Burnout has been a huge topic of discussion for several years now, but has seen a surge during the past two years with workers struggling to switch off through the pandemic.
In fact, recent data published by Micro Biz Mag has found that searches for “burnout symptoms” in the UK rose from 3,600 in August 2020 to 12,100 in both of August 2021 and August 2022. This is an astonishing increase of 260% between 2020 and 2021.
The data also found that searches for “recovering from burnout” rose from 320 to 1,330 between August 2016 and August 2022, which is a 315% increase.
With burnout increasingly becoming a problem for employees, Myles Wellbeing has researched the rise of burnout including its hidden signs and how to talk to your team if you’re concerned.
1. Sensitivity to feedback
If your team member is working extremely hard to the point that they are burning out, a simple bit of constructive feedback may bring their world crashing down as they already feel they can’t work any harder. If your team member reacts strangely to a piece of feedback, dig a bit further into how they are feeling2. Lack of productivity
It can be a common mistake to think that employees that are burning out are doing too much work. In fact, it may be the opposite. If you’re noticing that your team members aren’t getting tasks done as efficiently or as well as they used to, it’s a good time to chat.Burnt out employees may have trouble prioritising or be so worried about doing everything perfectly that they procrastinate. Both are common problems that as an employee’s manager, you can help with.
3. Clashes between team members
Do you have a team who were working harmoniously, but suddenly things have changed? It’s possible that members of the team are burnt out as this can lead to irritability. Speak to each member of the team individually to get to the root of the problem.4. Making careless mistakes
Is your team member making strange mistakes they don’t usually make? CC-ing the wrong people into email chains? They could be burnt out. These mistakes may only be minor, but if they are doing things they don’t usually do, book in a quick catch up. However, make sure to give your employee warning about what you want to talk about to avoid anxiety when the meeting invite lands in their inbox!5. Self-doubt
If when you’re catching up with your team members, they are very negative and cynical or if they’re feeling like their work isn’t good enough, this could be a sign of burnout.Encourage your employee to talk about how they’re feeling and give them a confidence boost by explaining their achievements as an employee. Offering to help your employee work through any tasks they’re finding particularly challenging will also help your employee feel less overwhelmed.
