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    5 Ways Managers Can Help Their Teams Avoid the Dreaded End-of-Year Burnout

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    According to Nuffield Health’s 2023 Healthier Nation Index, 44 percent of employees said their jobs had negatively impacted their mental health this year.
    Unsurprisingly, adverse feelings towards the workplace can ramp up as the festive season becomes a major source of stress and anxiety due to an intense social calendar, end-of-year reviews, and meeting tight deadlines.
    I’ll discuss how managers can prevent end-of-year burnout in their teams and encourage employees to protect their physical and mental health.
    #1 Get organized, early.
    If employees are feeling the weight of burnout due to excessive work demands, it’s time to reassess and reorganize your team’s project priorities.
    Consider scheduling one-to-ones or team meetings to review everyone’s current existing workload, to determine which assignments demand immediate attention and which ones can be postponed for a more suitable time.
    Additionally, when facing large and intimidating projects, it’s often helpful to spend more time together, working out how to break them down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
    If an employee’s schedule is overwhelmingly full, managers should support in finding solutions. This could include, for example, helping them to embrace the power of delegation. Whether employees outsource tasks to colleagues or externally, let them know seeking assistance does not mean they are failing or that they will be looked upon negatively.
    This is more helpful than risking missed deadlines or an individual becoming so overwhelmed that their productivity suffers.
    #2 Set boundaries.
    No doubt, there’ll be circumstances when you or team members have reached out to colleagues for additional support, and some of them have come back with ‘no,’ unable to help at that time.
    In the same vein, managers must be comfortable doing the same, even though many of us lean towards “people pleaser” behavior. This means it’s tempting to start saying ‘yes’ to additional work if you’ve managed to free your schedule slightly.
    Remind yourself that it is fine to say no to taking on extra responsibilities, try to set firm boundaries with yourself and your team, and let them know it’s OK to follow suit.
    Don’t just set boundaries for during office hours, either. It’s essential to do this after hours or if working remotely too. One example could be agreeing with everyone that none of you will check work emails in the evenings between certain hours so you can focus on spending time with loved ones and winding down after a busy working day.
    Other examples could be urging teams to take their full lunch periods, setting aside regular breaks, and leaving on time at the end of the day. Managers who lead by example make it easier for others to embrace their own wellbeing, too.
    #3 Encourage self-care.
    Lack of self-care is one of the most significant contributors to end-of-year burnout.  In fact, according to our 2023 Healthier Nation Index, only 15 percent of us take time to focus on self-care, when trying to support our mental health.
    Workplaces need to communicate ways for employees to prioritize self-care during the working day and when at home, and help build supportive environments that facilitate healthy behaviors.
    From inviting experts to help teams learn about the different self-care practices to researching new ideas that could potentially benefit the whole company, building awareness and positive behavior change is key to creating a workforce that makes self-care a focus.
    Small changes like five minutes of meditation or deep breathing exercises can be hugely impactful, helping employees maintain a state of calm, even during the busiest working periods. Psychological research has shown that moving and changing your environment and the stimuli around you improves problem-solving skills and mental focus.
    Encourage employees to go for a walk when they can and use their garden if they are working remotely. Ideally, actively build these activities into diaries or working practices.  More physical activity will release anxiety-reducing endorphins, which help improve mood and reduce stress.
    #4 Notice signs of chronic stress.
    I’m often asked, ‘How do we know when someone has reached ‘chronic’ stress levels?’
    The answer is if you notice stress affecting an employee’s ability to live an everyday life and perform their daily work routine.
    While this is by no means an exhaustive list, signs of chronic stress include indecisiveness, mood swings, procrastination, an increase in errors, and even increased absenteeism.
    According to a report, long-term stress weakens the responses of the immune system, because stress decreases lymphocytes, the white blood cells that help fight off infection. This means highly stressed individuals are potentially more at risk of colds and sickness than those experiencing minimal or average stress.
    You might notice those suffering from chronic stress are working more or regularly staying late to complete tasks. Ironically, people often do this because they believe it helps them avoid these feelings.
    This can also lead to leavism – employees using leave days to catch up with work. This is an ineffective coping mechanism. We end up ignoring our relationships, eliminating our social lives, eating, and sleeping poorly.
    #5 Make the most of workplace support.
    One of the longer-term side effects of staying in a heightened state of stress for too long, is that it can impact our physical and mental wellbeing. This can lead to mental health concerns like anxiety and depression. That’s why it’s so important to let employees know their mental health should always be a priority.
    If you think an individual’s mental health is seriously affected by the stresses that come at the end of the year, you should signpost them to your work’s wellbeing offerings.
    Many businesses provide support for stress and personal problems through workplace mental health support like cognitive behavioral therapy CBT, or employee assistance programs (EAPs).
    These offer direct, confidential contact with experts who can support individuals with emotional distress, from family issues, work-related problems, addiction, and mental ill-health.
    #6 And finally, kindness is key…
    Practicing kindness to others and yourself is crucial, especially at this time of year.
    Mounting personal and professional pressures in December can cause everyone to hold themselves to an impossible standard and set an insurmountable to-do list.
    Remember that no matter what level we have reached at an organization, everyone can only do their best to get everything done without compromising their emotional wellbeing.
    By treating ourselves and others with kindness and understanding, we not only reduce the risk of burnout but also enhance our ability to be present, enjoy festive moments, and engage more meaningfully with our work and personal lives, all year round.
    By Gosia Bowling, Mental Health National Lead at Nuffield Health.
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      Burnout is no joke. It’s an extreme state of exhaustion that can manifest as demotivation, anxiety/stress or feeling overwhelmed. Unsurprisingly, the rates of burnout have risen exponentially since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, web searches for the phrase ‘signs of burnout’ were up 150% in 2020 from previous years, as many workers felt extra pressure to perform to help their companies navigate through the pandemic.
      Like in many industries, working in recruitment has had its challenges over the past 14 months. At the beginning of the pandemic, many recruiters found it difficult to get in touch with clients as they swapped their offices for home working and put many roles on hold overnight. Alongside this, candidates felt either disheartened while job hunting or stuck in their current roles as they didn’t want to risk moving to a new role due to the economic downturn.
      Now, as the market across many sectors rebounds and new roles are being called into agencies, it may be a difficult (and tiring) transition for many consultants as they try to keep up with demand. If you find yourself in this position, you’re not alone! Below, we’ve outlined four key actions you can take to protect your mental energy and prevent burnout over the coming months.
      Recognize your personal cues
      While chatting to Lead Consultant for Tiger HR, Aseel Ibrahim, on our Tiger HR Tales podcast, Tracey Carlton from BLME said it perfectly: “it’s so important to be kind to ourselves, and allow ourselves to just have those moments”. Part of this is educating yourself on your personal cues that indicate something isn’t right. Maybe you’re not sleeping very well, or you’re skipping the daily walk you usually look forward to. We recommend letting those around you know what they should look out for if you believe you’re in danger of becoming burnt out, as they may be able to pick up on these things before you do.
      Stand up and say “I’m not OK”
      Remember: you can only manage so much. We’re all still dealing with the effects of the pandemic, and so it’s normal to feel unmotivated or overwhelmed at times. If, however, you think you’re at the point of burning out, you need to speak to your manager. By reaching out and asking them to re-prioritize your workload, you can get your to-do list back under control. In these situations, taking a step back and assessing where you need help is essential.
      Draw a line around your boundaries
      As teams continue to work remotely or partially remotely, over-communication is key. This is also the case when it comes to your boundaries. At the very least, you should let your team know when you’re finishing up for the day and when you’re taking your lunch break. If you need to take a few hours out to finish paperwork or work with minimal distractions, block that time out in your diary and protect it like you would a meeting with a client. These healthy behaviors will demonstrate to your team the importance of separating work from home time, which in turn should help prevent overworking.
