In today’s ever-competitive world, managers are always looking for a way to outshine their competitors. Sadly, some of the best strategies mean compromising the well-being of employees. It can be quite easy to unconsciously force employees to work overtime and push them beyond their productivity limits to remain competitive. Such a workplace atmosphere, however, results in employee burnout.

Other than it becoming tough for your workforce to achieve common goals, burnout can affect their health and well-being. For a healthy workplace environment, your goal should be to limit, if not eliminate, workplace burnout.

Here are three tips for reducing workplace burnout:

Considering the expectations you place on your employees, it might be natural for them to want to work overtime. They might typically work five or six days a week and only have a few hours to themselves. What some fail to realise is that taking small breaks or going on holiday is just as important as fulfilling client needs.

In fact, they may have picked up work habits from you as their leader, so create an environment that encourages taking breaks from work or holidays and use absence management software to monitor and track this. Additionally, ensure that you cut or limit any interaction your employees have with your business during their holiday so they get the rest they need. Most importantly, lead by example by taking breaks yourself.

Life is about more than just working endless hours to make ends meet, but some employees forget this. Your workforce needs to spare some time for their family and hobbies too. Sadly, factors like delays in public transport and the inflexibility of their work schedule might eat into this time. Imagine an employee who only has a few hours to spend with their family after working, travelling and sleeping.

Make your work schedule flexible enough to allow employees a better work-life balance. For instance, you can use collaborative software to allow them to work from home whenever there are traffic or weather issues. Also, make work schedules flexible for any emergencies such as a sick family member.

Everyone craves appreciation, and constantly giving your employees feedback will increase their engagement rates. The higher your workforce's engagement rates, the lower the chances of burnout. Be swift to offer constructive feedback to your workforce. On the flip side, they too should feel encouraged to offer their thoughts on the different aspects of the business. It becomes easier for them to commit to the task at hand if they know that their thoughts and opinions matter.

Regardless of the quality of talent you have, burnout will always impede workplace productivity. Employees need to be empowered enough to work in a stress-free environment. Consider the tips above to give your business a competitive edge.

To find out more about absence management software, contact us at Leavetrack today.