A major topic of discussion in the business community is work-life balance. Business owners are concerned about this issue because they do not want quality employees to burn out; employees are concerned about this issue because they want to have meaningful personal lives, as well as purposeful jobs. The younger generations, in particular, actively pursue a healthy work-life balance and will no longer stay in jobs that do not make space for it, which means that if you are an employer and don’t create it, you may lose your best talent.

Psychology Today identifies three main signs of burnout:

• Physical and emotional exhaustion;
• Feelings of cynicism and detachment; and
• Feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.

Certainly, being overworked is a primary cause of burnout. However, several other factors may also contribute to burnout:

• An employee’s feeling that he/she lacks control over or input into their work;
• A conflict between an employee’s personal values and the employer’s core values;
• An employee’s belief that he/she is not sufficiently rewarded by their employer;
• An employee’s feeling that he/she is being treated unfairly, as compared to other employees; and
• A breakdown in the community of support for employees.

With these factors in mind, there are several steps employers can take to reduce the likelihood that their employees will suffer from burnout:

• Ensure that employees know that it is important to take quality time off from work;
• Unless necessary, refrain from contacting employees after hours;
• Elicit employee input into the reward systems used by your company;
• Help employees learn to delegate, if appropriate for their positions;
• Encourage employees to learn about and use techniques to increase their productivity, such as time management and setting priorities; and
• Provide feedback to employees about their performance and elicit input from them about their jobs.

You may even choose to allow employees to attend helpful seminars—such as time management, effect delegation, or stress management techniques—on the company dime or time. After all, in the end, employee burnout directly impacts the company’s bottom line. Contact us for referrals to recommended resources for supporting your company to build in effective work-life balance strategies for you and your team.