Managing Burnout

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized burnout as an occupational phenomena. Burnout and employee stress have several implications for organizations: reduced performance, physical and psychological effects and turnover. This following page aims to inform you about employee burnout and how you can address it in your organization.

Updated Understanding Burnout .pptx

Understanding Burnout

Scroll through these slides to gain a better understanding of how burnout presents itself and why it matters to your organization.

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Managing Expectations

To help reduce burnout, an organization can use these techniques which will help to foster communication and manage expectations

Provide an RJP

Providing a realistic job preview (RJP) where all negative and positive aspects of the job are presented can help the candidate decide if they are ready to take on the job challenges. They can reduce burnout caused by unmet expectations. RJP's can be executed in job descriptions and through a structured observation.

Promote Positive Atmosphere

Organizations can promote a positive work atmosphere by encouraging attention to one's emotional state instead of stigmatizing it. They can also acknowledge workplace stress and help employees find any professional support that they need.

Require Recovery Time

Organizations should recognize that employees need time to recover from stressful situations. Therefore they should encourage breaks and full vacation usage. They could also implement a recovery room with soft music and comfortable seating for employees to de-stress.

Balancing Job Resources & Job Demands

The JD-R Model

The JD-R Model (Job demands and resources) encourages a positive balance between job demands and job resources. Watch this video to learn more about job demands and resources.

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Intervention Strategies

Intervention strategies can be implemented to help address burnout in your organization. Watch this video to learn more about: job redesign, job crafting, training and strengths-based intervention

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Promoting Employee Well-Being

Promoting employee well-being is a proactive approach to managing employee burnout and encouraging a healthy lifestyle. Read more about some ways you can promote employee well-being.

Wellness Initiatives

Organizations can focus on mental health in their wellness initiatives through awareness and education campaigns as well as offering peer support groups. Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) give employees the option to address their mental health privately.

Work-Life Balance

Flexible hours and remote work allow employee's to juggle the various work and life responsibilities they face on a daily basis. Encouraging time off allows employees to take breaks as they see needed and they will likely come back refreshed.

Mindfulness Activities

The act of mindfulness allows someone to focus on the moment at hand. Encouraging mindfulness in the workplace can help your employees slow down and decrease their stress levels. Sample mindfulness activities can be found under Additional Resources.

GRUW Burnout Flyer.pdf

Download Burnout Flyer

This flyer serves as a recap of the content covered on this page. Download it to remind you of what you learned!

Additional Resources

Drop down this menu to find additional resources to learn more about employee burnout and help your organization effectively address burnout.

Helpful Tools and Activities

The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: The Nonprofit Burnout Assessment

Free Online Training for the Nonprofit Professional

Guided Meditation

Looking for More Information?

Workplace Strategies for Mental Health - Burnout Response

Burnout Prevention and Treatment

Greater Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life

How to Prevent Nonprofit Employee Burnout

Sources

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Bika, N. (2020) Employee Burnout for Employers: Costs, Causes, and Cures. Retrieved from https://resources.workable.com/stories-and-insights/employee-burnout
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Compass Workforce Solutions. (2017). Consequences of Employee Burnout. Retrieved from https://compasswfs.com/consequences-employee-burnout/
Ganster, D. C. & Rosen, C. C. (February 2013). Work Stress and Employee Health: A Multidisciplinary Review [PDF]. Journal of Management Vol 39, No. 5: 1085-1122. doi: 10.1177/0149206313475815. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-19114-002
Health Advocate Inc. (2009). Setting Up a Stress Management Program. Retrieved from http://www.healthadvocate.com/downloads/webinars/stress-checklist.pdf
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Kanter, B. & Sherman, A. (2016). The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout. Hoboken New Jersey: Wiley.
Kanter, B. & Sherman, A. (2016). The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: The Nonprofit Burnout Assessment [PDF]. Retrieved from https://happyhealthynonprofit.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/burnout-assessment.pdf
KeneXa (2013). The Balancing Act: How to Help Your Employees Manage Stress at Work [PDF].
Larson, S.A., O’Nell, S.N., & Sauer, J. K. (1997) What is This Job All About? In Career pathmaker: A toolkit for entering careers in human services and health care. Cambridge, MA: Human Services Research Institute.
Maslach, C., Leiter, M., & Jackson, S. E. (January 1997). The Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual 3rd Edition [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277816643_The_Maslach_Burnout_Inventory_Manual
Moore, C. (2019). What is Job Crafting? (Incl. 5 Examples and Exercises). Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/job-crafting/
O'Nell, S., Larson, S., Hewitt, A., & Sauer, J. (2001). RJP Overview(Rep.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration
OSHAcademy. (2017). Managing Workplace Stress. Retrieved from https://www.oshatrain.org/courses/studyguides/765studyguide.pdf
Seeman,T. (2008). Support & Social Conflict: Section One - Social Support. Retrieved from https://macses.ucsf.edu/research/psychosocial/socsupp.php
SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management). (2020). Managing Employee Performance. Retreived from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/managingemployeeperformance.aspx
Sprout at Work. (2019). 3 Ways to Weave Mental Health into your Wellness Programs. Retrieved from https://www.sproutatwork.com/blog/3-ways-to-weave-mental-health-into-your-wellness-program
Stoerkel, E. (2020). What is a Strengths-Based Approach (Incl. Activities and Examples). Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/strengths-based-interventions/
Taking the Stress out of the Hiring Process. (June 2017). Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/member2member/pages/taking-the-stress-out-ofthe-hiring-process.aspx
Western Governors University. (2019). Workplace Burnout: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. Retrieved from https://www.wgu.edu/blog/workplace-burnout-causes-effects-solutions1906.html
Woods, C. (n.d.) Job Redesign: Definition, Theory, and Approaches. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/job-redesign-definition-theory-approaches.html
World Health Organization (WHO). (2019). Burn-Out an “occupational phenomena”: International Classification of Diseases. Retrieved from (https://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/burn-out/en/

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