277: How to stop your team burning out (before it’s too late)

Aoife O’Brien [00:00:01]:

Burnout is not just an individual problem, it’s a team problem, it’s a department problem. It’s an organization wide problem and it’s costing companies billions every year in lost productivity in healthcare and in attrition as well. Today I’m going to talk about the things that leaders specifically can do to prevent burnout in teams. If you’re interested in your own experience of burnout, I have previous episodes all about that and how to handle that. This is very much focused on leaders and the levers that leaders can pull to prevent burnout or to mitigate the instances of burnout in your teams. This is the Happier at Work podcast. I’m your host Aoife o’, Brien, career and culture strategist for forward thinking leaders in global organizations. The reason I’m doing today’s episode is a recent conversation with friends during a night out.

Aoife O’Brien [00:01:03]:

And these are three men in their mid to late 40s who all experienced the same thing at work and it really surprised them and it really surprised me as well. And that thing was burnout. They were just overworked and they were under recognized and in one instance the person left the organization. He had been working extraordinary hours over a year and he ended up leaving the organization organization at great cost to them, I might add. In another case, someone had to take a month off work to rest because he was so exhausted. I suppose I want to reiterate this idea that people don’t leave necessarily bad managers. People leave bad cultures and cultures that exhaust them. That’s an easy target.

Aoife O’Brien [00:01:58]:

That’s an easy I do not want to do this anymore. Which is why I thought today’s episode is so pertinent. How can we create an environment where people don’t burn out and end up costing us in the long run? First area I want to talk about is workload and boundaries. This is something I touched on earlier in the year when I was talking about wellbeing at work because I think for me the level of work that we have to do in organizations recently, these days, you know, it’s just accelerated the amount of stuff that we have to do. We have to do more with less and it’s having huge negative impact on our well being. So I did talk about that in a previous episode. If you want to understand more about that. This is from a leader’s perspective.

Aoife O’Brien [00:02:44]:

So thinking about the workload that currently exists in the team, is it actually doable or are you expecting people to perform miracles in order to get the work done? Are you saying yes on behalf of your team when actually you should be saying no and setting better boundaries. Are you taking on more client work? But there’s actually no space within the team to put that additional work. So how is the workload in your team at the moment? How can you open up conversations about workload? I know from my own experience that oftentimes when we delegate work or when there’s tasks that need to be performed, or if there’s things that we used to do but we no longer do, we kind of forget how long something actually takes. We forget that it has to be done at all. And we don’t realize just how much work people have on their plates or how long it’s necessarily going to take. That’s their responsibility to manage that and have those open conversations with you. But it’s also your responsibility to open up those conversations as well. If you see that someone is struggling, if they’re working crazy hours and maybe they’re afraid to say no about, you know, what will that say about them? If they say no, does it mean that they can’t cope? I think we need to be there to protect our teams.

Aoife O’Brien [00:04:15]:

I also want to touch on this idea of expectations and priorities because I know, having come from global organizations, I worked there for my 20 year career before starting my business. Priorities change all the time. But are you keeping your team up to date on what the current priorities are? What is the most important thing on their list and how can you help them priorit? If you get three things done today, it’s to be these three things focusing on outcomes. These are the outcomes that we’re trying to achieve today or this week or this month, whatever it might be. But helping people to prioritize their workload and setting really clear expectations. When I talk about expectations, I talk about time and quality. So how much time do you estimate that this thing I have on my plate is going to take and what is the quality that is expected? Is this going to a client and therefore it needs to be 99% perfect, or is it for an internal meeting? And therefore it can be, you know, it can have typos, it’s not, it’s not a huge deal. Or is it going to the senior leadership team or the CEO? And therefore we need to make sure that everything’s okay.

Aoife O’Brien [00:05:26]:

So setting really clear expectations around what that looks like. Not everything requires the same effort, not everything requires the same quality. And making people aware that it’s okay to have different levels of quality expectations as well. Another area I want to talk about is autonomy and control. So A lack of control is the biggest predictor of burnout. When we feel like things are out of our control that we have to say yes, that someone else is pulling the strings. That is one of the biggest predictors of burnout. Now the interesting thing with this is that autonomy is part of the happier at work framework.

