Continuing with our previous post’s theme of job burnout, it’s important to realize the consequences of burnout, which can be severe for both employers and their employees. These consequences include:
- Increased chances of an accident/injury both on and off the job. The effects of stress or burnout on the job can also carry over to someone’s personal life outside of work.
- Numerous studies indicate that burnout increases absenteeism and turnover. This can lead to staffing challenges, impact employee morale, and create safety concerns.
- Burnout can cause a variety of health problems including sleeplessness, physical ailments and illnesses, depression and even substance abuse.
- Productivity can drop and creativity can also be affected.
Avoiding Burnout
As an employer, being mindful of preventing burnout among your employees should be very important. After all, without your employees, how strong of a company do you really have?
- Have regular employee meetings to communicate necessary information and make sure everyone is on the same page and feels included.
- Do employees ever speak up about concerns and/or make suggestions? Let them know their input is valued and make them a part of creating a safe environment. Instill the attitude of, “If you see something wrong – say something.”
- Have an open-door policy and encourage employees to speak to management about concerns or problems. Nip them in the bud early before they fester and lead to bigger issues, including burnout.
- Frequently take a look at workloads or job responsibilities and make adjustments as situations change. Consider whether the volume of work has grown to the point that you may need to hire more staff or employ a temporary worker(s) to avoid burning out your current employees.
Job burnout and safety burnout are closely related and both are equally important. If an employee is burned out with their job it will affect most every aspect of their work and those around them, plus vital areas like safety will be compromised.