Burnout syndrome: helping workers suffering from mental exhaustion in the context of the pandemic

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by the prolonged presence of stress produced by work (Shutterstock)

If disconnecting from work was complex before the pandemic, with the arrival of the coronavirus and the increase in the home office, the difficulty to continue working without setting limits is even more. And there the famous “burnout” occurs, which is a syndrome characterized by the prolonged presence of stress produced by work.

According to a survey, 47% of Argentines admitted having some good days and some bad days during the isolation period, and 9% recognized that the confinement was difficult to carry. To that could be added a 36% who felt a little fear for the future.

When speaking of the concerns of the Argentines: health (32%) and to an almost equal extent the country’s economy (30%) are the issues that most concern them, and of course the labor issue is not far behind (21%).

Within this framework, Adecco Argentina provides 5 important tips to help employees who are going through this difficult situation:

1 – Give the necessary importance to the mental health of employees: This point takes on great relevance within the world context that we continue to live, employees must feel safe in the first place in order to be honest about their mental health. Some tools can be group talks about the importance of the emotional health of the team, always respecting confidentiality, offering advice from health professionals to deal with personal and work problems, how to establish limits within remote work and in this way give it indicators to identify situations that require professional help.

Give the necessary importance to the mental health of employees (Shutterstock) 

2 – Rewards for employees: there must not necessarily be a reason, it may be because. Employees often question their value within the work environment and in the case of not receiving at least one word of encouragement after a long time, this situation can lead to different consequences. It is not necessary that this reward be monetary, it can also be time of rest or specific gifts meant for them, as long as they are sincere because otherwise it could backfire.

3 – Take working conditions seriously: Many times, only the customers or the outside of the organization are thought of as the most important thing when really the employees are the ones who sustain the day to day. Last minute changes or requests to satisfy a customer can lead to employee burnout and lack of motivation for not being recognized. Reconsidering the focus and the organization as the center are key points.

Valuing and respecting the personal lives of employees is essential, (Shutterstock) 

4 – Consider the private life of the employee: valuing and respecting the personal lives of employees is essential, but also their time and how they choose to invest it. Some may have a second job or have a hobby that they must spend time on. It is important talk with each one so that they feel free to express it and reach an agreement, if necessary, so that no one loses out.

5 – Goals accessible to all: Jobs that have no chance of moving forward or where the payoff is not seen at the end of the road can be quite frustrating. One possible option for these cases where there are no promotion opportunities is to create different goals: can be monetary, a regular and realistic salary increase. Another goal can be experiential, making valuable conferences or opportunities available to employees to have a long-term goal and that they really have the time and opportunity to dedicate themselves to it. By last, Micro position objectives, by not being able to create new jobs for employees to promote, new positions can be created with new challenges, new responsibilities and a salary increase that motivates them to continue professionalizing.