Aoife O’Brien [00:06:08]:

So I have three pillars in the framework. The middle pillar is drivers, and one of those core drivers is autonomy. And it’s not just about autonomy, it’s about finding that balance. So giving people freedom and choice and control over what they do and how they do it, but also giving them guidance and direction. And again, touching back on this idea of expectations when it comes to workload, expectations when it comes to quality and time that they should be spending. So giving people clear guidance and clear direction is so, so important to finding that balance between being a micromanager who’s all over everything and trying to control things, and being a laissez faire, like just leaving people to it without any sort of direction and control. So we need to find that balance between direction and control. So find that balance that works.

Aoife O’Brien [00:07:05]:

And each individual is going to have a different tipping point in that. So open conversations ask people about their frustrations about work. Can they get their work done? Do they need more direction, do they need more guidance? Or do they need more freedom and autonomy? One simple way to give people more autonomy is to have conversations about decisions that impact them and their day to day work. So merely by having those conversations and getting them involved in those conversations and listening to them, gives them a greater sense of that they have a greater control and that they are being listened to. Another area I wanted to touch on in relation to this is the idea of learned helplessness. And that basically means that if you’ve been controlling or if you’ve been doing things for someone or checking after they’ve completed something, then they will have learned that it’s okay to make mistakes because someone else is going to pick them up, they’re going to learn that I don’t have to ask questions because someone else is going to cover up for me. So if someone has learned not to really be helping themselves, not to take that control, not to take that ownership, then that’s something to be aware of as well. And again, talking about expectations, I expect you to do this.

Aoife O’Brien [00:08:27]:

I won’t be checking that, whatever that looks like. But just be aware that sometimes people have learned these behaviors, not necessarily from you. It could be that they’ve learned these behaviors from another manager, another team, or that’s just how they are and how they expect things to be. The third area I want to talk about is recognition and mattering. Recognition is such an interesting concept because it isn’t one of our universal needs, which really surprises me every time I say that. It really surprises me that it’s not one of our universal needs, which means that not everyone has a need for recognition. But the majority of people that I speak to do, and I certainly do as well. I delivered a speaking engagement, a training session with a global client recently all about this idea of recognition.

Aoife O’Brien [00:09:19]:

They’re trying to build recognition into their everyday, into their interactions with each other, so that they can build better connections between people, so that people feel like their work matters, like their work is valued. Another interesting thing is that invisibility. So if someone feels like they’re invisible, that their work isn’t being seen, or doesn’t really matter, or doesn’t contribute anything, invisibility accelerates burnout. So it’s really important for people to feel seen. And Gallup research also shows that when people are recognized, they’re four times more likely to be engaged at work. The kinds of things that you can recognize people for, you can recognize them for the effort that they put in. So thank you for staying late. I noticed that you stayed late the other day.

Aoife O’Brien [00:10:08]:

I noticed you’ve been spending a lot of time on this project. It is appreciated. I really love the effort that you’re putting into this. You can appreciate the outcome that someone has achieved. What result have they achieved from the work that they’re doing and give them recognition for that. That’s on the what side, but on the how side. So how they’re showing up, the behaviors that they’re showing, you can talk about how they’re showing up. If they’re really positive, you can recognize them for being really positive.

Aoife O’Brien [00:10:38]:

If they’re living the values of the organization and the behaviors that they’re demonstrating are reflective of the values within the organization, that’s something that you can recognize them for as well. It would be remiss of me not to mention Zach Mercurio in relation to this. His work is fantastic. He’s been on the podcast twice already, and in the most recent episode he was talking about his book, the Power of Mattering, which came out this year in 2020, and he talks about and advocates for this idea. There’s three different levels, if you like, and it’s about feeling seen, and that’s being recognized. When you feel valued, then you are affirmed. So your work is valuable. And here’s why it’s valuable.

