The World Health Organization defines burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” In other words, this workplace phenomenon is a reflection on leadership, not a weakness in team members. Telling employees to “be more resilient” or to, “hang in there” just isn’t going to cut it right now.

The last few years have brought a fair share of challenges, to say the least. Burnout isn’t something that just happens overnight. It takes time to develop and can slowly creep into the workplace. What are some of the signs that your team is dealing with it? Be on the lookout for these 7 big ones:

• Change in demeanor or attitude
• Low-motivation or energy to do things they were previously motivated to do
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering tasks or completing projects
• Increased absenteeism or non-responsiveness
• Lack of participation in team projects, meetings or events
• High sensitivity to feedback or inappropriate reactions to criticism
• Low productivity or difficulty maintaining a normal workload

In our last article that we said that psychological availability means employees feel like they have the physical, emotional and mental resources to do their job. There are a lot of issues that are out of the control of leaders right now, but there are ways they can increase levels of psychological availability and combat signs of burnout. Here are the top 5:

• Ask how team members are really Check in and practice active listening.
• Don’t micromanage, but empower. One of the main causes of burnout is a perceived lack of control.
• Recognize efforts. Expressing gratitude helps team members feel that their work matters.
• Make human connection a priority. A lack of social support can be a big driver of burnout, even if workers are back in the office.
• Develop a shared sense of “why” and communicate to team members why their work matters.

It’s a myth that burnout is simply from overwork. Burnout comes from basic needs not being met over time. But with the right leadership strategies, it can improve substantially. Leah M Joppy and Associates can help you combat employee burnout and disengagement before productivity declines and turnover increases.

Call us at 301-351-9523 or email us at leah@lmja.com to learn more.