Is Your Team Burnt Out? Here’s What to Do to Alleviate Workplace Stress

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on December 28, 2018

Workplace stress is common.

But when stress reaches a breaking point, an entire team can begin to feel burnt out. And when burnout sets in, productivity suffers.

Burnout isn’t a temporary problem. It’s a systemic one and builds up over time, which means the best way to stop it is to prevent it before it reaches a crisis.

Here’s how to spot signs of burnout and how to respond in order to restore balance and prevent future stressful events from taking a similar toll on your staff.

5 Signs of Team Burnout and Workplace Stress

  • They’re ineffective. If the team’s productivity is dropping, they’re no longer meeting goals they once reached, or they’re spending time on work that doesn’t impact the bottom line, they may be facing burnout.
  • Conflicts are increasing. Constructive disagreement is healthy for a team, but destructive arguments or gossip undermine the team and may be a sign that they are too stressed to handle things effectively.
  • People don’t show up. Absenteeism indicates that your staff need their time away from work far more than they need to accomplish goals: It’s a need to protect their few remaining resources.
  • No one leaves. By contrast, team members who never take scheduled vacation time are cruising for burnout.
  • Turnover increases. A team that can’t keep members for very long is probably one that burns people out too quickly. Rather than endure the stress, your staff find a less stressful employer.

Fortunately, team leaders can address all five of these common signs of burnout.

Strategies for Addressing Team Burnout and Workplace Stress

  • Talk to your team. Figure out where their “pressure points” are when it comes to stress. Knowing what your team needs is essential to providing the right kind of support.
  • Encourage work-life balance. Tackle absenteeism and never-leaves-the-desk-it is by focusing on ways to improve your team’s commitment to work-life balance. For instance, you may need to stress how much more productive your high achiever will be if she or he takes a vacation.
  • Talk to your recruiter. If a heavy workload is causing burnout, talk to your recruiter about ways to distribute the work more effectively. For instance, hiring temporary staff can help your core team focus on its day to day work during a seasonal rush.

How TERRA Can Help

Need additional support to prevent workplace stress?

At TERRA Staffing, our recruiters focus on helping our clients build thriving teams that pursue sustainable business goals.

To learn more about our staffing services in Portland, Seattle and Phoenix, contact us today.

 

Categories: Employee Engagement Ideas, HR and Management Advice

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