How to Tackle Employee Burnout Successfully

In a world where work can be accessed from any given location, employee burnout has become increasingly common. The effects of such burnout can be extremely detrimental to a business, impacting factors such as efficiency and productivity. The most widely recognized means of avoiding employee burnout is through the use of approval workflows. In essence, an approval workflow is a feature that centers a Sharepoint. The role of a Sharepoint is to send a document to a list of people to seek their responses such as approval or rejection. However, there are other ways of reducing employee burnout without the help of technology. This article will explore such possibilities, specifically through the use of employee assistance programs and providing a balanced working environment.

What are the key indicators of employee burnout?

Knowing what employee burnout is one factor. But being able to define it and being able to recognize it are two separate things. With this being said, what are the key indicators of employee burnout?

• Stress can extend beyond mental implications, and can have a physical impact on employees after prolonged periods of time. If an employee is consistently falling unwell, this is a prime indicator that their body is under too much pressure and that they or need to take it easy.
• If an employee suddenly reduces their output and becomes less productive, this can be a sign that they have become burnt out. In such scenarios, it is crucial to demonstrate understanding and ask how you may help.

Burnout may be caused by a variety of factors. Typically, these factors include unclear goals, unmanageable goals, excessive demands, and the absence of support from managers. If the advice above is followed, burnout can be avoided.

Adopt approval workflows

The adoption of approval workflows is utilized for the standardization, automation, and streamlining of specific processes. Approval workflows reduce employee burnout whilst simultaneously increasing the efficiency and productivity of a company. Approval workflows notify users when they have been assigned tasks, which in turn means that approvals are provided at a faster rate. The automation features also lead to a reduction in human error. This is because approval workflow software makes sure that all the necessary information is entered into a document, and therefore that each approval is completed correctly.

Through automating approval workflows, cross-departmental communication is encouraged and improved. The status and ETA of approval become trackable, with employees being notified when each change is made. Notably, automated approval workflows also function as organizational tools. This is due to the fact that the information for each approval becomes centralized.

Benefits of approval workflows

The prime benefit of an approval workflow, aside from the reduction of employee burnout, is the eradication of revenue leaks. A revenue leak is a straightforward term regarding the preventable loss of revenue. Such leaks are prevented by approval workflows due to their streamlining of the workflow process.

The adoption of approval workflows ensures that the length of the sales cycle is significantly reduced. This is because the automation provided by the software makes reviewing documents and signing them become more simplistic. The reduction of the sales cycle is key to increasing the generation of revenue. This is because customers value fast and efficient services. The faster a company can operate, whilst still being effective, the more likely they are to finalize a deal. Furthermore, shorter sales cycles mean that sales representatives are able to dedicate more time to strengthening customer relationships, and thus more time to the implementation of sales techniques.

Another benefit of approval workflows is the fact that automation improves the regularity of business processes. To expand on this, automation can be programmed to follow specific company rules. This in turn means that when used, the software will ensure that employees adhere to these same rules throughout the approvals process. Following this same sentiment is the fact that automation eliminates issues such as rogue discounting and product configurations. Thus, at the same time that approval workflows stimulate the generation of revenue, they also stimulate its maintenance.

Moreover, by using automation, the need for manual work is majoritarian lessened. Therefore, once a company is accustomed to the software it will be able to trust its automatic reviews of approvals.

There are additional benefits to approval workflows, with these being: the enforcement of timelines, monitoring of accountability, and the strengthening of communication within a company/across departments.

Employee assistance programs

Employee assistance programs go a long way when it comes to tackling burnout. At the start of the year, the EAPA (employee assistance professionals association) revealed that the number of employees using EAP in the UK increased by 350,000. These programs tend to materialize in the form of a helpline that employees can access. This helpline is provided by external professionals. In adopting such programs, employees are provided an outlet for their emotional struggles and stress. After receiving professional help, employees feel better supported and less strained. In turn, they are enabled to take steps to overcome burnout.

Adopting positively balanced attitudes within the workplace

Whilst work and productivity are priorities, so is the happiness of employees. It is commonly known that maintaining a healthy balance between work and your personal life is of utmost importance. When this balance is overturned, stress levels increase and so does the likelihood of burnout. A suggestion for approaching this is to provide flexible scheduling which can better adhere to the schedules of individuals. Tying in with this is the need to monitor workloads. If an employee experiences a period of taxing tasks, it is important to be mindful of this and not expect them to continue with unmaintainable workloads or a quick turnover rate.

How can burnout be managed on behalf of remote workers?

It can be easy to assume that remote workers are less likely to experience burnout, as they are able to work from the comforts of their homes. However, this is where the problem often arises. It can be difficult for remote workers to shut off from their day and avert their minds from focusing on work. As an employer, it becomes your responsibility to introduce structure to each day. A common means of achieving this is by setting explicit working hours and instructing employees to not contact you regarding work past a certain time. When remotely employing people, the possibility of demonstrating flexibility increases. If workers prefer working earlier in the mornings and ending their day earlier in the evening, this should be encouraged. However, the end of the working day still needs to sternly be established.

Many remote employees also miss human interaction. It can be helpful to schedule online meetings to establish a human presence and build relationships. Also, you can provide them with a coworking space, whether that's a physical space or a virtual one. Usually, coworking spaces use coworking software can be used to create a sense of community and collaboration among remote workers. Additionally, managers can encourage employees to take breaks throughout the day and to disconnect from work when they're not working.

Conclusion

To conclude, the avoidance of employee burnout is significant to the efficiency of a business. In order to supplement this and render such a task more “simple”, the use of approval workflows has proved to be effective. Approval workflows use a Sharepoint, with this Sharepoint routing documents to employees in order to receive approval or rejection. Approval workflows strengthen the productivity of an organization by reducing the length of its sales cycle. This advantage is solidified by the software’s use of notifications, which makes tracking the needs of a document more straightforward. Beyond the adoption of approval, workflows are other means. These means are: implementing employee assistance programs into your workplace, and ensuring that a positively balanced attitude to work is instilled. For those who employ workers remotely, implementing a scheduled working day and arranging video conferences can help employees greatly.