Virtual Team Burnout
Spotting and avoiding it in a remote work world. Tip: It's just not about reducing hours.
Burnout is a lesson learned type of event. The more common reasons burnout occurs are not tied to the number of hours worked - I would call that exhaustion. Leaders have a responsibility to spot burnout signs; more importantly, mitigate it. Wouldn’t you want your team running at peak performance?
There is a new variable to consider here - remote work. When present in the workplace, you can identify physical signs of depletion, mental distancing, cynism typically shared over lunch, and reduced performance. With a virtual team, some of these may not be obvious as online interactions tend to be short and planned. Further, those moments in between meetings, workers can now tune out off-camera.
If you think that your team is immune to feeling some burnout, think again. The visual below is based on a Gallup poll; it shows that 96% of employees have responded in the affirmative to some varying degree.
Not just about hours. Gallup continues by listing five factors that correlate most highly with employee burnout.
Unfair treatment at work
Unmanageable workload
Unclear communication from managers
Lack of manager support
Unreasonable time pressure
Is it me, or all directly tied to leadership?
Resource
Sharon Koifman, an experienced author/speaker/entrepreneur, provided an excellent framework on How to Avoid Burnout in a Remote Team. It’s worth reading and circulating.
Is there something I missed regarding virtual team burnout? I would love to hear your insights.