5 Ways Businesses Can Enhance Burnout Prevention

Workplace burnout can have a debilitating impact on mental health that can permeate far beyond the workplace. Overwhelm with work can deter employees from taking time to foster their health (e.g., taking a break, going to a doctor’s appointment), impede important social connections, and ultimately hinder workplace culture, compassion, and productivity. In Deloitte’s recent survey exploring burnout, 77% of respondents reported burnout in their current position. Of that group, more than half of the respondents experienced more than one occurrence. Nine out of 10 participants acknowledged that stress impacts their quality of work. Of the 1,000 participants, nearly 70% shared that they believed their employers are not doing enough to combat burnout in the organization. One common blunder that often fosters mental health problems is the treatment of mental health concerns solely as an individual problem when wider systems, such as the workplace, have an undeniable effect on wellness. Here are five tips for organizations to foster mental wellness over burnout:

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1. Offer Support

Burnout develops over time. With this in mind, before signs arise, there are likely things that are going well. Noting these qualities, contributions, and/or achievements may go further than you may think. According to Deloitte’s survey, the most commonly cited catalyst of burnout was a lack of support or recognition from leadership. Support is pivotal as stress surmounts. According to the American Psychological Association, individuals who have emotional support experience less stress than those who do not believe they can talk to someone about their problems. Organizations need to form an infrastructure that is ready to offer empathy, understanding, and resources for an employee facing a mental health concern.

Sometimes support could be as succinct as leadership offering the time to genuinely listen, and other times that support may be in the form of referring to professional resources. All businesses should have methods in place to proactively offer resources for employees struggling with chronic burnout or reporting a mental health emergency. Resources will vary per organization, however, common examples include the mental health emergency number, local support groups, and coverage for professional mental health care.

2. Host mental health workshops

Mental health education can be offered to employees to promote workplace wellness. Through these lessons, employees can become equipped with the tools to manage their stress in and beyond the workplace. Individuals who are in leadership positions may benefit from specified training, such as noticing the signs of burnout and offering mental health resources. For those who are focused solely on numbers and believe widespread education is costly and irrelevant, bear in mind that a mentally well worker is more productive in the long run. Yet, if you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to assume that hosting mental health lessons leans more towards a compassionate consideration.

3. Add compassion to the calendar

In supporting mental wellness, the workplace calendar should include more than shifts, meetings, and deadlines. For one, key days to acknowledge mental health, such as World Mental Health Day, should be considered. These are also great days to offer workshops and support. Ideally, if known, days that may be influential to the employee should also be considered. Being cognizant of these moments can deter stress and save you from the blunder of adding the early shift the day after an employee took their partner into surgery, creating a strict deadline two weeks after an employee gives birth, or hosting a company celebration on a sensitive day such as June 12, June 19, or September 11. While it is also key to honor employee privacy, being mindful of current events, remembrances, and milestones can help to offer compassion at the workplace.

4. Infuse mental health into company culture

There are a growing number of organizations that have learned that mental wellness helps to support employee retention, productivity, and overall workplace satisfaction. Several of these companies have taken many of the abovementioned steps in an effort to reduce burnout. However, too many make the mistake of treating these as sporadic options. For example, how can you preach to employees to take a mental health day when (a) leadership does not model taking one, (b) the time goes unpaid, and (c) even daily breaks are discouraged? The ultimate method of workplace burnout prevention is incorporating mental wellness into the company ethos. When this is done effectively, employees across varying positions are able to incorporate mental wellness in and beyond the workplace. One key signifier of this occurrence is if individuals out of the organization (e.g., customers, prospective employees) are clearly able to recognize (and are often drawn towards) the widespread respect for mental health.

5. Hire a mental health consultant

Tips one through four may seem simple in concept, however, they can be challenging in reality. Especially when it comes to assessing and addressing company culture, shifting from a mental illness perspective to a mental wellness frame of mind can be intimidating. Some companies will be able to take these tips and incorporate them swiftly, however, a majority, regardless of good intentions, will likely face challenges in the process. This is nothing to be ashamed of, as it is merely a natural consequence of the mental health stigma that still exists across the globe. To help make these changes, consider hiring a mental health consultant to equip you with feedback, a strategic plan, accountability, and encouragement throughout the process.