Managing "burnouts" in the workplace: whose responsibility is it?

 

“Good morning, Madam HR” (Employee X). 

“Apologies, I can’t make it today “

……gggg phone call ends.

The above is impregnated with meaning in relation to ‘’burnouts’’. Clinical psychology loosely defines a burnout as a state of physical and emotional exhaustion that includes a sense of reduced accomplishment, brokenness, and loss of personal identity. Wide research brought out that a burnout cut across all professions.  (Re) insurance and broking practices are no exception.  For instance, most firms have PEOPLE as their core area, who adversely are the same victims of burnout. Clinical pundits argue that burnouts point toward one’s life unwinding. If such goes unchecked, it can degenerate into stress, depression, anxiety, and ultimately nervous breakdown.

So, what is the panacea of burnouts in the workplace?  The first answer to the question would be the question to the question, in a nutshell, “what is causing burnout in the workplace?”

Causes of a burnout 

• Toxic working environment: This may be the organizational structure, bureaucracy, red tape, one-way communication, management style, and lack of empowerment, among others.
• Work overload and role overload: over-delegation results in over-role load. An employee is human and not a machine as put forward by McGregor in Theory X and Y hence tasks must be well delegated among employees. This will encourage responsibility, accountability, and self-motivation.
• Employee welfare: This cannot be over-emphasized. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is self-explanatory on the fulfilment of basic needs. This fulfilment is premised on money, food, and shelter. Higher-order needs will only be satisfied when the basics are met. Thus, failure to fulfil the basic needs undoubtedly results in workplace burnout as ongoing research is revealing.
• Socio-economic pressure: The cost-of-living pressure burdens employees. Work being a financial conduit of financial means to survive, should not become an enemy but a darling of heart and commitment. For instance, the Russia -Ukraine conflict has further exacerbated the cost of living, when the world was getting ready to recuperate from Covid. Resultantly burnouts are a common eyesight in every organization.
• Home and family: This component is quite fundamental to an employee. A dysfunctional home and family set a negative domino in the workplace. Yes, it is private but can be toxic to an employee if not handled with care. As renowned psychiatrist Victor Frankl echoed, “people can find meaning in one of the three places, that is, work, love and courage”. Hence, a stable home and family would cascade positively into workplaces.

Symptoms of a burnout

• Labor turnover: Employee’s leaving employment for failing to contain burnouts
• Demotivation: Employee’s lack will and purpose as a result of burnout stress and depression
• Absenteeism: Employee’s tendency of staying away from work without a good reason/ excuse
• Attitude and mood swings: sudden verbal and non-verbal reactions that may be negative in a normal and calm working environment
• Inefficiency: a slack on effectiveness in one’s day-to-day duties reveals burnout.
• Conflicts of interest: This is equal to siting on two or more chairs of responsibility and accountability
• Absence of punctuality and timekeeping: coming late to work and meetings, as well as bad time management skills often result from burnout

Effects of a burnout

• Workforce exhaustion and general tiredness
• Decline in productivity (efficiency, effectiveness)
• Decline in profitability (losing clients, bad debtors reports, and budget shortfalls)
• Loss of personal identity due to burnout (which may also result in negative company brand/ reputational damage)
• Physical health implications (diseases emerge such as High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, and even Stroking)
• Mental health implications (stress, anxiety, and depression): According to clinical psychologists, “poor mental health remains the number one cause of absence at work and can cause low productivity among employees”
• Substance and drug abuse: Employees may further degenerate into alcoholism and substance abuse misleading themselves to be solutions to burnout
• Toxic contagion effect on other team members. Naturally, we adopt our team environment such as behavior, attitudes, and emotions, among others. Thus, the work environment may become more toxic and unfavorable to employees
• Loss of key talent

Cure: Who is responsible?

Is it the Team leader? Business Unit leader? Management? Or Every team member?  

Below are some workable suggestions:

• Encourage rest/ annual leave: there is nothing greater than rest, it reenergizes and encourages refocusing
• Have an open door to subordinates, be approachable, and accommodate your span of control
• Be a manager and a leader: take time to listen and exercise empathy and courage. People management is a function of a good manager and leader
• Admit that you have a burnout; this is not a weakness but a strength
• Sow seeds or a culture of work purpose and meaningfulness to the job one does
• Make personal growth and development a strategy in departments. Burnouts are minimized when catalyzing talents and innovations
• Empower employees through decentralization rather than imposing tasks
• Reward effort through good remuneration and non-financial incentives
• Self-compassion as an employee. It normally results in less stress, less burnout, and more resilience. The latter would allow one to bounce back much stronger from challenges

And ultimately, the benefits to the organization of managing burnouts 

• High staff engagement in routine tasks
• Innovation and synergies
• High productivity
• High profitability
• Less absenteeism, attrition, and conflict of interest
• Staff retention
• Highly motivated staff
• High quality of work
• Improved personal relationships
• Optimism and hopefulness
• Employee loyalty and dependability
• Improved workplace environment

Bernard Banda ǀ Client Manager ǀ Minet Malawi