Your Staff is Burned and Sunscreen Isn’t Gonna Help!

You and your team have been working hard on a series of assignments, and you have been noticing that people are little more on edge than usual. They are not in good moods. Time off for illness has spiked. They seem more detached.

These are some of the telltale signs of job burnout. What can you do to help out your team? 

Encourage them to evaluate their assignments.

It could be there are only one or two tasks they do on a regular basis that are the cause of their misery, and not the job itself.

Look at different options together.

Discuss the possibility of offloading some of their assignments to other people, taking on some new tasks for variety or changing their schedule or routine.

Make a move.

You don’t want to lose good people, but sometimes that’s what it takes to keep them engaged with their work. If other actions don’t appear to be helping, they could possibly transfer to another department for a change.

Encourage employees to take breaks.

Research has shown how important this is in recovering and recharging. It helps to get your energy levels back up. You need to take short breaks throughout the day, about 10 minutes or so. You should take them about every hour. And that doesn’t mean surfing the Internet, looking at email or Facebook. You need to get moving. Walk around the office. Talk with co-workers.

Encourage people to follow a healthy lifestyle.

You will have more enthusiasm and energy if you are in good health. To stay in good health, you need to eat right, get enough rest and exercise. Stay away from junk food and sugary drinks. Eat more fruits and vegetables for snacks. Most people need at least eight hours of sleep each night to let their brain fully recover. Exercise is crucial not only for physical health, but for emotional and mental health.

Encourage your team members to take some time off.

If people have not taken a vacation for a while, encourage them to take a few days. And when they take a vacation, it should truly be a vacation – with no ties to the office. They should not be checking email on the beach, or calling the office to make sure there are no problems.

Insurance Relief™ is one of the most respected staffing agencies focusing on the insurance industry. We take a personalized approach toward each person we recruit, matching people with the right job, and treating everyone with respect and fairness. Our efforts have earned us a Best in Staffing award. Contact us today.