It starts in the same way a leisurely walk in the woods does.
You find a rhythm in your steps, and as a result, you begin to lose track of how subtly time is passing or how quickly you’re growing tired. Somehow, you’ve unknowingly walked deeper into the wilderness and when you look up, your surroundings have grown dark. You’ve gone too far; there’s no turning back. You’re tired, but you have no other option than to push through. It’s frustrating and isolating to realize that the end of the trail isn’t anywhere in sight.
The same feeling may apply for employees approaching a similar point of no return. While burnout might look, feel or surface differently depending on the person, there’s one thing both Jenna Tanenbaum and Swetha Beepyata can agree on: Managers need to start with empathy to best respond to the needs of a team experiencing it.
For Tanenbaum, burnout prevention is a team effort between an employee and their manager. As the head of growth marketing at Who Gives A Crap, an eco-friendly and socially conscious toilet paper brand, she understands that burnout doesn’t happen instantly — nor do solutions work immediately to revive an employee who has reached that point. And that’s where empathy comes in. “Really caring about the well-being of your team on a human level is a must,” said Tanenbaum. “Burnout is a culmination of many factors in someone’s life, and it’s not always just about work.”
By creating a safe space to hold an honest conversation with her team members, Beepyata sets out to uncover and understand the root cause of someone’s burnout. The director of product management at BlackLine, a company offering automated financial and accounting services, knows that there’s no one set solution, which is why she takes a collaborative approach to outlining options — but the exchange doesn’t begin there. “It all starts with empathy and trust,” explained Beepyata. “Understand that the team is not just about the words they say, but also the reasons and feelings behind them.”
Even if today’s workplace culture makes it seem like burnout is inevitable, know that there are solutions for everyone. Moreover, there are leaders like Beepyata and Tanenbaum who take an empathetic approach, which means none of us has to be alone on that daunting path in the dark. These leaders shared more insight on what burnout looks like and what steps they’re taking to prevent it from becoming a recurring issue.
As a manager, what signs tell you an employee is feeling burned out?
The first sign is when someone who used to speak up in meetings is unusually quiet or not as engaged as they normally are. The next red flag is when the burnout affects their quality of work, and they start consistently missing their deadlines. For some employees, this may lead to exhaustion or illness, which is easier to spot if they are tired during the day and take more sick leave. It’s important to help them recover from this burnout before cynicism takes root and they feel frustrated and irrevocably hopeless about their work situation.
How should managers react when they become aware that an employee is feeling burned out?
I often find that having an honest conversation with an employee is useful. It’s important to understand the root causes of their burnout. The remedy for an overwhelming workload will obviously be different than one for someone who is trying to find meaningful work-life balance. Devise a remedial action plan collaboratively with the employee to give them back some sense of control and agency. Encourage them to take a few days off to help them catch up and stay afloat.
Devise a remedial action plan collaboratively with the employee to give them back some sense of control and agency.”
What steps can employees and their managers take to help prevent burnout in the long run?
Create an environment where employees can openly share the reasons behind their burnout — whether it’s a lack of work-life balance, a particular project or an overload of work. Sometimes employees react because they have too much on their plate. It’s important for them to feel trusted and to jointly work out a plan to reset expectations.
Next, encourage employees to take time off — and to truly unplug when they do so. Provide them with flexible working hours to help manage work-life balance. As a manager, it’s important to set time off as an example of how taking breaks can help with productivity. We want teams to disconnect, recharge and come back refreshed. Organizing team outings or frequent lunch meetups also helps employees momentarily disconnect from work and builds an environment for them to share freely.
Lastly, create an inclusive and committed culture. We want employees to bring their whole selves to work — passion, energy and commitment comes with that. Team culture is something employees get excited about and find easy to stay motivated by.
As a manager, what signs tell you an employee is feeling burned out?
Burnout isn’t something that happens overnight. I try to look for a few tells, such as my team acting overly cynical, consistently showing up with low energy or motivation, not feeling good about their accomplishments, or missing deadlines regularly. If I see this happening, I know it’s time to talk directly with them about ways I can offer support.
How should managers react when they become aware that an employee is feeling burned out?
First and foremost, it’s important to approach these conversations from a place of empathy. Really caring about the well-being of your team on a human level is a must. Burnout is a culmination of many factors in someone’s life and it’s not always just about work. Make sure you allocate enough time to have a meaningful conversation and acknowledge that there is no easy solution to burnout. It takes time.
Make sure you allocate enough time to have a meaningful conversation and acknowledge that there is no easy solution to burnout.”
What steps can employees and their managers take to help prevent burnout in the long run?
Take your paid time off and sick days. For real, they are there for a reason and you should use them. And when you do, be sure to log off, delete Slack and email from your phone, and don’t even think about work. I find truly unplugging can take a few days, so I also try to take more than one week of PTO at a time when I can.
Next, set daily work boundaries. This looks different for everyone, but understand when you need to log off, and be sure to practice good work hygiene. In your down time, really treat it as such. No peeking at Slack!
Lastly — and this is a big one for managers — resource properly. No amount of free gym memberships can offset an under-resourced team when it comes to dealing with burnout. Be sure to plan your hiring goals early and revisit them regularly. Don’t wait until the team is already overstretched to start.
