Surprising Fuel to Avoid Burnout in Your Projects

 

Workers across the organization are experiencing an environment which will lead to burnout - if it hasn't already - as described in my previous post. The effects of burnout are a significant obstacle to your project being completed successfully, so it pays for you to use techniques to minimize these effects.

Consider the "gas tank" metaphor suggested by management professor Wayne Hochwarter (Florida State University in Tallahassee). The key to this metaphor is that workers can be low on fuel, but more can be added to the tank. This is different from a "battery" metaphor, which tends to lead you to think that workers need time away to "recharge." Such a solution is not necessarily true, effective or even possible in some circumstances you may be experiencing.

The good news is that you can effectively fill the gas tank by providing workers

• More control over time and tasks
• More opportunities to improve skills

So here are related techniques that can help you manage a nearly burned-out workforce:

• Avoid workers getting angry or burned out after taking on extra workload by assigning work to those who will see it as a growth opportunity. Promote it as such.
• Determine what workers want in the way of skill-building and career advancement. Provide appropriate access and information. Promote their use and allow flexibility for workers to take advantage of these opportunities, even if it is a little painful. You will long-term benefits.
• Give workers as much as possible control over how and when they do work. Let them assign intermediate due dates for deliverables progress for example.
• Don't blame substandard performance too quickly on worker skill inadequacy or motivation problems. It could be the harder-to-identify symptoms of burnout, especially if seen across departments, divisions or the organization as a whole.
• Avoid communications that make the problem worse. Blanket urges for everyone to work 100% (or more) to get tasks done.

Finally, stay aware of today's business environment where expectations for more work and slow hiring lead to worker burnout. Your previous experience in managing workers may lead you to use incorrect techniques.