6 Causes of Employee Burnout And How To Avoid Them

Have you ever felt your team often feel annoyed, unaccomplished, and unappreciated during working hours? A high probability is that your employees are feeling burnout. These days, burnout has become a buzzword in the corporate sector, and working professionals often face this situation in a busy and challenging schedule. Employee burnout poses a significant threat to modern enterprises, contributing to as much as 50% of annual workforce turnover.

Let’s understand the top factors that lead to burnout and figure out ways to address them. But before digging deep into the causes of burnout, here is an introduction to the term employee burnout.

What is Employee Burnout?

Back in 1970, Herbert Freudenberg, an American psychologist coined the term burnout for describing the outcomes of severe stress and high ideals in busy professionals who remain ready to sacrifice their needs to help others. As per Freudenberg’s definition, ‘burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by one’s professional life.’  

Though burnout can affect anyone- idealists, stressed out careerists, perfectionists, success-driven celebrities, or overworked employees. It’s not just feeling tired after a long day; it’s a deeper, more pervasive sense of depletion that can significantly impact an individual’s well-being and job performance.

Here, we keep the scope of burnout limited to overburdened employees and discuss the top factors contributing to burnout.

Factors That Causes Employee Burnout

1. Heavy Workload

This is a primary cause of employee burnout. First things first. When employees have a workload that matches their capability, they can easily and effectively get the work done on time. They can also find time for professional growth and recreation. But, the issue arises when your employees feel overloaded. When the workload exceeds the personal capability, all these opportunities remain non-existent for them. 

Addressing this will lead to a happy team that will bring more productivity and revenue to the table. To help your employees, you can address the stress of workload by focusing on three key areas- planning, prioritizing, and performing. A task management app can come in handy when you are trying to address these three areas effectively. Companies can also opt for some proactive measures to reduce the employee’s workload, thereby reducing the feelings of burnout. 

2. Lack of Recognition and Rewards

Employees work for money, but it is not their only goal. Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards can play a vital role in making the job interesting for your employees. When rewards do not match the amount of effort and time they put in, chances are high that employees get frustrated and they feel stressed. 

Even if you’re paying your employees sufficiently, as a human, they expect some kind of recognition and rewards for the efforts they are putting in. You can recognize their extraordinary efforts in terms of awards, certifications, and gifts. You can utilize a good task management software to show every team member’s contribution in real-time. Based on that, you can motivate your high-performing team members with more positive feedback or rewards to keep them productive and efficient in the current work environment. 

3. Improper Task Allocation

Every employee owns a specific set of skills and expertise. You need to make sure that you utilize those skills and expertise for the company’s growth. If you’re not respecting the employee’s skills and assigning them tasks out of their league, you’re unknowingly increasing employee burnout in your company.

A task management tool that keeps track of all tasks and allows you to assign tasks to employees based on their skills and expertise is a sureshot way to handle this issue. As an entrepreneur, you’re trusting in your employee, if you allocate tasks to them as per their liking and capability. It gives them a feeling of involvement in various projects and your employees never get the sense of lack of control.

Also Read-How Task Management App Helps in Task Delegation?

4. Biased Approach and Lack of Fair Treatment

Now, keep yourself in the employee’s shoes and find the answer to the following questions- 

– Do you get appreciation for your contributions?

– Do other individuals get praised for your work? 

– Does an individual get regular extensions in deadlines and access to additional resources? 

If an answer to any of these questions is in ‘Yes’, then there is a serious issue known as a lack of fairness. At times, seniors or managers are unaware of their biases and employees need to draw their attention toward this issue. 

5. Conflict of Values between Employees and Company

There may be a disconnect between your core values and the same of your organization. Companies tend to mention or highlight their mission statements and core values on websites and marketing collateral. But, when it comes to implementing them, only a few companies can go ahead. The conflict between the employee’s values and the company’s values can be a potential reason for the employee’s burnout.

6. Lack of Community or Departmental Support

It is a fact that we cannot choose our colleagues and clients, but we can improve the work culture. All we need to do is ask them how their day is going and listen to them carefully, or we can just send them an email containing appreciation of their presentation. It is fair to mention that burnout can be contagious and disappointing. As a manager, you play a crucial role in maintaining team morale and fostering employee engagement. It’s essential that every employee feels supported by their team and the organization; otherwise, they may seek employment elsewhere.

Let’s Remove Employee Burnout From Your Team

Burnout goes beyond the feeling of tiredness. It is a complex and multifaceted issue that needs a robust and accurate solution. These six sources of burnout and their solutions will help you address this issue effectively. A feature-rich task management software can assist your employees to get rid of burnout by motivating them to make changes in their work style.