
Burnout is a challenging and pervasive truth that can have a wide range of bad implications in an employee’s life. People who are experiencing it are frequently affected in the following areas:
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Physical health issues – It includes fatigue, heart disease, high blood pressure, respiratory issues, and excessive stress.
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Mental health issues – It involves issues such as depression, anger, irritability, and anxiety.
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Personal consequences – It includes alcohol or substance abuse, isolation from social circle, irresponsibility with finances, and inability to carry out responsibilities.
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Professional consequences – It consists of job dissatisfaction, withdrawal from colleagues, and inability to do a job well.
How can you deal with employee burnout?
Dealing with employee burnout is quite straightforward. Employee burnout may be overcome in your organization if you recognize it, understand it, and consider how you may actively participate in it. In addition, a manager should understand and know the preventive measures for this type of condition. This entails participating in strategic activities aimed at reducing not only burnout in general but also the danger of burnout.
Signs of Burnout in Remote Employees
Employee burnout must be addressed as soon as possible to avoid the poisonous loop. However, in an attempt to do just that, one must be aware of the indicators of burnout. The following are some of the most prevalent signs of burnout in remote employees to look out for in your workplace.
1. Nervous Or Disinterested Body Language
Because body language accounts for more than half of all communication (55%), it's just as essential to give notice to it as you do to your staff. Even while holding video conferences and phone calls from afar, keep an eye out for signs of uneasiness, boredom, or dissatisfaction. If your staff are more irritated than usual, you should speak with them right away if they are putting their patience to the test.
2. Absenteeism Is Prevalent
Employee burnout and absenteeism are inextricably linked. Overworked employees become more likely to be taking a sick day. If your employees are often absent from work, it's most likely because they've reached a point where they can no longer keep up and need to spend time away.
3. Productivity Reduction
It could be an indicator of a bandwidth problem if an employee's output starts to drop. It could also be a sign that they're not motivated and are having trouble focusing on their work with about the same enthusiasm. Be aware that some days, weeks, and months will be greater than others, and that not all employees will put up the same figures. However, if your employees aren't producing as much as they should, ask them about it. There could be other influences that affect their productivity.
4. More Frequent Occurrence of Illnesses
Other signs of occupational burnout include chronic stress, which can lead to more serious health problems and reduce the body's ability to fight infection, making people more susceptible to disease. Overworked employees are 23% more likely to be admitted to the emergency room. Whether employees need days off regularly or are frequently unwell and unable to work, there are certainly deeper issues at play. Additionally, the possibility of burnout is more prominent.
5. Lack of Participation In Social Activities
It could be a clue that something is wrong if your employees cease attending your company's social events. Employees should be able to relax and interact with their coworkers by participating in enjoyable, lighter cultural endeavors and social activities. They are likely stretched thin or detached from the team if they feel like they don't have the energy for it owing to work duties. Another reason for this tolerance is they simply don't want to join in on the fun.
How to Prevent Burnout In Remote Working Teams
Stress factors are inevitable in a digital workspace. Hence, as a leader, you want to minimize its effects. To aid you with this matter, here is the list that contains how can we prevent burnout in remote working teams.
1. Maintain Temporal Boundaries
Well-being and work engagement are dependent on maintaining temporal boundaries. Particularly since so many employees and/or coworkers are now juggling parenting or elder-care responsibilities with their regular work hours, this is especially true. With mobile gadgets that carry our work with us at all times, even employees without children or other family responsibilities find it difficult.
The ability to coordinate one's time with others is frequently required for establishing clear temporal boundaries. Employees must be aided in shaping, coordinating, and handling the tempo of work as a result of this. This could entail holding virtual check-in meetings with coworkers regularly, or offering them tools to make online coffee or workspaces. Maintaining a semblance of normalcy during this disturbance is critical.
2. Create A Schedule For Feedback
During regular one-on-one meetings with your direct reports, give and receive feedback. This strengthens the manager-employee interaction and gives employees a chance to talk about their problems in a private setting. Consider a video conferencing tool if you work from home and want to communicate with your coworkers face to face.
Provide feedback to employees that they can utilize to improve their performance in their jobs. Engagement is influenced both by constructive criticism and appreciation. You can also get input from your coworkers and pay attention to their issues. By doing so, you can come up with ideas for how to improve communication and the employee experience.
3. Set Reasonable Expectations
Unachievable goals are the fastest way to discourage and disconnect an employee. An employee's self-confidence will be shattered if they feel like they're chasing a moving mark and consistently missing the target. You shouldn't expect a new worker to perform at the same level as a two-year-tenured employee if you have goals that are both progressive and adaptable.
