How HR Managers Can Create Systems to Address Workplace Burnout

By Sebastian Partogi

Currently, many professionals put so much emphasis on maintaining work-life balance. A recent article from BBC News cited a 2021 survey result which showed that out of 9,000 UK workers, 65 percent said they prioritized work-life balance over pay and benefits. 

The article also cited a 2022 survey result from the US showing similar results: out of 4,000 respondents surveyed, 63 percent said they chose work-life balance over better pay. According to the news story, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused professionals to prioritize their mental health more. 

When I asked some of my coworkers how they define work-life balance, they said they implemented this by not replying to work-related text messages outside working hours and during weekends. They all said they did this to prevent burnout. Burnout is on the rise during the pandemic, so no wonder so many professionals have become more concerned about this issue. 

Some of the reasons why burnout has been on the rise starting from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown are:

–The working from home irony #1:  because  management kind of knows their employees are at home all the time, they expect their employees to handle more tasks, since they assume that their employees will not do anything else outside the home during the pandemic lockdown  situations anyways,  

–The working from home irony #2: the remote working  situation during the pandemic has also shifted most work-related communications to online platforms like WhatsApp instant messaging services.  People tend to  be more impatient  when they use these instant messaging services, expecting  immediate response at any time of the day/of the week,  even when the tasks they’re discussing are not urgent. Although now some of us have returned to the office again, this shift into instant message communications driven by the pandemic has pretty much stayed with us.

What is work burnout?

Before we go any further on this topic, let us first define work burnout. Here are a number of burnout symptoms which makes it different from the normal stress we’re facing from time to time in our everyday lives.

1. Marked by chronic stressIt definitely goes beyond just the normal distress or tiredness that people experience in the workplace. While professionals normally bounce back quickly from the normal workplace stressors after they exercise or have a good night’s sleep, burnout is marked by prolonged, chronic stress. You’ve continued to ruminate about the stressful things which happen to you at work long after the stressful incident itself ended. This chronic stress and rumination can pretty much disrupt your sleep as it makes it harder for your body to relax at night after you finish your work shift.
2. When coping mechanisms don’t work any longerFurthermore, a good sign that a person is going through burnout is when coping strategies that usually work for an individual to cope with his/her stress are no longer effective to cope with their situation. No matter what you do, whether going on a vacation, spending time with family and friends, or working out, the feeling of lethargy, tension and frustration related to work stays with you in your body.
3. Decreased work motivation, engagement and productivityThis prolonged, chronic stress in the end manifests itself in symptoms like persistent exhaustion and feelings of lethargy, reduced productivity, cynicism and negativity, disengagement, isolation, and increased absenteeism. These symptoms suddenly show themselves among employees who normally would be productive, motivated and positive at work. Usually the changes are quite noticeable.

What are the causes of work burnout? There are a number of reasons, including toxic workplace environment. However, we will not cover this topic right now. Let’s just assume that your organization is a very healthy one. Still, there are risks for your employees to run into burnout, including:

– Long working hours, which exceed regular working hours / days (this is why my colleagues who say they prefer not to respond to work-related messages outside of the working hours have a point there).         

– Highly demanding projects, which involve lots of things which are beyond employees’ control (for instance, setting too high a financial target in a volatile economy).        

– Boring or mind-numbing tasks which do not involve a lot of creativity or intellectual development yet are very energy- and time-consuming (such as responding to customers or stakeholders or just doing rote tasks every day, like just modifying template copies or documents)        

So, as you can see, even if you have ensured that your work environment climate is as positive as possible, there are still task-related risk factors that can drive workers into burnout. 

Startup company workers can attest to this. Although many startup companies have very relaxed and egalitarian culture (i.e. not toxic at all), its employees are more prone to burnout due to the highly demanding, under-resourced and uncertain nature of startup companies.

As we can imagine, the negative consequences of work burnout will potentially impact organizations negatively. Then, what HR managers can do in order to create a system which helps employees prevent burnout?

– Have regular emotional check-in sessions with your employees

We can learn from a number of big organizations which started to also pay attention to their employees' psychological states from time to time. In these organizations, in addition to checking in with their employees regarding task-related stuff, the managers are also checking in about where they’re at emotionally. 

–  Set up a Plan B to cover for employees who need to take time off to rest and recover

Some managers in these companies also have a backup strategy regarding task redistribution or reassignment just in case one of their employees gets burned out and needs to take time off work immediately. Some psychologists say that burnout is like having a dehydration. When you are dehydrated, you have to drink water immediately. Likewise, when you notice the signs that you’re on the brink of burnout, you also have to take time off work immediately. Do not wait for a few days, or worse, weeks before you finally take that time off.

– Make sure you give opportunities to your employees to have a say in your company projects

Feeling like one has no control over one’s tasks or work situations is one of the biggest contributors to work burnout. This is why, as an HR manager or leader you need to create an organizational culture which involves employees in decision making related to the projects they’re doing, including incorporating their feedback to make the projects better or workable, since they are the ones who know the project best, inside and out.

– Give your employees an opportunity to grow professionally, creatively or intellectually

There is no worse feeling than that of being stuck in a dead-end job where you just repeat your tasks every time. In fact, feeling stuck in a rut is one of the biggest contributors to job burnout. This is why creative and intellectual stimulation is important for your employees. We know, not all organizations have the budget to send their employees to  expensive courses or workshops. But this “professional development program” can be as simple as organizing sharing sessions or mentoring programs facilitated by the more experienced/senior staff members in your own company.

However, work burnout is a very complex issue. Not all companies have the luxury of reassigning tasks to other employees when one needs to take time off due to burnout, or to stimulate their employees’ creativity. 

Now, we’d like to ask your opinion as HR managers: what do you think is the best way to prevent burnout in your workplace, and why?

Tell us in the comment section below! And stay tuned for our upcoming LinkedIn poll on job burnout.