Employee Stress and Burnout Prevention

This article targets employers who value their team and its mental well-being. Burnout is the greatest enemy of productivity, and its main cause is workplace stress. This is why we aim to examine workplace stress and strategies for preventing burnout.

Summer is possibly the season we most look forward to. However, many employees in the UK report feeling stressed during this warm time of year. A study by Westfield Health discovered that nearly half (48%) of employees experience workplace anxiety and stress during the summer months. Alarmingly, 70% of respondents who are working parents indicated that they suffer from stress before or during the summer holidays, which affects their ability to spend time off work with their family.

Holidays are meant to be an opportunity to disconnect from work. However, the study revealed that staff spend 17% of their time preoccupied with their jobs. Commenting on the survey, the CEO of Westfield Health, David Capper, stated: “Employees are experiencing a vicious cycle of stress and anxiety that is having a detrimental impact on their wellbeing in the run-up to, during and after they come back from their summer break, leaving them no time for vital recovery.” In this article, we intend to explore the issue further to uncover its roots and how to foster a healthier work environment. 

How Can I Prevent Stress and Burnout at Work?

These are key ways to minimise stress and reduce the risk of burnout in the workplace: 

1. Become a trusted point of communication so that employees do not hesitate to voice their issues; 

2. Practice early recognition of signs of burnout; 

3. Hold one-on-one meetings with your staff to gauge their stress levels; 

4. Encourage breaks and create designated spaces for them; 

5. Organise weekly meetings to discuss potential anxieties and collaborate on addressing them; 

6. Offer flexible working options.

Identify The Problem

You cannot begin looking for a solution unless you are aware of a problem. Issues like workaholism, however, are even more challenging to recognise than poor attendance patterns. When you start to notice signs without actively looking for them, the problem has likely existed for some time. It may only become evident in extreme situations when the employee suffers a breakdown or leaves abruptly. However, if you know where to look, you can identify the red flags before they cause damage. 

Signs of Workaholism

There are six key signs of workaholism:

1. Their time and relationships with others are compromised;

2. They check and respond to messages outside of working hours, possibly even in the middle of the night;

3. They exhibit noticeable signs of inadequate sleep;

4. They frequently work late or bring work home;

5. They persist in working and checking messages during holidays;

6. They discuss nothing but work.

In a similar vein to absenteeism, workaholism necessitates prompt action. However, another characteristic shared by both extremes is that the signature behaviours do not always indicate a problem. There is a strong likelihood that you have been guilty of engaging in some of them yourself. 

The distinction between workaholism and merely going the extra mile lies in the frequency. Occasionally working overtime or being particularly invested in a project of high complexity and tight deadlines is inevitable. However, if you notice an employee consistently exhibiting such behaviours, then there’s a problem. 

Introduce Time Tracking and Holiday Management

However, spotting a pattern isn’t as straightforward. No employer has the time to focus on each employee individually, particularly in larger companies. Nonetheless, this does not excuse them from remaining unaware. Instead, they ought to implement software that monitors their employees’ working hours and time off. Often, such solutions can generate detailed graphical reports with just a few clicks. They present data in a visual format and allow comparisons with other employees or across different time periods. This way, any potential patterns become apparent.

In addition, such software provides additional benefits to the company. For instance, tracking the time required for staff to complete specific tasks can help optimise processes and enhance workforce utilisation. Being aware of time expenditure can lead to more accurate estimates and reduce overservicing when managing client work. A holiday management system, in turn, helps prevent being understaffed during holiday periods. It also streamlines the process when staff are booking time off. Since this system is centralised and visible to all, it enables the rest of the team to plan their time and workload more effectively.

How Can an Employer Prevent Burnout?

Let’s say you’ve done your due diligence and discovered that one or more of your employees are pushing themselves beyond their mental health limits. Naturally, you cannot leave this issue unaddressed. Confronting them is also unlikely to yield the desired outcome. Simply put, you will likely increase their stress if you openly call them out. The good news is that there are alternative, more subtle ways to address the issue without causing further distress to your staff. These are the methods we will discuss next. 

