Helping your employees maintain work/life balance isn’t something you do just for them — it’s vital to the health of your company. Employee burnout has a major impact on productivity.
Overworked and stressed-out employees are more likely to <cough> call in sick — be it physical illness, general malaise, or outright depression. Burnout directly affects turnover rates. Employees can work at a frantic pace for only so long before they get frustrated and leave a company.
Like it or not, your employees’ lack of work/life balance is your problem even if it isn’t your fault.
Preventing Employee Burnout, Increasing Productivity
Employee burnout is caused by a number of things, including an employee’s own abilities, their workload, their responsibilities and how much support they have in the workplace. But there are things you can do help employees juggle work and home life. Even the smallest efforts show your employees that you respect their personal time and make them feel good about their relationship with you and the company. Especially when you don’t have a lot of flexibility with what kind of compensation you can offer, finding creative ways to keep your staff motivation and morale high can be a challenge.
Here are some ideas:
Give employees comp days. Certain projects or seasons require an unusual amount of work or overtime. After these busy periods are over, reward your employees with a comp day or two. It will emphasize how much you appreciate their efforts and the sacrifices they’ve made. Plus, it increases the chances that they’ll voluntarily pitch in for the next big project.
Be flexible with work schedules. Flexible work hours can help an employee meet conflicting needs without compromising the amount of hours they work. If employees can adjust their hours or telecommute once in a while, they’ll be happier at work and at home.
Give time off for special occasions. Time off is always greatly appreciated. If you can afford to, consider giving your employees time off on their birthdays, holidays or other special occasions. But be careful that comp time is distributed fairly, and that it benefits all of your employees. Reward success. Treat your employees if their efforts result in gains for the business. It doesn’t have to be a huge bonus or even an expensive dinner, but a gesture of some kind will give them a
signal that their efforts have been acknowledged and appreciated. Even something as small as bringing in donuts or a favorite coffee blend can do wonders. Most people agree that it really is the thought that’s important when it comes to rewards.
Give credit when it’s due. It may seem simple, but many employers often forget the basics of a “thank you.” If you couldn’t have finished a presentation or shipped a product or whatever without the help of employee X, make sure you tell that person how much impact he/she had on the success of the project. Actually hearing that you’ve done a good job is important to anyone’s psyche and self-esteem. You don’t hesitate to tell people when they’ve done something wrong, make sure you let them know they’ve done it right, too.
Encourage teamwork. If one person on your staff is having difficulty keeping up, encourage other coworkers to step up to the plate, or pitch in yourself. The more you can convince your staff to work as a team, the better. To that end, try to keep people cross-trained so they don’t have the option to sit out on a project that they could possibly help make succeed.
Your employees are your most important assets. Whether you have one other employee or hundreds, it’s important to consistently challenge and appreciate these people if you expect great things from them. They reflect your business to current and potential clients and are the link to growing your business successfully. It’s important to not only show them you value their efforts but also to keep them motivated and willing to always come to work willing to give you their best. If you fulfill their needs, you’ll find that they are much more willing to take on the challenge.
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