How to Deal with Work-From-Home Burnout

Consider what a healthy remote working team might look like. You may envision your organisation having few to no silos and looking for happy team members who effortlessly communicate and collaborate. Their projects have a high impact and produce long-term results. Goals are met and even exceeded, but the team reports that their work overload is manageable and job satisfaction is excellent.

Let's take a step back from the sky and return to reality. Why is it critical to treat the symptoms and be proactive in preventing work-from-home burnout in your teams?

Furthermore, according to Forbes, nearly 70% of remote employees are experiencing work-from-home burnout symptoms.

 

Check-in frequently

It's easy to believe, "My team is doing fantastic; they'll never burn out!" However, you'll never know for sure unless you ask. Check-in in with your employees regularly to see how they're doing, and don't be afraid to solicit feedback. Could your weekly one-hour discussions be reduced to 30 minutes? Is it necessary for everyone to attend, or can you include only relevant participants and then email an overview to supplementary team members afterwards? Are leaders questioning their direct reports if they need assistance with any projects they're working on? Small changes, such as reducing the number of discussions and providing additional support on tasks, can help reduce workload significantly.

 

Make recognition noticeable

Researchers analysed data from over 7,000 employees in a recent study and discovered a close correlation between burnout and employees who feel underappreciated. For instance, nearly 75% of employees who felt underappreciated at work said their workload was too heavy, whereas only 40% of those who felt appreciated said the same. According to the same study, 54% of underappreciated workers reported too much stress at work compared to only 13% of those who felt acknowledged. Furthermore, 60% of underappreciated workers reported feeling distanced from the majority of their team, compared to only 15% of appreciated employees.

Working remotely can make it challenging to celebrate team victories, no matter how big or small. However, if your organisation has a system for making acknowledgement visible, it can accomplish three things:

• It improves company-wide communication by providing visibility into projects being worked on by various departments and employees.

• It facilitates cross-departmental collaboration.

• Making recognition visible makes your team members feel more connected, appreciated, and less stressed.

 

Initiate discussions

One of the consequences of moving to a more hybrid and remote working environment is that teams may feel less connected. What used to be an immediate concern in passing at the office that sparked a great collaboration discussion now necessitates more effort, such as sending an email or chat message and scheduling a dedicated virtual meeting.

Make it a point to inspire your team to collaborate on and discuss projects. Employees who are given the ability to collaborate will be able to communicate more, lean on one another's strengths, and reduce their workloads.

Check in with introverts or quieters during virtual meetings to ensure they have space to speak and share their ideas.

 

Make use of your culture leaders

The HR department has never been solely responsible for creating a stellar workplace culture. That is why it is critical to identify and rely on your organization's culture leaders. These leaders have a significant impact on not only the culture but also the productivity of the organisation, and, spoiler alert, they are not only found at the top of the organisational chart.

Who are the people who contribute to your company being a wonderful place to work? Who usually raises their hand to organise fun team events? Who in Slack is always going to share interesting articles or silly stories? It is critical not only to identify but also to recognise your culture leaders so that they continue to do what they are doing and, hopefully, new culture leaders emerge.

 

Make having fun a part of your culture

Virtual happy hours and organisation all-hands meetings ranked first and second in Polly's survey of nearly 600 employees. Don't just keep doing the same thing! Instead of "forced fun," consider polling your team for new, exciting event ideas. The health of your organisation is directly related to employee engagement and satisfaction. Besides the fact that it may cause genuine physical symptoms, consider burnout a disease that attacks anything other than that healthy organisation. If left untreated, it can seriously affect your employees and business.

As with most diseases, prevention is the best medicine. If your team is not experiencing burnout, now is the time to put preventative measures in place to avoid it. There is still hope if your team is suffering from work-from-home burnout. Showing your employees that you understand and care about their concerns is a great first step.

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