Authentic Employee Support: Beyond Token Wellness Initiatives in the Age of Burnout

Employee burnout is real. Not only does it affect the employees’ mental health and overall well-being, but it also impacts the company’s job performance and bottom line.

Here’s the problem: The number of burnout cases is rising worldwide, especially in the United States. Nearly 60% of American workers have reported feeling at least moderate levels of burnout. Likewise, the report cites that the most vulnerable to this case are:

• Younger employees;
• Hispanic workers;
• Women; and,
• Those with multiple jobs

As such, what better way to address burnout than to offer real employee support? Unfortunately, many companies provide only token wellness initiatives. What exactly do they mean? Note that these initiatives:

• Hold superficial programs;
• Lack of employee engagement; and,
• Have a short-term impact.

So, how do you go beyond these initiatives?

In this article, we’ll share with you what it means to offer authentic employee support. Read on to learn how to provide the utmost support and address burnout for the good of all your employees.

Ready? Let’s dive right in!

How To Address Organizational Burnout and Provide Real Employee Support

Employee burnout is a workplace concern affecting many companies and organizations across the globe. Arguably, the biggest sign that an employee is burned out is a visible loss of workplace motivation.

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered ‘burnout’ as an occupational phenomenon. The WHO defines it as:

“A syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

They also cite the three dimensions of burnout. As mentioned, we can consider such if and when the employees experience the following:

• Feeling exhaustion or depleting energy
• Increasing negative feelings towards the job
• Minimizing professional effectiveness

Further, Gallup reported the five primary causes of burnout as follows:

• Unjust treatment in the workplace
• Unmanageable or unrealistic workload
• Unclear roles or job expectations
• Unreasonable deadlines
• Poor communication and management support

As such, businesses worldwide can no longer ignore the call for preventing and mitigating employee burnout. Even high-income earners like physicians are turning to side gigs.

The biggest question is:
Is your company taking action to address this problem? It’s time to take a leap of faith and do the needful!

Sabas Lin, CTO at Knowee, shares this insight: “Addressing burnout requires a shift from quick fixes to meaningful, sustainable changes. These superficial fixes ironically have a negative effect, as your employees can typically see through them. They only compound the problem. At Knowee, rather than token initiatives, we aim to create a balanced workflow that empowers our team and supports their well-being.”

If you’re responsible for addressing this organizational problem, it’s best to go beyond token wellness initiatives and provide genuinely effective programs.

That said, here’s how to address burnout in your organization and offer tangible support to your employees:

1. Foster an Organizational Culture of Support

Many companies focus on setting key metrics, monitoring employees, and improving performance. What many fail to realize is the importance of providing these rank-and-file workers with the utmost support and empowerment.

Grant Aldrich, Founder of Online Degree, recommends creating a culture of support in the organization. “Pressuring employees to deliver is one thing; providing them with real support is another. The latter works better in helping employees hit the organizational metrics and achieve their professional goals.”

That said, Shaffer suggests the following as a way to promote a culture of support in a given company:

• Secure leadership commitment. A culture of support stems from the leaders themselves possessing the right leadership skills. As the one responsible for implementing wellness initiatives, I get commitment from upper management. Why? They create policies, structures, and workflows that can impact the day-to-day lives of employees.
• Open lines of communication. Encourage your employees to speak up. And by that, we mean allowing them to share their knowledge, voice their opinions, and offer suggestions or recommendations. Remember, constant communication is almost always the key to effective collaboration and business success.
• Foster inclusion and diversity. This move means getting everyone involved in wellness initiatives, from top management down to rank-and-file employees. A sense of belonging in the workplace makes everyone feel valued and even more productive. Think of DEI activities for AAPI Heritage Month and consider holding such an event for your company.

Kathryn MacDonell, CEO at Trilby Misso Lawyers shares similar views, saying, “Leaders often pay lip service to the idea of employee wellness, but creating a truly supportive environment for employees goes beyond just acknowledging burnout. You’ve got to be willing to make changes including in how you communicate and how you encourage your people to communicate. When leaders are willing to make tangible changes and open the floor for real employee input, that’s when we see lasting improvements in morale and productivity.”

2. Tailor Support Approaches to Individual Needs

There is no one-size-fits-all kind of support for addressing organizational burnout. Understand that each and every employee has different sets of challenges. Therefore, you must fit varied approaches to various individual needs.