Aoife O’Brien [00:11:34]:

And then the last area that he talks about is feeling needed, like only you can do this job and here’s the difference that you make to the team and that’s recognizing people for their unique contribution. The fourth area I want to talk about is strengths and sustainable stretch. So again, strengths is a huge part of the happier at work framework. If you don’t know what your strengths are, definitely go and find them out. This is not something we talk about often enough in corporate environments. We don’t talk about each other’s strengths. So many people don’t know what their strengths are. They may have an idea, but often, sometimes we’re blind to our strengths because it’s something that comes so easily and naturally to us.

Aoife O’Brien [00:12:21]:

It’s something that makes us feel strong and energized and we don’t recognize it as a strength. We just think everyone can do that thing really well. And actually it’s a unique strength that only we have. And so it’s so important to get these things out on the table and talk about what people’s strengths are and give people work that utilizes their strengths in relation to, you know, touching similarly to autonomy is finding that balance. So if someone has a natural strength and ability to do something, then you want to stretch that ability. You don’t want to give them something that they can just so easily do with their eyes closed. You want to give them something that will actually stretch their performance and, and help them to grow in that strength. This is the difference between being overworked or feeling overworked and misaligned work.

Aoife O’Brien [00:13:17]:

So it’s not just a case of having too much to do. You can feel really burnt out if you’re doing a lot of things that drain you, that don’t energize you because it’s not an area of strength. It’s so important to talk about these kinds of things. I have a recent personal example of this. So I had a last minute deadline to produce some stuff that required me to be really creative. And when I say creative, I mean in a design kind of way, which is really not an area of strength for me. I’m more of an analytical, logical, methodical kind of person. So I spent almost a day, at the very least an afternoon, having to design this stuff.

Aoife O’Brien [00:13:59]:

And I would have outsourced it if it wasn’t so last minute. But I really needed to get something over the line and I was just exhausted after doing it. I was so drained. It’s definitely not something that energizes me and the next time I have to do it, I want to have someone on call to be able to do that kind of stuff because it’s really not an area of strength for me at all. There are so many online tools that you can use free and paid to uncover what your strengths are so that you can have these conversations at work and talk openly about what people’s strengths are. And specific strengths will lend themselves to specific, specific skills as well. So for example, as I mentioned, I’m quite analytical, methodical. I have that analytical mind which lends itself to things like computer coding.

Aoife O’Brien [00:14:48]:

And I did do some training in computer coding a good few years ago now, but it was something I found I picked up quite easily because I have that kind of strength. So think about the strengths that you have, but also how they lend to the day to day role and the day to day tasks that need to be fulfilled as well. One simple thing that you can ask people is what energizes you versus what drains you. As I mentioned, that design piece really drained me. So, you know, doing some sort of analytical piece of work will really energize me. I’ll feel really energized after that. There are some reflection prompts then that I want you to think about and ask yourself, are workloads in my team realistic or are we relying on heroics? Do I model healthy boundaries or do I unintentionally reward overwork? Do people in my team feel they have a choice and control? When did I last recognize someone for their unique contribution? Am I helping people play to their strengths and with the right level of challenge? Burnout is preventable, but only if we treat it as a leadership responsibility. It’s not about free fruit.

Aoife O’Brien [00:16:01]:

It’s not about yoga days. It’s about the underlying culture that we have created in the team, in the department, in the organization. When you set boundaries, when you build autonomy, when you recognize people’s contributions and align people’s strengths, you create teams that thrive, not just survive. And here’s the good news. Happier teams are also higher performing teams. If this resonated, I’d love if you can share with someone else who really, really needs to hear it. Do get involved in the conversation. I’m Most active on LinkedIn.

Aoife O’Brien [00:16:34]:

And don’t forget to leave a rating or a review on your favorite podcast, Plat. I would so appreciate that. And it helps more people to hear about the Happier at Work podcast.