      Build a support network
      Whether it’s your desk buddy or your best friend, having at least one person you can offload your thoughts and feelings to is so important when dealing with difficult situations. Organizing regular catch-ups with your support network is essential to check in with how you’re feeling. It could be something as simple as a five-minute chat at the end of the week, or a monthly get-together over drinks. Whoever you choose, you need to give that person the permission they need to step in if they see you displaying negative behaviors. This way, they can act as a sounding board for potential strategies for coping and can get you through even the most severe bouts of burnout.
      As recruiters, we often experience times of extreme pressure. We may have to work long hours or become stressed when preparing shortlists for several different clients at once. However, when it comes to feeling burnt out, you need to act quickly in order to prevent yourself from becoming sick or unable to function. By taking steps to prevent the cause, you should be able to overcome burnout and promote healthier ways to manage your mental health and wellbeing.
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      Why the Time Has Come for a Four-Day Week

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      The coronavirus pandemic has changed every aspect of our lives, and it’s had a particularly marked effect on the way we work. The largest flexible working experiment ever conducted has taken place out of necessity, and the early signs are that it will leave a lasting change in work culture. More workers than ever before have been able to fit their work-life around their home life by working at different hours – increasingly necessary due to childcare commitments during the closure of schools. With 44% of UK workers set to request permanent flexible working policies (according to research from Direct Line), there are no signs that it’s going away anytime soon.
      The four-day week has always been a popular topic in the flexible working discourse, and although it has been adopted by some employers, it hasn’t yet gone mainstream. Here’s why its time has come.
      Employee wellbeing
      A secondary effect of the coronavirus pandemic has been its effect on our mental health. Months of anxiety, coupled with increasingly difficult economic conditions and less contact with friends and family, have unsurprisingly taken their toll.
      As countries seek to kickstart their economies again, any steps that will safeguard the mental health of workers need to be seriously considered. Figures from the ONS show that 17.5 million workdays were lost due to mental health problems in the UK in 2018, for example, underlining the drastic impact mental health problems can have on the economy as well as the workers themselves.
      Mental health and employee wellbeing, in general, have always been one of the principal driving forces behind the four-day week. It’s seen as an important step towards a greater work-life balance, allowing for effectively a three-day weekend each and every week. Workers would have more time to recover from a stressful work week, freeing up that time and energy to pursue other hobbies and interests that can be beneficial for their mental health. With work-related mental health problems increasingly widespread, measures such as this are more important than ever.
      Increased productivity
      The four-day week not only makes sense in terms of mental health – but it also benefits the company’s bottom line. Although, as fewer hours are worked overall, the expectation might be that production (and therefore profits) suffer as a result, the opposite is actually true.
      What the four-day week experiments reveal is the importance of the quality of the hours worked, rather than necessarily the sheer quantity of those hours. Happy workers are productive workers. What’s better: an engaged, rested, happy employee working for 30 hours a week, or a burned-out employee working for 40 (or even more)? You can probably guess the answer.
      The human brain is not a machine, churning out hours of equally productive work hours, but a sensitive organ with complicated needs of its own. To run at its maximum, most productive capacity, it needs rest. The same principle can be seen in a normal working day. Working for eight hours straight, with no break, will produce worse quality work than a smaller number of hours that have been split up with breaks. Such is the power of a break for the brain.
      Now is the time
      The coronavirus pandemic has only strengthened the case for a four-day working week. With unprecedented public health and mental health challenges, a struggling jobs market, and an ailing economy, it’s time has truly come. Workers will be happier and more productive, and the wider economy will also benefit. With an extra day of leisure, domestic tourism will also benefit – workers would have three days to recharge their batteries instead of two, giving them the time and energy to go further afield at the weekend and contribute to the wider economy.
      It may seem like a radical step, but so did the move away from a six-day week of 12 hour working days. Rigid, traditional ideas around work culture can be difficult to break down, but these should not stand in the way of positive progress – both for employee wellbeing and the productivity of the company as a whole.

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