How Not to Burn Your Team Down, or Why Work-life Balance Is a Manager's Task
insufficient communication within the team;
poor risk assessment at the planning stage;
incorrect distribution of resources and roles;
constant changes – for example, customer requirements or the market situation.
Obviously, the role of the manager in solving all these problems is great. And although there is no universal key to all situations and there cannot be, we do have several working tools in our arsenal.
How to Avoid Team Burnout
Regular 1-to-1.
It is important to communicate confidentially with all team members and carefully monitor their mood. Don't be afraid of direct questions: “How are you feeling?”, “Are you tired?”, “What do you like about your work and what don't you like?” etc. It seems that adults are not used to answering such questions openly, but you should always give them a chance to speak out.
In addition, such questions allow a person to think about his condition. Even if he does not tell you the truth, he may later talk about it with his family or friends. Maybe even with himself. It is useful to motivate employees to analyze their well-being.
Healthy atmosphere in the team.
You need to convey to your team that work is not the only meaning of life. Tell them what movie you watched over the weekend, how you went to the gym, or how you played with your child. Any story about a manager’s personal life reminds you that there is a huge world beyond professional tasks. There are hobbies, entertainment, and family, and all of this is no less important.
Our task is not to cross personal boundaries, but to gently remind that the success of the project is not the only thing that can be of interest. Therefore, sometimes it is appropriate to ask the employee about his hobbies and leisure. Of course, there is a time for everything and it will not work to talk only about leisure, but to start the meeting with a short small talk – why not?
Flexible schedule.
There is no need to watch your colleagues with a watch in the morning and evening. If someone needs to start the day later or finish earlier – please. If someone prefers to work at night – no problem. The main thing is to stay in touch with the team, not disappear and complete tasks on time. Everything else is trifles.
This small and seemingly familiar option actually greatly reduces stress levels. When you are not tied to work and can set your own schedule, you have more opportunities to make time for what you like: a daytime walk, morning coffee or spending time with your family.
Recovery periods.
It's helpful to make sure your team has time to recover after tough work periods. If you've recently had a major release where everyone gave 110%, give your team extra days off or let them go on short vacations. It's like in sports: after an intense workout, your body needs time to recover.
Sometimes people have to be sent to de-offs almost by force. And this is not a whim of a strange leader, but a production necessity.
Task rotation.
Within the team, it is worth periodically changing roles so that each person faces new challenges from time to time. It is simple: one of the reasons for burnout is routine and monotony. If you set new ambitious goals for an employee, he will be more interested in working. The right challenges inspire.
Motivation and support.
My colleague Sasha Shutay already talked about types of motivationso I won't repeat myself. I'll just emphasize that material motivation is, of course, good, but we all also want recognition of our merits. Therefore, praising and thanking each employee for their achievements is a necessary practice.
First, it's polite, and second, it shows people that you see them, value them, and need their skills.
Communication is the key to everything
I would like to highlight another important point: communication. Burnout develops in a toxic environment, when a person feels abandoned and alone with their difficulties and experiences. But it shouldn’t be like that. It is important to cultivate a culture of openness and interaction in the team. Everyone should understand that problems need to be discussed out loud and that it is not scary.
Therefore, it is useful to implement regular synchronicities, dailies, retrospectives. These meetings activate communication and literally force us to discuss problems and mistakes. It is important to create a safe environment at these meetings so that the team knows that no one will judge anyone for any opinion or question. On the contrary, at such meetings we receive support and help.
In general, a reminder: retros and dailies are not just regular cuts, but also an additional opportunity to communicate with the team.
What if the employee is already burned out?
The main rule of medicine is to do no harm. The principle is the same here. If all indirect signs suggest that the employee is burnt out, you should talk to him. If he himself admits that it is not about ordinary fatigue, you need to act. The main thing is not to scold, not to pressure and not to overdo it with attention.
The algorithm here is simple:
We find out the cause of burnout. Overtime, routine tasks, lack of feedback—the employee probably understands what influences him the most.
We reduce the workload of the specialist. Burnout is always associated with fatigue. Therefore, it is important to immediately free up time to restore the employee's resources. The best option is to let them go on vacation.
We eliminate the causes of burnout. If a person doesn't like the tasks, we try to rotate the project. If the problem is in praise, we start praising more often. If it's in money, we look for a budget.
We provide support. We schedule more meetings, monitor the condition more closely. Sometimes it is important for a person to simply be shown concern, sometimes – to be able to speak out.
We observe which of the measures taken brings results. If it works, we continue, if not, we try something new.
We check the whole team. If the conditions are such that one person burns out, then someone else could burn out too. Including yourself. Ask yourself: “How am I feeling? Isn't it time to take a break?”
All this will bear fruit in any case – good or bad. Either the person will understand that he is too tired and will simply leave. In this case, you will be able to say that at least you tried to save him. Or he will feel better and after some time will return to his usual work mode.
When it comes to absolutely irreplaceable personnel, you can also offer sabbatical. This is a long-term creative leave, which nevertheless assumes that the person will return to work in three months, six months, or some other period that you agree on. Some companies even continue to pay such “vacationers” small stipends. But these are, of course, exceptional cases.
Finally: about the role of the leader
The manager sets the pace of work. His state and decisions influence the team: if you are calm and confident, the team also feels stable. If you yourself endlessly overwork, even if you do not demand the same from the team, then everyone will follow you, be afraid of mistakes and feel pressure.
I think the talent of a leader lies in conveying the right guidelines to the people around him.
Calmness and confidence. In times of turbulence, severe time pressure and crisis, it is still worth maintaining composure and presence of mind. The team must feel solid ground under their feet and understand that they can turn to you for help and that you have enough resources to listen and support.
Openness. Honest communication is the basis of trusting relationships. This is important both in everyday work and in crisis situations. It is good when an employee understands that he can approach the manager with a problem and will not receive reproaches or assessments in response.
Harmony. If the manager himself has found that very balance between work and personal life, then the team will follow him. Working a lot does not equal working 24/7. After all, in order to radiate calm and openness, you also need to rest and recover.
I wish everyone to find a happy medium, not to forget about their needs and never to exhaust themselves. If you have had experience of fighting your own burnout or the burnout of someone from the team, please tell us about it in the comments. And I invite you to discuss the article to my telegram channelwhich is generally dedicated to mobile development, but I also sometimes talk about team management there.
