An article about burnout prevention. By Uwe Techt.
Burnout prevention is a delicate topic in the business world. While most companies understand at least abstractly that chronically overwhelmed leaders cannot be the most stable "building blocks" of a long-term successful strategy, when it comes to concrete prevention, many shy away from the perceived costs. Measures such as a balanced work-life balance and/or additional hires inevitably impact profits.
This also reflects a traditional attitude: only a constantly busy employee is a productive employee. In other words, a leader who is not easily overwhelmed is not working hard enough. There is also a certain pride in dedicating oneself "fully to one's employer." Accordingly, superficial measures such as seminars or coaching are often offered to increase employees' resilience and prevent burnout symptoms. These measures usually resemble each other across industries and types of companies:
- Unclear or contradictory priorities, frequent shifts in priorities
- Resulting in acute multitasking
- Chronic conflicts and lazy compromises – leaders often find themselves caught in the middle or become the scapegoat
- Distrust between employees and leaders
- Constant pressure on managers due to chronic delays
- Competition for resources and (management) attention
- Pressure to justify, mutual blame
- Lack of necessary authority or competencies
The actual costs of burnout
The extensive costs of such a work environment are often overlooked – mainly because they are difficult to quantify and the cause-and-effect relationships are quite complex. However, it is worth exploring them because burnout not only harms the affected employee but also has costly consequences for the company:
- Multitasking – constantly switching between tasks – is not only stressful but also highly inefficient.
- Overwork itself reduces performance: an exhausted manager will accomplish less in the same time as a rested one.
- For employees, it is often difficult to reach chronically overwhelmed leaders when decisions need to be made, leading to delays in production and unnecessarily long delivery times.
- Additionally, potentially expensive or fatal mistakes are at risk because of the lack of time, energy, and concentration to adequately address a problem.
- A tense work environment also negatively impacts other employees – stress gradually spreads throughout the entire company.
- And finally: temporary or even permanent loss of qualified leaders who often need to be replaced without warning.
In light of these consequences, investing in robust burnout prevention no longer seems so extravagant. It should be clear that chronically overwhelmed leaders cannot optimally contribute to a more efficient company.
Eliminating the causes of burnout
What are the typical triggers of burnout among leaders? Is it simply overwork? Is the solution as simple as letting everyone leave an hour earlier or approving more vacation time? Can burnout prevention prevent it? Or is it more the case that managers do not switch off, but rather answer emails late at night and worry about the delayed project or the simmering conflict between employees?
Not everyone is equally susceptible to overload and burnout. An individual predisposition can help cope with stressful situations more unscathed. However, it is often challenging for employers to foresee such criteria during hiring. Additionally, employees are often tempted to hide stress symptoms in their daily work.
Therefore, it is much more productive for both parties to address the triggers of burnout – which are directly related to stressful working conditions. Simply reducing the time spent on the job may not be sufficient. The stress itself must be reduced – and this can only be achieved by eliminating the causes of stress. Only then can burnout prevention be considered. It is essential to create a work environment where:
- Managers can focus on their responsibilities instead of multitasking by:
- Not resorting to management intervention as the standard response to every conflict because:
- Clear, company-wide guidelines exist that are understood and followed by all, and
- Employees have the authority to make important decisions independently.
- When managers are needed, it happens in a timely manner, rather than only when the project/production is hopelessly delayed.
- Firefighting is generally minimized, in other words:
- The company is not constantly in crisis mode.
Such an environment – which should be clear at first glance – leads to many other positive effects that benefit other employees and the company's performance.
Management Focus as a Bottleneck
We have already discussed on this blog that
management attention is often the bottleneck, the limiting factor, of the company. It is worth revisiting this post in the context of manager burnout, as it not only illustrates the consequences of lacking management focus on the company's success but also offers some helpful approaches to creating a more productive work environment.
- Aligning Local Optima with Global Optima.
Local metrics of individual areas often lead to unnecessary conflicts that managers exhaust themselves on. Instead, there should be a company-wide strategy that all department goals align with. Rather than optimizing at a local level, improvement initiatives should focus on where they can deliver the greatest results for the company.
- Establishing Robust Priorities.
Conflicts between departments, distrust among different levels of management, chronic multitasking, and struggles over resources are avoided when there are overarching priorities that are visible to everyone and adhered to by all. Here, the well-being of the company must take precedence over the goals of individual managers or departments.
- Managing Safety Nets (Buffers) – Certainty cannot be forced on uncertainty.
A robust company is prepared for everything, but unexpected events are never completely avoidable. Buffers provide a flexible insurance against this uncertainty.
- Resolving Core Conflicts without Compromising.
In daily operations, only superficial symptoms are often treated; the underlying conflicts, usually based on traditional paradigms, are not questioned. Addressing this is a profound process, but it holds the highest potential for fundamental improvement!
- Empowering employees with the necessary authority to do their work independently.
There is often a discrepancy between responsibility and authority, leading to higher-level managers being unnecessarily burdened (and work being stalled while awaiting a response). This is also a source of frustration for the affected employees.
These improvement approaches help make the lives of leaders easier and more productive. Many of the problems they currently waste their days on will either be completely eliminated or can be resolved by employees alone.
As a result, managers can focus on what moves the company forward (the overarching strategy) – and
only that. The guidelines are clear, making daily decisions easier and reducing "moral conflicts." At the same time, the overall work environment is improved, strengthening the company: a generally more pleasant environment where everyone can work well and happily.
Reducing Work in Process
By eliminating the first three aforementioned "causes of burnout," if you are also familiar with the last three from your company (chronic delays, constant crisis mode with firefighting), then you should investigate whether the workload is simply too high. What may not sound intuitive at first – and will certainly face resistance – almost always leads to shorter lead times and increased productivity, as well as less pressure on leaders and employees.
An excessively high Work in Process has numerous negative effects:
- High multitasking and unavailable resources,
- Inadequate preparations because everyone starts ASAP in the struggle for resources,
- Which in turn leads to longer lead times due to missing materials or information,
- Tasks are interrupted because resources are diverted,
- Low quality or constant rework (which, in turn, delays the project).
In this environment, even the precious resource of management attention cannot be efficiently utilized: constant decisions regarding priorities are necessary (which naturally change daily depending on which customer is making the most noise). Often, managers are unavailable (especially if management attention is our bottleneck), and processes come to a standstill while waiting for a decision. The pressure on managers is enormous – even the most stable psyche is affected in the long run.
By reducing the number of active projects or production processes, many of the mentioned symptoms disappear. Work can be done in a focused and uninterrupted manner, firefighting is reduced, and managers are quicker to respond to genuinely important decisions. Lead times decrease – ultimately allowing for more production per year than before! And with satisfied customers, the sales team will have no trouble securing new orders.
By following these steps, you will not only relieve your leaders and reduce burnout but also strengthen your company sustainably in the market. An investment that definitely pays off! Burnout prevention is always worthwhile.
For more information on burnout prevention and Uwe Techt, visit:
