Mental and physical burnout are problems that virtually every organization deals with at some point. If left unattended, these problems can have a devastating impact on the health and wellness of your business. That said, addressing them is not always simple.
Burnout does not affect everyone the same way. This is in part due to the nature of humans. We are first and foremost individuals. While we may share some commonalities, we are largely unique and that is a beautiful thing. We have different mentalities and thought processes. We read and reflect emotions in different ways. We invest ourselves at different levels. So on and so forth.
What this means in relevance to burnout is that organizations are often faced with a tough question. How do you create a solution to address a problem when the definition of that problem changes based on the individual you talk to?
Addressing burnout at the organizational level
My belief is that there is no single answer that can be replicated across different organizations. Your approach depends entirely on your environment. That said, there are some methods we can learn from one another that may help us move in the right direction. Two that we have used at iorad are Company Culture and Task Automation.
My belief is that there is no single answer that can be replicated across different organizations. Your approach depends entirely on your environment.
1. Fighting burnout with company culture
Company Culture is made up of different values and principles that are used to guide the direction of an organization and how it operates. Strong company culture is something you can almost feel when you walk into a room. It can help employees form connections, boost morale, encourage collaboration, and so much more. But when it’s ignored, it can result in lacking motivation, decreases in performance, and turnover.
At iorad, we recognized Company Culture as something that needs consistent investment. Our approach was to first develop some initial core values. Two of which are shared below.
Keep it 100
We like to keep things real. That means:
- staying true to who we are as individuals
- speaking with authenticity
- supporting those around us in all endeavors
This value encourages everyone to speak their mind. We want people to be comfortable sharing their opinions, even if that opinion might seem unpopular. We’ve found that this approach is always better than keeping something bottled up inside.
Recharge
We love what we do, but we realize it's only one part of our lives. It's important to pause now and again. Take a breath, step outside, explore the world, and have fun doing what matters to you.
This value lets us manage our work/life balance. We know that work is only one part of life and the amount of space that part takes up is unique to us all. That’s why we encourage people to hit pause, take breaks, and unplug whenever they feel the need to.
We call these "initial” core values because our belief is that core values are not meant to be written in stone. The reason why is because with time, things change. People change, organizations change, humanity changes. As our organization evolves, we believe that our values should do the same.
That’s why we encourage people to hit pause, take breaks, and unplug whenever they feel the need to.
2. Fighting burnout with task automation
Task Automation is also an effective method to combat burnout. Nobody enjoys spending their time on repeat tasks. If this exists in an organization and goes unacknowledged it can literally melt someone's mind to the point where you no longer recognize the person you first hired.
From an organizational standpoint, it’s important to empower your employees. You want to ensure that they don’t just have some tools to do their job, but the right tools to do their job in the best way possible. This requires a proactive approach and two-way communication.
Today there are a plethora of solutions available on the market that you can adapt to your specific organizational needs. At iorad, we’ve found that this method works best when you empower the individuals to help make those decisions. Instead of just choosing what you think is right, let the individuals who are responsible for executing participate when you research solutions. Then you can make a more informed decision.
Final thoughts
At the end of the day it’s important to note that these are not one-size-fits-all solutions. Company culture and task automation both represent large undertakings. How you implement them depends on many factors that will be unique to you. However, if you invest in them properly, there is a strong likelihood that they will strengthen not only the health and wellness of your organization internally, but also it’s performance externally.
To learn more about iorad, our core values, and some of the integrations we use, be sure to check out our website.
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