How to Keep Employment Burnout at Bay

quotI believe deeply it is important not to waste a crisisquot said Samantha Howland Chief People Officer for Gannett Co quotThis is not a new topic or a new challenge but we39re in a position now to be accelerating and improving how we deal with the burnout issuequotOn International Women39s Day Howland joined other female business executives on a panel hosted by the Female Quotient to discuss strategies for a healthier work environment and how to promote mental wellnessTo help women and all employees avoid burnout the executives said brands should prioritize autonomy and offer generous support Preventing employee burnout has never been more important and what companies do now will shape their results for years to comeFor instance offering flexible scheduling can keep employees engaged and promote better worklife balance noted Marinda Yelverton Vice President of Client Services for Whalar Some individuals are more productive in the early morning while others can crank out work at night When staffers can work on their own time Yelverton said that increases productivityYelverton encourages her employees to take personal time when they need it and she practices what she preaches She blocks out time on her schedule for weekly therapy sessions and takes a halfhour afterward to decompress before returning to work quotI lead by example and show if it is important to me it can be for you tooquot she saidAt Citi Sheetal Chanderkar Citi39s Chief of Staff for Personal Banking said the company implemented several policies designed to reduce stressFor instance Citi has encouraged its teams to cut meetings down from 60 minutes to 45 minutes giving employees 15 minutes to transition between meetings They can use the time to return emails prepare for the next meeting or just take a wellearned break Another practice is Take Time to Breathe Hour which advocates avoiding meetings from noon to 1 pm in your local market and using the time to take a walk catch up on work and eat a healthy lunch On VideoFree Fridays Citi encourages staffers to turn off their computer cameras and skip video calls and opt for voiceonly meetings insteadquotOver the last two years with the pandemic the demands have just grown whether it is demands at home or demands at work that39s why mental health and wellbeing has become such a forefront topicquot Chanderkar said quotSometimes the simple things can make a huge differencequotOne timetested way to reduce stress and anxiety is to talk to someone At work those conversations can happen privately or in a company forum Gannett encourages employees to share their feelings and concerns and Howland said managers receive training to equip them with tools and language to discuss personal and social issues quotYou don39t have to be an expert but you can demonstrate caringquot she saidAt many companies employees are still working from home or on a hybrid schedule making it difficult to connect and build community Technology is helping to bridge those gaps With online groups and apps employees can gather virtually with likeminded individuals from across their companiesquotOne of the things I39ve seen at Meta and other companies is how they39re leveraging tech to create community and to create connectionquot said Ursula Llabres Meta39s Reality Labs B2B Executive Engagement Global Lead quotThose two things are really important as we are trying to find our tribe for support and also to learn about what policies what support programs and educational programs there arequot she saidAt SAP employees can access individual and group coaching there are caregiver support groups and virtual classes on mindfulness and yoga To make these and other programs successful managers need to participate and encourage their employees as well noted Emma Reeve SAP39s Vice President of Brand Awareness StrategyquotWe really need to be able to make the time for that and make clear that it is not a nicetohave but it is a way we39re going to survive the dayquot she saidNo one can be quotonquot all the time noted Howland So from the Csuite on down all employees need time to reset and regroup At Gannett Howland said they have deployed the quotThree Psquot to support employees PTO paid time off phases and PelotonWith PTO Howland said everyone is encouraged to take their vacation time block it off on their calendar and then share their experiencesThe quotphasesquot policy acknowledges that sometimes employees are firing on all cylinders while at other times they need to step back When they need a break Howland said Gannett encourages staffers to take time to recharge That could be an hour or a halfday off quotThat39s not unproductive time that39s actually huge fuel for the next phasequot she saidFinally to promote mental and physical wellness the company brought in Peloton Through the fitness brand39s app employees can access classes from cycling to yoga to meditation and they can form teams and participate in challengesquotFrom the programmatic to the life selfawareness to the individual PTO promotion those three things have been important to me to put out to the communityquot Howland saidWhen employees start to feel maxed out they shouldn39t be afraid to request personal timeamp160Chanderkar said They might need a few days or even a sabbatical and it should come without penalty she noted quotThere need to be opportunities to onboard and offboard effectively with the same opportunities for growth when you come backquot she addedWhen companies and managers foster a culture of inclusion and support the quotwhole personquot employees will thrive the executives saidquotUnderstanding what is important to each person allows you to be awarequot said SAP39s Reeve quotThat means understanding when someone is in their best self and when they are their shadow self and being able to pick up on that and aware of the people and the workClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How to Keep Employment Burnout at Bay

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Alli Romano

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