In past blogs I’ve talked a lot about how to handle your own feelings of burnout, but what happens when it’s not you and instead it’s someone working for you?
Sometimes burnout is the actual rigor of the work hours. I can remember going through an acquisition a number of years back and there was a very limited amount of time to do a lot of work, which resulted in a number of us working long hours and sleeping very little. The work itself was actually energizing at times, but after several months of the same schedule, the lack of sleep eventually took its toll. In cases such as these, the long hours must be complemented with periods of deep rest and it’s your responsibility as a leader to ensure that the cadence of the business is sustainable and barriers to allowing that rest are removed.
These days, burnout is not necessarily caused by the long hours but the repetitive chant that people have running in their mind. They tell themselves over and over that there is too much wrong in their world right now and it shouldn’t be this way. They are tired of the negative events, people around them, and constant unsettling. Sometimes, it’s just the perception that work is always changing, emergencies are happening and things are chaotic, that they struggle with. This triggers the emotions of feeling depleted, powerless, hopeless, overwhelmed or resentful. It’s no longer about the hours, it’s about the journey they are on and their experience in the world. Herein lies the kicker…as the leader, it is not your role to manage their relationship with life. This is emotional resilience and it’s a life skill that not everyone has developed quite yet, while others who had it in the past have now reached the edges of their threshold and may have some growing to do.
I know it’s tempting to want to change their experience and create something better, but your role is in ensuring that the running chant and negativity doesn’t penetrate into your business culture. Even if you re-engineer things, they will likely end up in the same place. You can provide them with tools or resources that help them take ownership over their thoughts as a benefit and I love that I’m seeing more and more employers taking this step. This also means that you need to confront the issue directly with a conversation about what you are observing and how it is impacting the rest of the team. The objective is not to put the employee on the defensive, but create an environment where they can become aware and take ownership. Ask questions like:
Is there anything I should be aware of?
What are some ideas you have that could create a better experience for you?
As you ask for ideas, just listen. Agree to take some time and think about it, but know that you are under no obligation to implement solutions unless they make sense for your business. Any solutions you do choose to implement need to align with the values of the organization and support the roles and responsibilities for the person’s position first and foremost.
These questions also tell you where the person’s head is. Do they see the cause for their burnout as something outside of themselves or are they taking ownership and just haven’t found stable footing? Are they resisting elements of the position or environment?
Remember, as the leader, you can tend to the environment you provide for people to do their best work, but each employee has to own their own emotional health. You can’t do that piece for them.