Ways to Keep Stress Levels Down

The best way to manage stress is to do your utmost to prevent it. Here are some tips:

• Create an open culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their feelings, which can assist managers in identifying problems early on and avoiding situations that lead to employee burnout.

• Promote flexible working practices such as flexitime and remote working. This can be particularly beneficial for working parents who may struggle with childcare during the holidays.

• Organise a weekly meeting at the beginning of each week to discuss current and upcoming projects, ensuring the entire team is kept informed. These meetings also allow employees to raise any queries or concerns they might have.

• Schedule regular one-on-one meetings with each member of staff, as they may lack the confidence to voice queries in a team setting. If they have an issue, ensure you present a constructive plan of action for how you intend to help resolve it – and strive to do so in a timely manner.

• Encourage regular breaks throughout the day, especially during lunch, and if your team is on computers all day. Make sure there is a designated space within your office where employees can take some time away from their work.

Invest in Workflow Management Systems

One key reason employees feel stressed during their holidays or hesitate to take time off is the fear of falling behind on their work. Additionally, they may worry that their absence inconveniences the rest of the team. Ultimately, this anxiety stems from uncertainty about whether their time off will impact the business and their performance. The best solution is to foster an office environment with smooth communication, allowing teams to continue working efficiently even when one or two members are absent. It may sound complicated, but it is actually quite achievable. Just organise your company's workflows by employing workflow management software.

When integrated with a holiday management system, it enables your employees to customise their workflows in advance according to someone’s annual leave. Furthermore, such software can identify automation opportunities to optimise workflows even further. It enhances their efficiency, accuracy, and speed of delivery. The visibility of company-wide workflows, along with the assurance that their short-term absence can be covered by automated processes, should alleviate any anxiety from your staff and allow them to enjoy their well-deserved rest. 

Build a Healthy Work Environment

Time off work is when your staff can kick their feet up and relax, allowing them to return rejuvenated and ready to tackle new challenges. While it may seem complicated, creating a nurturing work environment where your staff flourish due to a healthy work-life balance is quite simple. All you need are good intentions and the right tools. This way, you can focus on building systems and processes that not only ensure your staff's job satisfaction but also enable you to identify potential issues promptly. All that’s left is to nip them in the bud before they escalate into more significant problems. 

Timesheet Portal for a Stress-Free Holiday Season

Timesheet Portal is a distinctive platform that automates many manual, time-consuming tasks, including time tracking, invoicing, and expense management. By automating these processes, you can save time and money. The software's features can help keep stress levels low in your workplace during the summer months and beyond. For instance:

• Flexitime management eliminates the hassle of tracking how many extra hours your employees work;

• Absenteeism management allows you to record and approve your employees’ absences, helping you identify potential areas of concern and take action before they escalate into larger issues;

• Time-off bookings enable you to manage time-off requests centrally, ensuring you don’t approve too many requests at once, which could leave you with a minimal workforce;

• Contractor self-billing, available in the Recruitment Edition, saves time for contractors and back-office staff by allowing you to automatically generate self-billing invoices for contractors to send to your agency for payment.

Summary

While regularly taking time off work is essential for high performance and exceptional results, many employees hesitate to take holidays. Moreover, even when they do, many find themselves unable to unwind due to work-related stress. Workaholism, even in its mildest forms, is the leading cause of burnout. As an employer, you are accountable for your staff’s mental well-being, which includes ensuring they take time off to recharge their work batteries.

Patterns of workaholism are often the result of the office environment, whether due to peer pressure, high expectations, unrealistic deadlines, or other human-related factors. From identifying unhealthy behaviours to preventing them, the most effective way to tackle the issue is through digital transformation. Incorporating specific digital tools into your strategy can greatly contribute to creating a healthier work environment by streamlining communication, enhancing flexibility, and improving team collaboration.

At Timesheet Portal, we take care of our staff. Let us take care of yours, too.