During the early stages of the pandemic “Working from Home” was a positive and really convenient idea. We adopted tools for collaborative work, but we weren’t prepared enough for this new way of working. In fact, a worldwide survey commissioned by Asana has found that almost 80% of Australians survey respondents suffered from burnout at least once in 2020.
Many people are still working from home, which could lead to expectations of them being available 24/7. It may be hard to hear “Sorry! I’m not available” from your employees, nonetheless we need to recognise that boundaries exist between work and personal life. Even the hardest of workers need time to switch off so they can recharge their energy and refresh their minds.
The Challenge of meeting the goals.
As a manager, you need to deal with the responsibilities of meeting the business goals and ensuring your team’s wellbeing. This could be a challenge as there are many tasks and deadlines that could sometimes feel difficult to achieve.
It is crucial to take care of the wellbeing of your employees and deal with signs of burnout in the right way. Certainly, a healthy team is more likely to achieve your business goals than a team that is experiencing burnout.
Pay attention to the signs of burnout.
Managing a hybrid team of workers could be hard, you must maintain contact with them, even online. Burnout is a genuine issue, it is a gradual process and doesn’t happen overnight, therefore it requires extra attention and special care to avoid.
Helpguide.org recommend considering a “red flag” for some of the following signs, in other words, there are symptoms that should grab your attention and drive you to take actions.
Physical signs
- Lowered immunity, frequent illnesses.
- Frequent headaches or muscle pain.
- Feeling exhausted all the time.
- Change in appetite or sleep habits.
Emotional signs
- Sense of failure and self-doubt.
- Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated.
- Loss of motivation.
- Increasingly cynical and negative outlook.
- Decreased satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.
Behavioral signs
- Withdrawing from responsibilities.
- Isolating yourself from others.
- Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done.
- Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope.
- Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early.
The next step after recognizing some potential signs is to take time to talk privately with the person and make them aware of your concerns. People experiencing burnout rarely recognize it and making them aware of your concerns could be of valuable help.
What are the solutions to work-life balance?
We often have discussions about whether work-life balance is not achievable because of work, but there are some solutions that we can try in order to get our work-life balance.
Support your team:
Ensure they have the right tools to work efficiently and encourage them to ask questions or seek help whenever they need it.
Don’t micromanage:
If someone needs so much supervision it’s a sign that maybe this person isn’t in the appropriate position or need more training. Encourage your team to be proactive and give them the opportunity to come up with ideas and to try new things. Also, good leaders should be able to delegate.
Breakdown silos:
Work about work and duplication are some of the major reasons the work has been increasing in this past year. Sharing information would help to break down silos and would create the best environment to work together and increase productivity.
Avoid unnecessary meetings:
Before having a meeting, ask yourself if it is really necessary. Think about emailing or messaging that could deliver the desired outcome.
Give Feedback often:
People affected by burnout can often feel like their work is unappreciated or not good enough. Giving your employees constant feedback will allow them to feel that they are doing well.
Give explicit instructions:
Be clear in your instructions and expectations, and if you feel your team didn’t get your message, repeat it to them. It’s better to be sure than to get misunderstood. With remote teams, it’s easy to mislead communications.
Automate day-to-day tasks:
If there is a repetitive task, find out if it can be automate it. There are plenty of tools that can help you do it and will give your team more time to focus on other tasks.
Takeaways
In conclusion, while we continue adapting to the “new normal”, as a manager you can create positive improvements and help your employees to deliver their best, which will bring significant results for the company.
Remember that every substantial business invariably has an outstanding leader, and an excellent leader is someone who can not only lead a team but can also make them thrive.
If you want to learn more about how to manage a team remotly, here are some helpfull articles you can read:
