THE C-SUITE
by Anthony Lambatos
Prevent Burnout by Addressing These Four Factors
Employee burnout at work is not new, but it is getting worse in companies across the country and creating a major problem. According to SHRM’s Employee Mental Health Research Series, 44% of U.S. employees surveyed were burnt out and emotionally drained from work. Burnout can lead to missed deadlines, mistakes, and sub-par work. Additionally, burnout is near the top of the list when it comes to reasons the best employees leave an organization (turn to page 18 for a deeper look at the current state of staffing in our State of the Industry 2024 report). There is a misconception, though, that burnout is only about the number of hours worked. Have you ever worked for extended hours on a project and at the end felt energized and pumped up? On the flip side, I’m sure you can also recount a time when you worked for only an hour on a project, and it absolutely drained you. So, what does make the difference? Burnout is about far more than hours worked, and while there are several influences that lead to it, here are four factors that leaders can leverage to help prevent burnout in their organizations. 1. Have your pulse on what team members need Great leaders can discern the difference between someone who is truly at their limit and someone who doesn’t know they are operating below their potential. When leaders take time to ask team members how they are doing and what they need, they can learn a lot. Sometimes a
push to get over the line is the charge that is needed to get them energized; sometimes it is a helping hand that boosts the reserves and morale. 2. Leveraging strengths Think about how you feel when you are doing activities that you are great at. It’s a much different feeling than the frustration and even embarrassment that creeps in when you are not able to lean into your world class strengths. It is critical for leaders to identify the strengths of individual team members and then put them in positions at work where they can use those strengths most of the time. When people are doing work they are good at, they are more productive, they feel better about their contributions to the team, and they ultimately have more confidence at work. 3. Why does their work matter? It’s important for leaders to communicate the reason the company exists to everyone who works there. When employees understand how their job contributes to the purpose of the organization, it becomes more than just a job. There is purpose in their day-to-day activities and that purpose helps to ward off burnout because they begin to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. People are generally inspired by big goals if they are infused with purpose that they personally resonate with. 4. We get by with a little help from our friends Close connections have been proven to be one of the most important
factors to living a long and happy life. And when those relationships exist at work, they go a long way to improving morale and job satisfaction. When team members love, trust, and respect the people they work with, they have more fun, they are better able to overcome challenges, and they are inspired to keep improving, which then leads to more pride in the work done. As leaders we can be intentional about helping team members build closer connections with one another and fostering these relationships within our organizations. Burnout at work causes many problems within companies and it will continue to be a challenge for leaders across the country. By engaging in frequent conversations with team members, putting them in positions where they can use their strengths, communicating the purpose of their work, and helping them develop close connections with their coworkers, leaders can ward off these negative implications and prevent burnout.
Anthony Lambatos grew up in the catering business working for his father and founder of Footers Catering in Denver, CO. Anthony and his
wife, April, purchased the business in 2010 and have successfully made the transition to a second-generation family business.
CATERSOURCE ■ WINTER 2024
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