According to a survey conducted by the MindEdge Learning educational platform with the American Institute for Certification of Personnel, 80% of HR-s report that employee burnout has increased during the pandemic. At the same time, 38% of respondents stated that their organizations did not take any steps to address this problem.
With employee burnout at an all-time high, companies are left in uncharted territory. After reviewing materials from Forbes, HR executive, Flexjobs, we have selected the 5 practices you can use to prevent burnout.
#1. A day without meetings
With the onset of the pandemic, switched to remote work, and as a result, the number of online meetings and messages in messengers increased several times. According to a study by Stanford University, streaming virtual meetings, day after day, leads to "chronic Zoom fatigue" and decreased productivity.
“This can be exhausting. People spend a lot of time on Zoom calls — it's a different type of focus and energy than in the office,” Robin White, chief HR and culture officer at the Mailchimp says.
A “no-meeting day” is most often one day each week when team members block their calendar from making appointments and calls. The idea is to take a much-needed break from the stream of videoconferencing and focus on deep work tasks. This helps make regular meetings throughout the rest of the week more focused, efficient, and purposeful.
It is practiced at Facebook, Asana, Mailchimp, Boost, tech startup Podium.
#2. 4-day working week
A survey of UK unions by Prospect found that more than 30% of remote workers are having difficulty disconnecting from work during the pandemic. The same number of people are working more unpaid hours than before Covid-19. According to a global study by Atlassian, average working hours increased by 30 minutes per day in 2020 compared to 2019.
A 4-day workweek can allow you to better focus on tasks and add a free weekday to have a rest and deal with personal matters. In a study by the SimpleTexting team, 80% of respondents say that the pandemic has increased their desire to work 4 days a week, and 98% believe it would improve their mental health.
A recent Joblist survey of 2,346 respondents confirmed that the 4-day week is extremely popular among employees. 94% said they find the practice useful, 86% would support it in their current job, and 28% even agree to a pay cut in exchange for a 4-day workweek.
Where it is practiced
During the first lockdown, the British publishing house Target Publishing was forced to cut the salaries of its employees but introduced a 4-day week as a sign of support. To the surprise of Target founder and owner David Kann, the staff showed even more efficiency than with a 5-day schedule. When the situation in the company stabilized, Cann was able to restore the salaries of employees, maintaining a 4-day workweek.
In June 2021, the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter announced the introduction of a pilot practice of a 4-day schedule, which will begin in 2022. “Kickstarter has a long history of taking a thoughtful approach to workplace design. As we build a flexible future, we see the 4-day workweek experience as an extension of that spirit and intention,” said Aziz Hasan, CEO of Kickstarter.
#3. Sabbatical leave
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record 4.3 million employees left in August 2021, which was a continuation of the so-called Great Retirement. The cumulative effect of stress, fatigue, and burnout led to the biggest wave of layoffs since the Great Depression. To support employees, companies began to act proactively.
It all started with extra rest time. To beat employee burnout amid a pandemic, businesses have offered impromptu days off or "spontaneous holidays." Companies like LinkedIn, Nike, and dating site Bumble gave each team member an extra week off this summer.
But the growing number of exhausted employees has spurred employers to go even further and offer people to take a sabbatical.
By providing a sabbatical of a month or more, companies allow employees to take a break from everyday work, devote time to an interesting project, or engage in self-development.
Where it is practiced
From January 2022, the American bank Synchrony Financial will provide its employees with the opportunity to take creative holidays for up to 1 year with reduced pay.
“We are not going to be limited to words of care or traditional vacations. People need time for various reasons: rest, recovery, self-realization, solving personal issues. And we give employees that time so we don't lose them later,” said Aaron Brown, senior vice president of Synchrony Financial.
Synchrony's announcement embraces initiatives from international corporations such as Citigroup and PwC. The first one since January 2021 has been providing a 12-week sabbatical for employees with 5 years of work experience and 25% of the base salary. The second one makes it possible to take a break from 1 to 6 months with a payment of 20%.
#4. Mental health days and programs for mental support
Under the pandemic, more and more companies began to take care of the psychological state of employees. Of 256 employers surveyed by the National Health Buyers Alliance, 53% have launched special programs for emotional and mental support.
For example, the opportunity to take a day off as part of a “mental health day”. It is usually used when a person is feeling overwhelmed or simply needs to take a break from their duties temporarily and allow themselves to recover. In addition, some companies, as part of their internal corporate culture, introduce Mental Health Day for all employees.
The number of organizations providing psychological assistance to their employees is growing. But according to a McKinsey report, they're still not enough, with only 1 in 6 employees reporting employer support. Companies need to keep making efforts to make people feel heard. Otherwise, businesses may lose their best employees.
Where it is practiced
In the summer of 2020, Electric announced that all staff takes a day off on the first Friday of each month for Mental Health and Wellness Day. A day off throughout the company means that work does not accumulate while you are not busy. This eliminates the fear of missing out and helps you focus on your mental health.
Each Starbucks employee and their family members will be able to receive 20 sessions per year for free with a psychotherapist or trainer through the Lyra Health service. According to Ron Crawford, vice president of Starbucks, more than 220,000 US workers and their families will benefit from these innovations.
As for the Target chain of stores, it offers its employees an opportunity to use online resources for mental, emotional, and physical health support. Employees will get yearly access to Daylight, an app that helps manage stress and anxiety.
#5. "Flexible Friday" (Best-Self Time)
One of the most effective ways to make people feel more creative, productive, and motivated is to provide some freedom and personal time.
In a Gartner study, 43% of respondents said flexible work hours help them be more productive. And according to an EY survey, more than half of the world's employees would quit if they weren't given post-pandemic flexibility.
Best-Self Time is designed to support team members in their personal growth: this is a regular time dedicated to self-realization, development, or recreation. For example, the last 2-3 hours of the working week or flexible schedule on Friday.
Where it is practiced
Tech startup and customer communication platform Front ran an experiment called “Flexible Fridays” for six months. All Front employees were allowed to choose what to do each Friday without any conflict with scheduled internal meetings. Team members are encouraged to act consciously: they can use the day to catch up, work, spend time with family, or take care of personal issues. According to Matilda Collin, CEO and co-founder of Front, employees are not expected to be online.
The company found that people use the day for a variety of things. While most team members were expected to take a full day off each week, the experiment showed otherwise. According to Front
- slightly less than 44% of employees combine work and personal tasks on Friday
- 44.4% work on Friday as they would on a normal working day
- about 4% use this time for personal or family activities
- 7.6% take Friday off
Even with freedom of choice, 95% of employees say they haven't noticed any impact on their interactions with co-workers, and 89% say they're happy at work because of "Flex Friday."
