From Burnout to Balance: Tackling Overwhelm Head-On
TLDR: Workplace burnout is rampant, especially among leaders. Five strategies can help: redefining individual roles, setting boundaries, building networks, developing habits, and simplifying processes. Some require the support of your organisation to affect.
4 min read
Monday morning. The alarm goes off, so you hit snooze…again… and again. The realisation hits that you’ve got a full day, a full week, of work ahead and you feel like you’re wading through treacle. You’re exhausted even though the week is just starting. You drink a coffee, or two to kick start the day but it barely helps - it feels like a mountain to climb and you simply don’t have it in you.
Sound familiar? If so, you’re possibly one of the ever-increasing number of people facing organisational burnout. In a recent poll 42% of employees said they felt that they were experiencing some form of burnout. Burnout is a form of chronic stress and becomes so when we experience it over an extended period of time, manifesting itself as three observable criteria - emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and decreased productivity.
Professionals are finding themselves grappling with ever-increasing workloads and mounting responsibilities. This is particularly true for managers and leaders who are expected to navigate complex challenges while guiding their teams through constant change, all seemingly with fewer resources and increased pressure.
This blog delves into the current state of workplace stress and offers practical solutions to help you regain balance and effectiveness in your role.
The Current Landscape
Recent research from Gartner paints a concerning picture of the modern workplace. A staggering 75% of HR leaders report that their managers are overwhelmed by the growth of their job responsibilities. Furthermore, 73% of HR leaders acknowledge that their organisation's leaders and managers aren't adequately equipped to lead change.
These statistics highlight a significant disconnect between the expectations placed on managers and the resources provided to meet those expectations. It's a situation that calls for immediate attention and strategic intervention.
The Limitations of Traditional Solutions
Traditionally, organisations have attempted to address these challenges by offering additional training programmes, introducing new productivity tools, or implementing well-being initiatives. While these efforts are well-intentioned and are required and relevant, they often fall short of addressing the root cause of the problem.
The issue isn't a lack of skills or tools - it's the fundamental nature of managerial roles that needs to be re-examined. Consider this: the average manager has 51% more responsibilities than they can effectively manage. Moreover, one in five managers would prefer not to be in a people management role if given a choice and four in five have never had any formal leadership training. These statistics underscore the need for a more comprehensive approach to tackling workplace overwhelm.
Five Strategies to Alleviate Overwhelm
To address these challenges effectively, here are five strategies that are proven to help alleviate:
1. Redefine Role Expectations
It's crucial to reassess and clarify managerial responsibilities. This process should involve a thorough review of current tasks, identifying core responsibilities that align with organisational goals, and eliminating or delegating non-essential duties. By focusing on tasks that truly require managerial expertise, more manageable, practical and impactful roles can be created.
2. Develop Effective Boundary-Setting Skills
Managers need to be empowered to set clear boundaries and prioritise effectively. This includes learning to decline additional responsibilities when appropriate, ensuring that new projects align with core objectives, and maintaining a sustainable workload. Effective boundary-setting is not about saying 'no' indiscriminately, but about making informed decisions that protect both individual and team productivity.
3. Develop Collaborative Networks
By developing strong support networks within the organisation you leverage diverse skill sets and promote knowledge sharing. Identifying and connecting with colleagues who possess complementary expertise, allows managers to access resources more efficiently and distribute workload more effectively across the team.
4. Prioritise Habit-Building Alongside Skill Development
While skill development remains important, research indicates that organisations focusing on habit-building can improve job manageability by up to 70%. This suggests that cultivating sustainable work habits – such as regular prioritisation sessions, structured team check-ins, or periodic goal reviews – can be more impactful than traditional skill-based training alone.
5. Simplify Processes
Managers should take an active role in streamlining processes and eliminating unnecessary complexity within their teams and the broader organisation. With aggregation of roles, managers report significant time spent on administrative tasks - by advocating for and implementing simplified workflows, managers can reclaim valuable time for more appropriate activities.
Summary
The challenges facing today's managers and leaders are significant, but not insurmountable. By implementing any of these five strategies, chronic stress can be reduced, but it is only by a combination of individual and organisational redress that a more balanced and effective work environment can be restored. Organisations must be willing to re-evaluate traditional structures and expectations to create an environment where leaders can truly thrive.
If you’d like a more tailored discussion as to how I might help you with your need to get a better work/life balance and to overcome overwhelm and burnout, please contact me here.
