How to prevent employee burnout in companies?

Burnout in business is the professional evil of our time. Work overload srepresents a real risk, not only for the employees of an organization, but also for the organization itself.

It is therefore necessary to act upstream on stress and other risk factors that can be at the origin of the appearance of this phenomenon in order to warn company employees of this evil.

This article covers the subject of burnout in companies and proposes precautions to prevent it effectively.

Burnout in business: What you need to know

While the definitions of the phenomenon have continued to evolve over time, they all converge towards a common point of view.

Still called burnout syndrome, burnout in the workplace refers to a state of burnout resulting from generally demanding working conditions.

Burnout here is therefore not a disease, but a syndrome that is initially expressed in the professional sphere by physical, emotional and mental exhaustion related to the work itself or the stress effects related to it.

As psychosocial risks or PSRs are associated with employment conditions as well as related relational and organizational factors, analyzing the different types of management should make it possible to prevent, or even reduce and mitigate the disorders related to this phenomenon.

The complex syndrome that is burnout in business can be conceived through three dimensions.

Emotional exhaustion

It is a state of exhaustion that results from excessive work, continuous stress or personal demands.

Emotional exhaustion represents the most central dimension of the process of degradation of the subjective relationship to work. It results in a feeling of emptiness felt by the employee. The latter feels extremely tired, due to continuous exposure to certain PSR factors.

This state of affairs is facilitated by demanding working conditions and a lack of resources to deal with them. Sleep, weekends and holidays are no longer enough to relieve this fatigue, and it then becomes chronic.

This is the first manifestation of burnout in business.

Cynicism about work

This dimension of the phenomenon is reflected, among other things, in a negative attitude, a loss of idealism and depersonalization.

At this level, the employee concerned gradually loses their commitment to work and adopts a harsh and detached attitude towards their work and the people around them. A barrier is gradually formed between them and the others.

They therefore dehumanize themselves from others, unconsciously, by keeping them at a distance. This dimension is seen as a reaction of self-preservation vis-à-vis the emotional demands of work.

Decreased personal achievement

The decrease in personal achievement results in:

• Low morale;
• Decreased productivity;
• A feeling of inefficiency;
• A devaluation of oneself, etc.

As a result, the employee of the professional entity no longer feels up to their position and their requirements. They also feel that they are at an impasse, beyond all the efforts they make.

It should be noted that in extreme cases, the employee may find themselves in a physical and emotional state that prevents them from continuing the exercise of their activity.

However, several symptoms can predict this type of case. These are some of the HR issues that the human resources department and the employer have to deal with to a large extent.

Prevention of burnout in the workplace: Primary prevention

In an approach to the prevention of occupational risks, a structure can, in an operational way, prevent burnout of employees in companies by addressing the factors favoring its occurrence.

It will be a question of acting on psychosocial risk factors in order to avoid contexts favorable to burnout in companies.

Inform and train employees

It is the responsibility of the employer to train and inform their employees on all subjects relating to their physical and mental health and especially their safety at work. It will therefore be a question of raising employees’ awareness about the causes and manifestations of burnout in companies.

This awareness can be done through internal communication in companies or through training on the prevention of psychosocial risks and burnout syndrome.

This will allow them to detect on their own any symptoms emanating from themselves or their collaborators.

The consequences of burnout on the company are multiple. They relate to the position of the employees affected and the extent of the damage observed. It should be noted that it is even possible to witness the burnout of the leader and managers.

Better organize the work of employees

It will be a question of preventing employees from overwork, setting achievable objectives (using the SMART method), limiting stress and ensuring the legitimacy of the efforts required.

It will also be necessary to ensure the sufficiency of the resources committed and to grant each employee a right to make mistakes, in accordance with the interprofessional agreement on the quality of life at work (QWL).

In addition, it will also be necessary to ensure that the employee has the necessary skills to achieve the objectives set and to ensure that leave is planned and taken.

Ensure strong social support for employees

The employee’s social support is conditioned by a number of elements. These are:

• The quality of interpersonal relations between their collaborators and superiors;
• The trust and solidarity that exists between them and their collaborators, as well as their skills and availability;
• Recognition of a job well done;
• The existence of focus groups, etc.

Thus, to ensure strong social support for employees, it will be discussed, for example, to avoid isolated workstations and to establish a climate of social dialogue within the company.

Also, it will be necessary, on the one hand, to ensure the fluidity of contacts between employees and their direct managers and to facilitate collective breaks as well as convivial moments on the other hand.

Beyond these areas of prevention, it will also be necessary to think about giving employees room for manoeuvre, ensuring fair recognition of their work and finally discussing with them the quality criteria of work.

To this end, employee opinions can be useful in a process of prevention of burnout in companies. They can provide insight into how employees feel within the company and whether there are any risks.

As a director, manager, employer or HR manager, you can click on the following link to learn more about the importance of employee reviews.

Prevention of burnout in companies: Secondary prevention

It is usually difficult to spot potential cases of burnout syndrome. It will therefore be a question at this level of preventing the syndrome, by screening. In other words, it will be necessary to detect risk situations and intervene in time.

Each actor in professional life can play a preventive role based on individual and collective signals.

Individual signals

The various prevention actors must remain vigilant and ask themselves a number of questions related to daily work to ensure the mental health of employees:

• Do they complain of a lack of energy in the performance of their duties?
• Do they report difficulties concentrating or lack of availability?
• Are they easily irritable?
• Do they devalue their skills, their own efficiency and the work they do?
• Do they show signs of professional disengagement tending to stop work?

These are just a few questions that are all warning indicators. The manager must be attentive to employees, their behaviors and their affiliations to be able to spot signs of burnout in the company.

Collective signals

With regard to collective signals, two types of indicators should be considered.

Indicators related to the operation of the company

These indicators relate to working time (absenteeism), staff movements (resignation, breach of contract), company activity and social relations.

Indicators related to employee health and safety

These include the activity of the occupational health service (visits to infirmaries), occupational accidents, occupational diseases, serious situations (suicide attempts, harassment) and pathologies diagnosed and treated.

How to react to a burnout in the event of its occurrence?

A burnout in a company can still occur and lead to a work stoppage. It is then necessary to learn to manage it and know the actions to be implemented for the mental health of the employee and their professional environment.

Returning to work after a burnout requires real support. As a first step, it is necessary to help the employee regain their footing through a number of actions aimed at restoring their balance.

In a second step, it will be a question of helping them in their preparation for the return to work by offering them better working conditions. These conditions can be obtained by acting on the employee’s professional environment.

At the end, even if burnout syndrome is not yet recognized as a disease in its own right, it remains a complex phenomenon that has harmful consequences for both employees and the company itself. Knowing the risk factors and prevention axes of burnout in the workplace should help prevent it.