Recognizing Change Fatigue And How To Help Managers And Employees Through Burnout

Breaking the stigma and providing helpful resources to improve workplace morale is the key

The past 18 months have paved the way for plenty of new changes and challenges in life and the workplace for millions of Americans. Today, nearly half of U.S. workers are struggling with mental health issues and alcohol and substance abuse, and these behavioral health obstacles have other consequences in the workplace. It has been well documented that the changes brought on by the global Covid-19 pandemic, including compounding work, life and family struggles, have also led to high levels of change fatigue and burnout.

Change fatigue describes the negative effect of too many changes in a short period of time within an organization and this can result in employees who are disengaged, apathetic and less productive. Now more than ever, employees need support, and employers are best poised to provide it.

According to the Mental Health America 2021 Mind the Workplace Report, four out of five workers report feeling the early signs of burnout while 56% have spent time looking for a new job (an increase of 16% from the same survey in 2018). The universal feelings of emotional drain and burnout play a key role in overall well-being and retention among employees and managers.

Although frequently misunderstood, the signs of burnout are becoming more prominent in today’s workplace and employers must have the ability to identify when employees are displaying symptoms so they can take steps. According to Mayo Clinic, signs of employee burnout include:
 

Fatigue, burnout, and behavioral health struggles are oftentimes intertwined and compound the impact within an organization. When managers and employers recognize these signs and behaviors in their employees, it may be time to explore some strategies to address overall wellbeing to combat burnout and change fatigue. Here are a few suggestions to create a more connected work environment:

According to Gallup’s research on employee burnout, employees who are supported and have frequent communication with their managers are about 70% less likely to regularly experience burnout. Below are seven actions managers can take to support employees now:
 

1. Create a human connection. The added stress and more remote work make it important to approach team members like people, and not just workers. Acknowledge it’s a hard time, empathize and point employees to resources your company offers. Encourage employees to ask for help and show them support when they do.

2. Set realistic expectations and provide flexibility. Life disruptions can make people less focused and productive. Set realistic expectations for yourself and your team and remind employees to be compassionate with themselves and others. Engage with employees to understand what they feel they need to be successful and give them the flexibility to meet those needs.

3. Hold friendlier meetings. Employees working at home have lost the office’s built-in sociability. There’s no chatting in the hall or in the break room. Set aside meeting time for personal contact and team-building. Encourage people to talk about things like family and hobbies.

4. Normalize conversations about behavioral health. Remember, everyone struggles at some point. With so many of us in remote or virtual jobs, or if we are struggling with a mental health or substance use condition, it is common to feel a lack of connection.

5. Implement an anti-stigma campaign such as Make it OK and Stop the Stigma to reduce the negative stereotypes associated with these struggles and help workers address problems they might typically hide. Breaking the stigma surrounding burnout and mental health in the workplace is an important step to shifting the culture and creating a healthy and safe work environment.

6. Capitalize on existing benefits and make them easy to access. In these times employers should err on the side of overcommunication when it comes to benefits and resources that support behavioral health.

 

Managers are on the frontlines of workplaces that have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Because manager support is directly linked to employee engagement and well-being, it is important for employers to communicate with, support, and empower managers.  
 

1. Get their feedback. If you haven’t already done so, develop feedback mechanisms for employees and people leaders so that you can understand what is happening and what is needed to address the challenges they are facing.

2. Highlight open communication and transparency. Upper management can lead the way in creating open communication and human connection (as stated above).

3. Emphasize self-care. Managers need recovery time now more than ever before. Encourage self-care, mental breaks, and flexibility so they can balance the needs of their employees with their own.

4. Provide manager training on compassion and listening. These are skills that can be learned and improved upon.

5. Provide support and training on managing in a virtual/hybrid/remote environment.While some industries and businesses are no stranger to the remote environment, for many organizations this hybrid approach is new territory. Provide training to managers as they navigate this new layer of people management.

6. Encourage the manager community. Develop cohorts, manager networking opportunities to create camaraderie and connection. This is another great way to garner real-time feedback from leaders in your organization.

7. Reinforce the importance of regular communication with employees. Reinforce the importance of managers’ roles in ensuring that employees feel listened to, are aware of, and have access to support and resources.

8. Provide the training opportunities your managers and employees need. Provide relevant training based on employee and manager feedback where they need it most, whether it’s resiliency, mental health first aid, wellness, or reintroducing well-being benefits already in place.

 

The pandemic has affected everyone in a unique way and it’s vastly important to maintain a work-life balance. Company leaders and managers are not immune to life and work-related stress, so it’s critical for company leaders to recognize the signs of burnout and fatigue in themselves as well as those who report to them. Here are a few things managers can do for themselves:
 

1. Be a champion for change. Managers can be very focused on meeting deadlines and productivity goals, but the interpersonal aspects of their job are equally, if not more important, now. Acknowledge that engaging at an individual level with employees is important to work and not an added or short-term responsibility.  

2. Give yourself a break. Schedule time in your calendar to energize and step away from daily pressures. Take a mental health/wellness day. Download an app to remind you to take a break and stretch or simply get moving for a bit.   

3. Utilize or create meaningful connections with peers. Other managers in and outside of your organization are facing the same challenges that you are facing. Connecting with others provides a dual benefit of hearing ideas and approaches that you may not have thought of and in increasing your own engagement and sense of belonging as well.

There is still a lot of work to be done to improve workplace behavioral health, and the lessons of the pandemic have taught us to expect more change and more adjustment in the future. At the onset of the pandemic, employees reported increased engagement due to the support they received from HR and their managers, according to a McKinsey survey on Covid-19 and the employee experience.

Employers and HR professionals can capitalize on what has worked in the past, but continue to listen to the needs of employees to continue improving. It’s never too late to take action. Awareness around behavioral health is growing and we now have more information and insights on how to support employees’ wellbeing in the face of ongoing change.