Lead at Any Level®

Leaders can be anywhere, and should be everywhere!

Amanda Banks

A Bad Day or Burnout?

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When work starts to feel stressful, it can sometimes be confusing. Are you just having a bad day, a hell week, or facing total burnout? It’s important to identify what it really is so you can “treat” it immediately.

Bad days happen to everyone, whether it’s work-related or not. It can be a bad mood, having more tasks for the day, or facing new work challenges. Regardless, bad days are easier to overcome if dealt with immediately. If you keep allowing bad days to get to you, then you might be experiencing a burnout.

Exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced performance are all symptoms of a burnout. And the feeling of total exhaustion is the most important one, “to the extent that it cannot be remedied by normal recovery phases of an evening, a weekend, or even a vacation,” says Dr. Christian Dormann, a professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz’s Department of Law, Management and Economics. But how do you treat a burnout, if it’s already this bad?

How to Deal with Bad Days and Burnout

It’s crucial to fight bad days so they won’t mount up. At work, bad days can be triggered often by worrying, especially when unwanted changes happen in the workplace, leaving you with a feeling of uncertainty. Say, when management starts laying off people due to budget problems, and you don’t have an idea whether you’re next or not. You tend to think about it a lot, and it starts to get In the way of work. Amy C. Waninger, our founder and CEO, points out how worry at work can destroy productivity when you focus instead on your questions and fears that only worsen your stress levels. One way to deal with it is to try procrastinating worry by firmly telling yourself, “I’ll worry about it later.” Then re-focus on your work and achieve something worthwhile for the day.

Interpersonal Conflict

If it’s a conflict with a co-worker or a project, try solving it immediately with communication. Talk to your co-worker about it, or consult your boss about your project. Asking for help can easily be the solution to get you through a bad day. What’s important is you identify what’s making your day bad, and deal with it as early as possible before it starts to get worse.

Take a Time Out

But even with all these, burnout is still possible. The good news is there are still ways to deal with it. One way is to take a step back from all the things stressing you out, and Dr. Erika Rasure, a professor for Maryville University’s online business program, highlights three signs you’re in need of a time out. First, you might be more agitated both at home or at work. This makes you more impulsive and act less kindly to your coworkers and loved ones. Second, you’re itching for a change but can’t seem to get a grasp on what kind of change you need. Finally, you might have lost inspiration to do anything that used to matter to you.

When this happens, Rasure states on Psychology Today that the important thing is to acknowledge it. “Not only that you have created your own prison,” says Rasure, “but also that you are the only person who has the power to set yourself free.”

Take Care of Yourself

Dr. Rebecca Schwartz-Mette, the chairperson of the American Psychological Association’s Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance, believes that “repeated small doses of self-care are more effective than a once-a-week event.” They can be short bursts of exercise, or eating healthy snacks. Daily short meditations can also help reduce stress and make you more mindful of your thoughts and emotions.

Take time to unplug from work everyday. Turn off work notifications and try to stop thinking about work once you clock out. Focus on your small self-rewards that can make you forget about stress, like preparing your favorite dinner or watching a funny movie. Don’t wait for the weekend before you do anything nice for yourself. Do these rewards as often as you can. What matters is you prioritize yourself everyday and let go of burdens that stress you out. At the end of the day, remember that these burdens are not your life.

When Remote Work Stops Being Inclusive

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Remote work has evolved from being a trendy workplace dynamic to a full-fledged business strategy. However, another prominent – and unfortunate – trend is a lack of diversity in the workplace. Diversity is a critical success factor, and many business leaders may think that having a remote workforce is the be-all and end-all of this. Since location matters very little, companies are not limited by geographic constraints. This gives a guise of hiring diversely – but diversity is not exactly akin to inclusivity.

Spotting the Signs of Exclusion

With remote work having little to no physical contact, it may be harder to spot employees who are feeling lonely and isolated. Workplace loneliness is a very real possibility, and according to a study by Ozcelik and Barsade, employees who are lonely may have a drop in job performance and more inconsistent outputs. Your company likely has its preferred communications channels, so look out for those who don’t always reach out or who are reluctant to accepting assistance. When you hire new employees who you have yet to meet in person, you also have to be particularly attuned to this from the start of the onboarding process.

Crowdsourcing Matters

On ‘When Do You Feel Included?’ we emphasized the importance of the Platinum Rule – treating others the way they want to be treated. The definition of employee wellness differs from company to company. You will be able to understand your organization’s own interpretation of this if you simply ask your members. Pain Free Working has collated tips for employee wellness strategies from existing organizations, with one being the implementation of programs that team members specifically ask for. It’s important to get a general pulse of where everyone is at – how they have been managing and what they need to show up and perform better. The only way you will know what will work is to regularly conduct employee feedback through surveys and Casino en ligne bonus.

Allyship and Remote Work

For new employees, create a more personal onboarding processes by assigning buddies or mentors who can help with assimilation. In fact, assigning everyone a partner with whom they can check-in on could be a permanent practice in your company. This is related to what CEO of The Memo LLC Minda Harts describes as allyship. Having colleagues who vet and advocate for one another is a clear sign of inclusivity. Don’t forget to show your gratitude once in a while too. It does not take much to acknowledge, commend, and give credit when and where it is due. Employees need to know that their work is being valued and that they are critical members of your team. Therefore, expressing your feedback is a critical step toward ensure that they feel included and seen.

The modern workforce brings with it with modern challenges, ushering in the need for people who can lead with empathy. This is the opportunity for leaders to step up and truly analyze how well they have been treating their employees. You can never go wrong with constantly willing yourself to improve. When you couple sincere intentions with clear-cut strategies for inclusion, your business can succeed like never before.