Employee Burnout & Presenteeism
How are you? Really? This is a question you should be asking your employees on a regular basis?
Burnout has doubled since lockdown began. Burnout is categorised as depleting energy or exhaustion, mental distancing or negativity to work and reduced efficiency.
Employees who have found it difficult to balance work and personal responsibilities such as home learning are 4.4 times more likely to suffer burnout.
Employees who have struggled with their workload are 2.3 times more likely to show the signs of burnout than their colleague
Mental wellbeing is a common topic in employment but there is a very real reason for that and it can’t be stressed enough that the management of employees at this time has to be a priority of your business.
In a LinkedIn and Mental Health Foundation survey 54% or HR Managers fear losing staff to sick leave due to mental health issues.
You can read more of the results from the survey here https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/hr-managers-fear-rise-staff-absence-mental-ill-health-lockdown?utm_source=mc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=pm_daily_05052020.HR+managers+fear+rise+in+staff+absence+due+to+mental+ill-health+during+lockdown&utm_campaign=7295441&utm_term=4891872
Presenteeism has also almost doubled in employees currently working from home. There is more pressure to always be available with increased workloads (26%) and job security fears (16%) many employees (35%) have worked when they have been unwell so as to be present for their employer and colleagues.
There are few relatively simple things you can do to reduce the risk of employee burnout.
Encourage employees to take some annual leave, they might feel guilty asking for time off given the current situation so remind them that its ok and they deserve it, from experience it’s probably just what they need to recentre.
Communicate, always communicate! Don’t wait for them to come to you and tell you they have a problem just because it’s less awkward for you. Ask how they are, how they are coping and really listen to them when they answer.
Support a work/home balance, let your employees know that its ok to switch off and not always be on the end of the phone/email/video call.
This of course isn’t something you should only be thinking about during lockdown, it’s something that you should always be aware of.