David Speedy, General Manager at Workspace Direct, suggests customizing support approaches to unique circumstances. “Get to know your employees and understand their individual struggles. That will help you get to the bottom of their problems and create solutions that will truly work for each.”

As such, he recommends taking the following crucial steps:

• Get employee feedback. Employers must take the time to listen and understand. What employees have to say about your company, workplace, colleagues, and their jobs does matter. You can obtain employee feedback by conducting surveys regularly. That will help you understand their plight and offer the support they need to boost employee engagement later.
• Offer training and mentorship. Training should be ongoing for employees who need to enhance their knowledge and hone their skills to avoid burnout. If possible, assign them to the right mentors who can help them become better and better each day. A perfect example is offering mentorship with performance improvement plans (PIPs) for those who are unable to perform well.
• Set metrics and track performance. It’s best to set critical key performance indicators (KPIs) revolving around work efficiency, quality standards, and customer satisfaction. They guide employees in their day-to-day work so that they do what matters and won’t easily and quickly get burned out. However, note that the goal is to help these employees improve as professionals, not to pressure them.
• Provide digital tools and technologies. There’s no denying the benefits of leveraging today’s technology in the workplace. Think of artificial intelligence (AI) for customer service, machine learning (ML) for data analysis, and automation for efficient work. Consider time-tracking software for architects or project management tools for designers. They can make employees work faster, easier, and smarter, which will help them avoid burnout.

Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, agrees with Speedy. As he puts it, “At Prove, we understand that organizational support means recognizing each team member’s individual needs. We focus on clear communication and flexible work structures that accommodate different workloads and expectations, creating a culture where our employees feel valued and empowered to succeed, and the heart of this is that we genuinely seek employee feedback, and we receive and act on this feedback transparently.”

3. Offer Sustainable and Impactful Wellness Programs

Now, it’s time to create specific wellness programs aimed at promoting the employees’ health and overall well-being. But as mentioned, be wary of making your wellness initiatives tokenistic. You don’t want them to be only superficial and short-term.

Such initiatives won’t create a positive impact on your employees. They won’t truly help them address the feelings of increasing exhaustion, chronic stress, and professional inefficacy.

Conrad Wang, Managing Director at EnableU, says: “Employee burnout often arises when there’s a disconnect between company goals and employee’s sense of purpose and direction. The best way to bridge this gap is by offering not only wellness initiatives but also tools and resources that align with each employee’s personal and professional growth, creating a work environment built on genuine mutual support.”

As such, keep the following in mind for offering sustainable programs that truly impact employee happiness:

• Offer a holistic program. This program has to cover physical health, mental wellness, and emotional well-being. You can offer such a program in various ways, like installing a healthy snack vending machine, installing a mini-gym in the workplace, or enrolling employees in mindfulness classes. You can go as far as providing the best mattress for employees having a slumber in your sleeping quarters.
• Balance between personal and professional development. Focus not only on your employees’ lives within the four walls of your organization. If possible, help them draw the line between their personal and professional life, like creating a working schedule, taking breaks, or pursuing hobbies or interests. For the most part, good personal dispositions can positively impact the employees’ professional life.
• Promote work-life balance. Allow your employees to have a productivity detox by letting them take a brief hiatus from work. For example, ensure that your employees are able to use their leaves. If they’re sick, allow them to take a break and return to work if and only when they fully recover. Likewise, let them enjoy the personal time off (PTO) they so deserve.

Final Note

The struggle with burnout is real with almost every employee in today’s business landscape. Unfortunately, many companies and organizations offer token wellness initiatives that are superficial, disengaging, and short-term only. They simply don’t create a positive and long-lasting impact in the lives of professionals.

As Jesse Hanson, Content Manager at Online Solitaire & World of Card Games, puts it, “An essential part of managing burnout is listening and offering resources that genuinely address stress points within the job. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer as the causes of burnout may differ from one business to another.”

As an employer, you’ve got to do the right thing by staying on top of your employees’ welfare. Make sure that you genuinely provide employee support and effectively address employee burnout. With that being said, consider these practical tips:

• Fostering a culture of support in the organization
• Tailoring various support approaches to individual needs and
• Offering sustainable and impactful wellness programs.

With all these, you can have a holistically well labor workforce that can bring you to the pedestal of business success. A win-win for your profitable company and much-valued employees!