The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

These past few years have been incredibly challenging for leaders worldwide.  As you take a look around your organization, have you noticed any of the following for your leadership team or your employees: 

• Exhaustion: Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that doesn't go away after time off.
• Decreased job satisfaction: A feeling of disillusionment and negative attitude towards work.
• Decreased motivation: Loss of drive, energy, and motivation to perform tasks.
• Increased absenteeism: Taking more time off work, frequently calling in sick.
• Decreased productivity: Decline in quality and quantity of work being produced.
• Decreased engagement: Lack of enthusiasm and investment in one's job and responsibilities.
• Increased cynicism: Negative outlook and mistrust towards one's employer, coworkers, and/or job duties.
• Health problems: Physical symptoms such as headaches, sleep disturbances, and digestive issues.

If so, you are not alone.  These are all symptoms of burnout.

The dreaded condition - burnout. It creeps through your office like a slow fog. It’s easy to miss at first, but once burnout sets in, it’s nearly impossible to navigate forward. A recent study by Gallup found that 70% of employees either sometimes or often feel burned out at work.

Burnout isn’t just “needing a break” from work. It’s a state of chronic job stress that results in overall frustration, exhaustion, and defeat.

One burned-out employee leads to another. And worse – burnout can lead to turnover…which can lead to additional burnout in your remaining employees. As a manager, it’s up to you to recognize the signs of burnout and ensure you have practices in place to prevent it from taking over.

What image comes to mind when you hear the words “burnout?”

Burnout is defined as an individual’s response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors within the workplace. It doesn’t simply happen from being bored or from working too many hours.

Studies increasingly indicate other factors are behind this work epidemic and employee burnout has reached record levels. It’s so common that people in all industries and in all positions are susceptible to burnout.

Being able to spot employee burnout and prevent it is essential if you want to maintain a positive work environment and keep the best talent on your team.