Sometimes, you will notice that your star employees are late for work and irritable. This is most common at the end of the year. Productivity drops and enthusiasm wanes. As a manager, you will naturally feel irritable and frustrated with the situation, and sometimes your reactions will make things worse. Well, you need to consider that the issue is not with your employee but with their work. The employees may be feeling unappreciated and overwhelmed.

They may also have workplace burnout, physical and emotional exhaustion as a result of extended periods of stress, frustration and emptiness. While you may think that increasing their pay and benefits will be great, it is not enough to mitigate and prevent burnouts. Here are things you can do to prevent burnouts before they take a toll and ruin your workers’ productivity.

Identify the burnout signs

Employee burnout is not uncommon. Even students face this issue when they are ready to study for a tough paper. That is why they opt to hire dissertation writing services in an attempt to keep themselves motivated.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you have identified the signs of burnout and lack of motivation. One of the most common signs is a drop in productivity and performance. As a business owner or manager, you must keep checking the performance chart for every employee. If you notice a reduction in their productivity, it may be because of de-motivation. Another red sign that employers tend to miss sometimes is an increase in the number of days off taken each month. Here, you must be keen because sometimes there is a breakout and several of your employees will call in sick. If someone who is rarely sick suddenly starts to miss work, you must make sure that you talk to them about it.

Other signs that you will notice include changes in attitudes, stress reactions, tardiness and a decline in positive interactions with other employees. You are also likely to see an increase in the number of errors. To handle this, get reviews from previous managers and try to find out whether this is a trend of it is just a blip.

Communicate

Communication is a key aspect of every business. Your workers need to know that you care about them and not just about their performances at work. Therefore have a meeting with the employees who have this issue. If all of them are dropping in productivity levels, hold a staff meeting.

Give them the opportunity to talk about what they are working on and the issues they have with the work environment, the workload and their career accomplishments. Let them trust that you are on their side and are not just looking for a reason to demote them or get them fired.

Also read: How to Support the Mental Health of Your Employees

Downplay the negatives

Every job has its pros and cons. In case of burnouts, your employees have most likely forgotten its positive sides and are dwelling on the negative aspects. They may be concentrating too much on the tedious work they are handling forgetting how fulfilling their obligations are to them. Therefore, emphasize positive aspects of the job and anything that excites them and will keep them feeling happy.

Positive reinforcement

Most organizations agree that the main reason employees experience burnout is because they feel that they are not appreciated. Sometimes, when they know that they have contributed a great deal to the success of the company and their efforts have not been adequately recognized, they will naturally begin slacking in their work. Remember, while you want them to work as a team, they are individuals. Appreciate each individual for their effort whether they were successful or not. Always look for a reason to build the employee up on a regular basis. Let them know that you notice their efforts and appreciate them for working so hard.

Also read: Understanding the Benefits of Unlimited Vacation Policy

Encourage stress relievers

In some cases, the cause of slacking is personal and has nothing to do with your company. Even then, these personal issuers have the potential to ruin your work and decrease the profits. Therefore let your employees do what they must to relieve stress and improve their concentration at work. Let them listen to music, drink coffee, allow casual dresses regularly and flex their working hours a few times a month. It will get them to enjoy being at work when their personal lives are chaotic. It will also demonstrate that you care about their well-being.

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