If you were to plot a graph of output against employee effort, you’d surely find that all-important metric rising exponentially in the first instance. But every worker has a peak; and pushed beyond that output and productivity can actually fall against increased work effort. That does neither worker nor the organisation any good.
Employee burnout is a malaise that can creep into the workplace when managers are too preoccupied with improving the bottom line. It is often the result of prolonged stress or pressure on an employee.
Some of the top factors that lead to burnout include poor supervision, a mismatch between employee and job role, as well as poor organisational policies and administration. Eric Roring Pesik, Legal Director, Seagate Technology International, says corporate bureaucracies can often make it difficult for employees to accomplish their set tasks and assignments. They spend more time (and patience) dealing with the administrative side of their role and less on the things that they are actually meant to achieve. “This leads to employee dissatisfaction as the employee is unable to attain any sense of achievement or recognition in the job,” he says.
Burnt out employees tend to become disengaged, frustrated or even short-tempered. In some cases, this can lead to increased absenteeism. However, such clear signs can often go unnoticed, as complaints tend to spread across peer groups but often fail to reach the managers who can actually change things. Employees are often afraid that raising feedback will lead to punishment or retaliation.
“This is a difficult problem, because employers typically fail to recognise employee burnout until the effects are felt at the corporate level through lost productivity and high job turnover,” Pesik warns. “They only notice because this has a direct impact on company profitability.”
Building a resilient workforce
The fast-paced, high-pressure work environments of today call for resilient employees. Staff need to be able to effectively handle the many daily challenges that crop up in the modern office, and should also be able to deal with uncertainty and react positively to change. With their ability to stay focused, resilient staff are able to learn and thrive under any circumstance.
According to Cheryl Liew-Chng, CEO, Lifeworkz, this important characteristic is something organisations can help their staff adopt. She says empowering employees can often be the biggest precursor to building resilience.
This can also have spin-off benefits across the organisation. Employees who are able to positively influence or adapt to the changes occurring around them are more likely to see and embrace opportunities. Liew-Chng says they are also more likely to remain loyal and committed to the organisation.
Pesik says there is a lot that organisations can do to reinforce their empowerment policies. Importantly, they will need an unfiltered feedback system for their workforce. The aim should be an environment where employees know and appreciate that there are no negative consequences for airing honest and constructive complaints. “(This) helps eliminate a powerful demotivation factor, and sets the stage for recognising workers’ opinions, which in turn leads to greater job satisfaction.”
Well-managed employees are also less likely to crumble under pressure. Information Technology solutions and services provider Datacraft says the importance of good front-line managers cannot be understated. Johan van Vuuren, Director, HR, Datacraft Asia, says much of what employees do depends on their immediate supervisors who are responsible for work structures, resource allocation, feedback channels and social support. “We have programmes that build the capabilities of first-line managers,” he says. “Over a number of years, attrition rates have been reduced dramatically, referral rates from employees have increased dramatically and engagement scores have increased by a number of percentage points.”
Job “enrichment”
Remaking the work environment can help prevent employee dissatisfaction and burnout. Pesik advises organisations to apply a “job enrichment” formula to their employee policies. This moves the focus away from traditional incentives, including salary, bonuses and time off, to factors directly affecting the actual work of each specific role. Make the work interesting, challenging and achievable and you can increase employee engagement often without any financial impact, he says.
He says the best job enrichment schemes focus on opportunities for achievement and recognition, increased responsibility, as well as growth and advancement. In some cases, these can be offered at no cost to the company, creating a win-win situation for both parties.
However, employers have to be careful not to confuse “job enrichment” with “job loading”. Pesik says a change is merely “job loading” if all it does is rotate job tasks or add new tasks without real opportunities for growth and achievement. This can often exacerbate the risks of employee burnout, rather than reduce or eliminate the scourge altogether.
He urges companies to review each new idea and determine if it will help eliminate a specific negative job factor, or add a specific positive factor. If not, he says the proposal should be discarded.
To get the best out of a job enrichment strategy, HR departments need to look beyond the day-to-day functions of job descriptions, reporting structures, and work allocation. Pesik says they also need to look at areas “off the periphery” such as bureaucratic policies that stifle individual job effectiveness. “The HR organisation has no traditional authority or influence over these peripheral issues, but HR should be empowered to comment on any factor that affects employee satisfaction and employee productivity.”
A healthy workplace
Improving employee health and well-being is another essential key to preventing burnout. Taking this into consideration, Datacraft has introduced its “ThinkHealth” corporate wellness program. It promotes a healthy work-life balance among employees.
Ivy Chew, Senior Country Head, HR and Administration, Datacraft Singapore, says a lot of planning went into the strategy. To start things off, it engaged a fitness consultancy firm to gather information about its employees’ needs and interests. It was then able to offer a series of targeted activities such as jogging, badminton and soccer. The company also sponsors group events such as guided nature walks, dance lessons and health talks.
Chew says Datacraft also pays attention to the “little extras”. For example, it delivers fresh fruit to its employees’ desks every fortnight. Tired employees seeking some downtime can head to the office’s “Cosy Corner”, which comes with comfortable armchairs and a pool table. The set-up also serves as a discussion area for less formal meetings.
Chew says a grant from Singapore’s Health Promotion Board helps to offset half of the expenses incurred through its corporate health programme. It has had an immediate effect, with employees now less likely to take medical leave. As organised activities at Datacraft are decided by employees, it also gives them a chance to try out things that they have always been meaning to do, she says.
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