4 Ways to Help Ensure Your Team is not Burning Out
Burn out is real. To say retail has been a whirlwind for the past eighteen months is like saying a hurricane is a rain storm with wind. It just doesn’t capture the full effect of what has happened in the recent past. And it continues. Retailers are facing staffing shortages, increased demand, supply chain issues, and increased customer expectations for services and support.
I believe retail leaders and workers to be among the hardiest folks there are. It is always hard to compare different types of jobs, but in my more than thirty-four years of experience, people who work and lead in retail environments work hard. Period. Burn out is almost something we don’t acknowledge and just push through. However, we are reaching that point where it is no longer something that can be ignored. People are suffering the real, both physical and emotional, effects of true workplace burnout.
Over two-thirds, or 69%, of employees are experiencing burnout symptoms while working from home, the survey found. That is up almost 20% from a similar survey in early May. The latest was conducted July 10 and surveyed 284 U.S. employees.
Despite work burnout, the majority (59%) are taking less time off than they normally would, and 42% of those still working from home are not planning to take any time off to decompress.1
These statics are not only scary from the impact they have on people and their lives, it also begins to shed light on the staffing challenges retailers are facing. People are realizing they can no longer do these jobs and are choosing not to subject themselves to this burnout culture. As leaders, we must take note of that.
Up front, we must acknowledge that we are not immune to the effects and outcomes of burnout, either. Anything I share here, as a way to recognize the symptoms in our teams, must also be applied to ourselves. Some solutions and ideas to help mitigate and manage the workplace must also apply to us.
Some symptoms of burnout
There is no complete list of what burnout looks like. It can manifest itself in different ways for different people. There are some signs that can indicate that burnout may be happening.
Sudden performance changes
Noticing that they are always tired, yet doesn’t seem to be connected to sleep schedules
A change in engagement levels
Irritability
Changes in attitude and outlook — things become more doom and gloom
Distancing themselves from others and even previously close peers
Physical indicators like more frequent headaches, shortness of breath, a change in eating habits, weight gain or sudden weight loss
Any or all of these can be signs of serious burnout and, even more importantly, serious risks to an individual's long-term health status.
Each situation and especially your environment will require solutions that make sense for the challenges you may be facing as a team. As a starting point, the ideas below can assist in creating a work space that limits burnout, supports engagement, and can even strengthen your team bonds over time.
Allow for time off and space
This goes beyond people taking vacations or a day off here or there. That should be happening as they normally would. If you notice people on your team not taking time off, that can be a sign that something more troubling may be occurring. Even beyond that is the ability to take time when team members can be fully disconnected and know that it is ok to do so. It is hard in today’s world if you are tethered to a phone and email to feel like you can just let it go for even a day or two.
Encourage a long weekend. And reinforce that they should utilize that time to not think about work or catch up. A weekend in retail isn’t always Saturday and Sunday. Allowing for store leaders and team members to take a few back to back days off can go a long way in helping them feel rejuvenated and refreshed by stepping away and recharging their batteries.
One of the biggest steps you can take as a leader is ensuring you do not create inadvertent work for them on weekend days. If you (as a leader) send emails on Saturday and Sunday, the others will feel obligated to stay on top of those. If you feel as though you need to catch up or generate emails on the weekend, think about holding those until Monday to send. You can use a delayed send feature available in many email platforms that allows you to accomplish what you need, but keep your team’s time protected.
Create space for open dialogue about challenges
Make time on your regular calls or in-person discussions to be about the challenges you team is facing (either as a group or as individuals). Understand that many people will not want to share something like this on a team call, so you will need alternate approaches depending on your team and the situation.
Share articles on burn out and challenges that others are facing, and make it safe and ok to not only talk about this, but feel it. Everyone is feeling some level of burnout and anxiety right now. I am not sure how it would be possible for every person to feel like the world is unicorns and rainbows. Talk about that. Face the challenges head on.
Recognition, Recognition, Recognition
It may sound too simple, but providing continual acknowledgement of people's work goes a long way in helping them cope with the challenges and effort it takes to deliver those outputs and results. There are hundreds of ways to show appreciation and gratitude for what others are doing. Find some things that work best for you and for your team and put them into action. Recognition in almost any employee engagement survey you read about is at the top of what employees want more of and need to keep them coming back each day to get the job done and done well. Don’t take a simple, but heartfelt, ‘thank you’ for granted. It can be a tremendous boost of energy and encouragement for every team member.
Finally, if you recognize that your team, or individual members are suffering from burnout, make extra time to understand their situation and provide the support you can. Encourage them to seek additional help that may go beyond just workplace assistance structures. If any of you are suffering from severe burn out symptoms, please speak with your leader and seek the help you need to take care of yourself. This is one situation where as a community of retailers and leaders, we must bond together to support each other in this potential health crisis.
What are you doing to support your team and limit the effects of burn out? What are you doing for yourself?
Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills. JOIN NOW!
No spam ever — just leadership goodness.
Remote work burnout is growing as pandemic stretches on. Here’s how to manage it - CNBC article
Data from CNBC article and monster.com survey ↩