Burnout is a feeling of being burned out, spent and empty and can manifest itself in difficulty concentrating, fatigue, lethargy, sometimes crying and chaotic thinking. Employees nearing burnout often resent everything, are more easily irritated and less engaged. Employees may also cut themselves off from work and colleagues.
GOOD conversations about small changes with big impact!
Feeling burned out is a process. The reason may be an imbalance between workload and load capacity, work and personal life, unpleasant work relationships, lack of job satisfaction and/or an unpleasant work environment.
GOOD conversations can discuss how the employee him or herself can eliminate this imbalance, how to improve the work atmosphere and how to regain job satisfaction. Jobcrafting is called such a thing, making small changes with the goal of making work more interesting, challenging and fun. These adjustments reduce the risk of absenteeism and burnout. Jobcrafting models the job or molds the work instead of the employees. It is an ongoing process by which employees keep themselves optimally and sustainably employable in their own work.
Below are two tools for crafting one’s own function:
Questionnaire jobcrafting in brief:
- Make a top 10 list of your tasks/roles;
- Number one is the task/role you spend the most time on;
- List the tasks/roles where your strengths are used;
- Identify the tasks/roles you would rather lose than lose because they appeal to your weaknesses;
- Make an outline of your ideal workday/workweek? So what are you doing with whom and for whom?
Source: book: the GREAT conversation book
The Energy Cup
Prior to The GOOD conversation, have the employee do the assignment The Energy Cup and have him or her think about how they can increase energy sources and close energy leaks.
Is your own energy cup currently well filled?
You can think of yourself as an energy cup. The trick is to keep the cup well filled. Map out which activities energize you and which activities cost you energy. How do you provide the right balance?
- What activities energize you and how can they be used even more?
- what are energy leaks and why?
- Can you organize work that consumes your energy differently or exchange it with someone else?
If you have a job that consists largely of activities that cost you energy and this cannot be changed, ask the question of conscience whether you are performing a job that suits you.
Want to know more?
Want to know more about employee turnover? And how to address that? Also read our blog “Preventing employee turnover: 10 tips & calculate yourself!”.