The causes of employee burnout and how can tech help

Being overworked and frustrated is a serious issue amongst professionals in the United States. In fact, a recent survey showed that 77 percent of staff suffer from it in their current job. However, the good news is that technology is giving HR professionals the tools to battle the causes of employee burnout.

Causes of employee burnout

If you work in human resources, you will understand that to tackle a problem, you need to get to the core of the issue. Therefore, when it comes to taking on employee burnout, understanding it is the first step.

Below are just some of the causes of employee burnout.

Context switching

Context switching is the productivity sapping process of jumping from one unconnected task to another. Of course, switching tasks is necessary in any job.

However, when staff feel like they are not ever given enough time to focus on one task properly, this usually results in burnout. It has become such a problem that nearly half of workers report that context switching is a drain on their productivity.

When you consider how busy the modern professional is, this is an obvious problem.

Stressful commutes

Unfortunately, burnout doesn’t start in the office.

There are many thought leaders who believe that the commute may actually contribute to burnout as much as the job itself.

This is hardly surprising when you consider traffic, issues around public transport, and the uncertainty around parking at the office. When electric vehicles are brought into the mix, things get even more complicated.

In such an instance, a person driving an electric vehicles wonders lf if there is going to be a free EV charger available in a suitable location. On its own, this is a minor stress, but with other problems, it can prove an issue.

Heavy workload

Being overworked is arguably the most obvious cause of employee burnout.

It is natural that there will be times when employees are busier than others. However, issues arise when they are constantly expected to carry out more work than they are capable of.

In this instance, employee burnout is inevitable.

In fact, even with a manageable workload, it is important that employees are given the necessary tools to carry out their tasks.

No upward mobility

Much of employee burnout comes from motivation for the job being lost. When an employee doesn’t think that they can progress, this can cause them to feel uninspired and unmotivated.

The obvious solutions to this are honest and clear communication around the requirements of the job and what’s attainable in the future for the employee. There are also some technological tools that can be used to ensure that the staff member is not left in the dark.

How to prevent burnout

Of course, the above list is not exhaustive (unlike the work that often causes burnout!). However, it does give you an idea of some of the key causes of employee burnout.

Having a clearer idea gives us a better chance of solving the problem. In fact, here are three ways you can immediately combat the causes of employee burnout in your business.

Create a supportive environment

By creating a supportive environment within your business, you can ensure that employees step in to help each other when one of them is feeling overwhelmed.

There are many ways to create a supportive environment, such as building morale and camaraderie. This can be done at team-building workshops, staff ‘get-to-know-me’ days and by allowing for an open plan office where people work alongside each other.

Provide the necessary tools

There are workplace tools that can help people prioritize their workload, as well as communication tools that allow staff members to feel heard.

There are even tools that can take the stress out of the commute for employees.

Clear communication from both sides

It sounds obvious, but clear communication can help prevent so many issues. Let us ask you this: if you are an employee who has suffered from burnout, how would you have felt if your boss or a member of HR asked you how you were in an honest and open fashion?

Examples of technology helping prevent burnout

With technology, there are now tools that can help HR professionals and employees alike. Below are just a few examples.

Workday planning tools

Workday planning tools have helped employees prioritize their workload. Tools like Trello and Monday.com have allowed for staff to share their workload with management.

Not only has this helped with prioritization, which in turn helps with issues around context switching.

But it has also helped to keep managers informed when their staff members have a lot of work on their to-do list. This, in turn, helps managers from overloading someone’s workload.

Communication tools

Clear communication is obviously necessary.

For one, it allows employees to share concerns and issues with superiors. The likes of Teams, Google Chat and Slack are cross-organization communication tools that let employees know they’re connected to people at all points of the business.

They also give management the opportunity to digitally run performance reviews. This allows them to communicate with employees what they need to do to reach the next level in their career.

Last mile automation and parking software

Last mile automation and parking software can take the stress out of the commute. Wayleadr’s booking and allocation system, ensures employees are aware if there is parking available before they even leave home.

Wayleadr’s innovative software can also connect with a company’s EV charging system to ensure that charging points are used as efficiently as possible.

Conclusion

Considering the difficulty and expense associated with recruiting new talent, preventing burnout, to ensure employees aren’t quitting, is an essential task for human resources. There are solutions that can remove the stress and frustration out of the daily life of employees. And introducing technology minimizes frustrations even further.

If you would like to learn how Wayleadr can remove frustrations from an employee’s commute, book a demo now.