You may also encounter hindrances within the process that force you to completely change your strategy. Employees should never be held accountable for outdated or overly ambitious goals if this is the case. As needed, key performance indicators (KPIs) and the organization's target should be changed.
4. Provide Flexible Scheduling
Employees are more likely to be engaged if they have the flexibility to adjust their work schedules to their private lives. Having a sense of autonomy not only helps people achieve a work and life balance that matches their needs, but it also improves their whole employee experience.
Employees can also focus on their most productive time by personalizing their work plan. An individual can start their day earlier and sign off before their productivity plummets if he is a morning person. This is a simple approach for remote teams to prevent burnout without having to restructure their efforts; with everything being done online, workers can easily keep pace on tasks if their schedules don't coincide.
5. Promote Passion-related Projects
When people appreciate what they're doing, they're more likely to be more involved in their work. Provide your team members with the freedom to choose their assignments in relation to motivating them to pursue their hobbies both at the workplace and in their spare time.
Everyone has tasks that they may or may not appreciate, but they have to get them done. It is not your responsibility as a project manager to assign roles to individuals. Refocusing an employee's priorities and to-do list to better line with their career aspirations and goals is still a good way to improve their performance. Working with employees to help them accomplish work that they enjoy and that helps them to advance in their careers decreases the risk of burnout in the workplace.
6. Create A Reward System
Give employees compensation for their contributions in addition to acknowledging them for a job well done. Sales teams frequently use incentives and rewards, but they also work effectively in actively involving staff from other departments. Rewarding employees makes them feel valued and motivates them to achieve high levels of performance.
It doesn't have to be a large sum of money or a vacation package that includes everything. An extra day of PTO, a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, or the opportunity to attend an exciting business event will be appreciated by employees. Ask your staff what they'd love the best about the benefits you're giving them. This gives them a sense of being a part of the decision-making process and improves the chances that the incentive will encourage them.
7. Emphasize the Importance of Wellness and Mental Health
Employee burnout is estimated to cost the USA between $125 to 190 billion dollars in annual healthcare costs due to its physical and emotional consequences. In today's digital age, when we're constantly connected, it's challenging to strike a work-life balance, but it's even more difficult for remote workers whose work and home lives are intertwined.
When necessary, encourage direct subordinates to take some time for themselves. Keep in mind that each person is different and will need different types of help to stay in good physical and mental shape. As a means to improve your company's culture, allow your employees to make use of the wellness options included in their employee benefits package.
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8. Include Mental Breaks Throughout The Day
Because of fear of missing an update or falling behind, some employees will be afraid to unplug. Including a variety of activities in a team's schedule that provide a mental respite from the constant grind will help them relax a bit.
As a team leader, you can gather your entire team together for a virtual meditation session before your first meeting of the day. Setting a daily goal, repeating a mantra, or doing guided breathing exercises are all examples of this.
9. Improvement On Onboarding System
An employee's first genuine introduction to your firm is through your onboarding procedure. Employees are on their way to success when they have a good onboarding process in place. It's your obligation as a manager to give your staff the resources they need to succeed in their jobs by clearly stating their tasks and goals.
Employees are more likely to perform at high levels and invest in it if they know what is expected of them. Introduce new members to existing members of the team and assist them to grasp the culture of your company. They will be able to form a bond with their coworkers and a sense of belongingness as a result of this. Make sure you're contributing to the success of your virtual onboarding strategy in today's world of remote workers.
10. Process Automation And Improvement
Automating a procedure can sometimes be all it takes to free up an employee's bandwidth. Identify bottlenecks within the team's processes, whether they're individual participants or process restrictions, and work to eliminate them. It's possible to optimize how employees are working together and reduce remote work burnout with a process by deleting a phase or consolidating tasks through delegation.
11. Allot Time For Fun Activities
You should already have socially responsible initiatives in place as a component of your company's culture, but you can add more activities that are tailored to your team's needs. Employees can bond as a group and on a personal basis as a result of this. It also allows them to relax and let off negative thoughts at the end of a long day of work.
Make plans for happy hours, team gatherings, or just a simple lunch. These basic activities might prevent employee burnout. Their working day will be brightened by something that you can do to give them a pleasant break from work. It also compels them to relax and take a break from their projects, which is crucial to prevent burnout with remote teams. You can try to execute some of these remote team activities to create socialization between your members.
Final Thoughts on Ways to Prevent Employee Burnout in Remote Team
Burnout is difficult to detect, specifically in the scenario of workers who work from home. However, listening to your staff is the most important thing you can do to prevent burnout. They'll tell you something they want to gain more confidence about their work and be productive in their job if you ask them. Keep an eye out for signs of employee burnout and take action as soon as possible to keep top performance and attract top talent.
