Improving employee mental health and preventing burnout isn’t a quick fix. There’s no one size fit’s all approach to supporting your employees—and research published by Dell Technology in their Breakthrough study shows just that.
Bertrand Stern-Gillet, CEO at Health Assured, says that preventing staff burnout involves a considered approach to work-life balance that puts employees first. And that means putting mental health on your organisation’s agenda.
What external pressures do home workers face?
Home and hybrid workers might save time on the morning commute. But they may be missing out on the social interactions vital to a healthy life. The routine of getting up, out of the house and making the journey to work can also be conducive to a productive workday, with the office atmosphere promoting engagement with tasks and increasing creativity among teams.
There may also be a tendency for workers to find that a home set-up blurs the lines between home and work life, increasing the risk of burnout. That said, every worker is unique; others may find that a hybrid or home-working set-up helps them manage their life responsibilities more effectively. However we know that having the autonomy to choose is something employees value in an organisation.
I think the main thing is that you provide employees with the tools they need at home to do the job effectively—and you keep in touch. Schedule regular meetings, keep up email contact, check in on employees and remember the factors that could impact their mental health.
How can you help prevent burnout?
Burnout is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that arises after long periods of stress. It’s hard to make a comeback from this position, so prevention is always better than cure.
To prevent burnout among workers, you must promote a healthy work-life balance. You can do this by putting employee mental health on the agenda.
Offer mental health support if you can afford to do so, and train your managers in stress management, resilience, and mental health topics like menopause.
Check-in with employees regularly and review workloads to ensure they are manageable. When you put employee wellbeing first in this way, the results speak for themselves.
