The term ‘Employee Burnout’ has become quite common these days, with every second employee facing this condition. So, what exactly is this condition? An employee is said to be under ‘Employee Burnout’ condition when he/she feels mentally, emotionally and physically drained which hampers his/her productivity and efficiency. This condition is a common occurrence among the busy professionals.
We tell you what are the conditions or occurrences or causes that lead to this professional burnout amongst individuals. Have a look:
Absence of control
Competence and satisfaction in the job are two things that each and every employee looks for. They should feel that they have the responsibility of their tasks as well as the outcomes. But, when the desired level of responsibility is not given or when the necessary autonomy or tools required to accomplish a task are not given, the employee will tend to feel a burnout. Therefore, to avoid the burnout whenever the situation of ambiguity arises where the employee is not clear about his job role or feels stifled, the boss should take proactive steps and clarify the doubts raised by the employee. This proactive approach by the management is somewhere lacking in banking industry.
Compensation
Today’s era is about the employees directing their own career prospects. There is no denying the fact that the employees work to earn; the good ambience of the organization or the exceptionally good company culture cannot compensate for the monthly bills that an individual has to manage. An organisation’s expectation from its staff to work hard and exceptionally well for the growth of the company is absolutely correct, but at the same time, the expectation of the employee for a competitive salary is also equally justified. When the employees feel underpaid in comparison to the services they are providing a feeling of remorse and negativity will definitely peep-in. Banking industry today is not only the most underpaid but also most unappreciated job sector.
The ever increasing workload
When there is too much on your plate to finish off, you gradually tend to feel the burnout. According to the statistics, as many as 70% of the employees across the world feel that they have piles of work on their table which they are just not in a position to complete in a week’s time. To avoid such a condition, adequate workloads should be given to the employees along with the necessary tools and resources as deemed fit to complete the job in hand. Due to staff shortage in almost every branch in banks, the work overload leading to dissatisfaction and exhausted employee is on the rise in banks today.
Depressing work environment
The unexciting and unwelcoming work environment is also a major cause of the professional burnout these days. With the depressing work environment, each and every employee feels a kind of depression the moment they think of office. Such kind of feelings of burnout should be wiped out from the minds of the employees by creating a congenial environment that supports the employee and has employee friendly policies. The office politics is one thing that should be thrown out of the office.
Favouritism
The employees are expected to work 24 X 7 for the organisation and are yet victimised with the Managers playing the tool called favouritism. It is quite unfair to treat donkeys like horses and horses as donkeys. When such unfair thing prevails, the favorite employees will feel elated, but the not-so-favorite ones feel the burnout. There must be equality in the eyes of the organization when it comes to employees. Promotions and preference postings must not be based on whims of the management.
Lack of career growth opportunities
The condition of employee burnout is common in the young generation who are always looking for ways and means for advancing their careers. When the organisation does not provide the required opportunities for employee’s career growth, they will eventually start feeling depressed with their current job position. To counter this, the organisation should consider the task of career development of the employees with a certain level of seriousness and support their employees by giving internal promotions as and when possible.
The employee burnout is not just disturbing the growth of an organisation but is seriously affecting the personal lives of the employees. Tools such as employee recognition, opportunities for work-life balance and giving due importance to the thoughts of the employees who are at the bottom of the pyramid are some of the definite ways to prevent employee burnout.
A radical shift is seen in a lot of PSU Banks viz a viz Bank of Baroda, to motivate employees to work in a positive environment, by appreciating the efforts of employees by announcing employee of the month and holding award ceremonies but the practice is still in its inception stage and will take time to take its full fledged form. Thinking about the welfare of the employees will only take the organization a notch higher. A happy employee gives a happy organization and indeed, Thatslyf!
