Every team has its limit regarding how much they can produce, and sometimes they hit that limit, leading to them getting burned out.
While many of us can tell when someone is burned out, effective leadership notices subtle signs to ensure that burnout is avoided or, at worst, managed with as little damage as possible.
In this blog post, we will look at some common causes of burnout and identify the signs of a burned-out team.
Causes of burnout at work
Unrealistic expectations: When you set lofty goals and deadlines that your team will not be able to fulfill or meet, it can lead them to feel that they need to overwork to get things done.
Poor communication: Vague messaging and non-specific goals can push talent to chase irrelevant tasks, resulting in double-work or poor output and more stress.
Underpaid: Employees, when underpaid, have to forego certain amenities they can't afford, which can lead to poor health choices and thereby contribute to increased stress levels.
Toxic work environment: Offices with inhospitable peers and an environment that is not conducive to productive work will make your team less motivated to show up and give their best.
Signs of a team burnout
People are online all the time
It is a sign of a healthy work-life balance when people are switched on completely at work and off after working hours. If someone is regularly working after office hours, then it is likely a sign of being overworked or inefficient at their job.
Either way, it is unhealthy if people don't find the working hours enough or borrow considerable time from their personal life for work.
Drop in quality of work
If the quality and consistency of your team's output are down over some time, then it is likely burnout.
When people are fresh and ready to go, their output is usually at its best. However, when they are overworked, every task will feel much more strenuous than it is, and quality will suffer as a result.
Detachment from the company's vision
When stressed out, the last thing on most people's minds is holding up the company's vision and working for its sake.
When burned out, the goal becomes more about finishing the work on your plate before the deadline instead of doing things the right way and adhering to the company's core values.
So when you see someone working just for the sake of it, then a conversation about burnout is very much warranted.
Your employees are withdrawn
It is odd to see an active employee not contribute as they used to, and when that lack of contribution is a common denominator between multiple employees, then it is likely that your team has been burned-out.
To make sure that you reduce the risk of burnout, you must schedule recurring meetings regularly with your team members, and you should ensure that this is a safe space where they can share their status without judgment or consequence.
Lack of sleep and high stress
If members of your team consistently complain about not getting enough sleep or feeling stressed out at work, then it is time for you to give them time and space to get a diagnosis of why that is happening.
Most of these signs do not have apparent triggers or causes. But they are likely contributing negatively to the overall health of your team members individually or the team as a whole.
Combative, aggressive, and argumentative
Do you notice your employees becoming combative in meetings? Are inter-department politics rising? Are people complaining of a toxic work environment?
Then you are likely dealing with a team that is on edge.
When people do not feel settled and jump on every opportunity to tear each other down, that team is not operating at its best and has likely been overworked towards that point.
They say they have burned out
Possibly the most obvious sign of them all, directly sharing their burnout status, is the last resort for most employees. So when someone says they are burned out, it is likely that they are.
And if you see multiple cases of this, you are dealing with a team that is not working at a pace or environment conducive to good working standards.
This should be a wake-up call to any effective leader to take a step back and assess the health and well-being of their team.
So those were signs that your team has been burned out or is very close to one. Did you notice one or more of them recently? Move swiftly on it.
Please share your thoughts on this post with Routine on Twitter at @RoutineHQ. Thanks for reading.
