2 Ways To Tackle Employee Burnout In A Remote Workplace

A remote workplace is a company’s policy allowing employees to work outside their office. An employee can work at home utilizing either their personal or office devices. According to 2022 US statistics, 77% of employees prefer working at home. Many find this setup favorable because it can save them more time preparing for work since they don’t have to go to their offices anymore.

To have a job that doesn’t require a person to leave the comfort of their home can be ideal. They can earn a decent income while spending less on food and no longer need to pay to commute to work. Despite known advantages to remote setups like these, an employee can still feel burnout.

Identifying its potential causes is essential to determine how to prevent employee burnout. One factor that can contribute to burnout is the pressure workers feel from their work.

Work Pressure

A remote workplace can remove some pressure from an employee since they don’t work in an office where managers can tend to micromanage. Even so, the work pressure is still there because they still do the same job as those working in their office. Employers expect their employees to perform according to their expectations while adding regulations for the work-at-home setup. If there’s a violation, they reserve the right to carry out sanctions like a suspension or termination order, depending on the offense, contributing to the work’s pressuring nature.

For example, a customer service representative (CSR) working at home still receives calls from clients. Some of their callers are irate, and even if their experience and training allow them to deal with these instances, the stress piles up eventually. Some of their callers’ inquiries may also need more clarification. CSRs will have to work with their team leaders whenever they face challenging calls. Work-from-home CSRs may find reaching out to their TLs challenging since they can only send messages on platforms like Microsoft Teams, and it would take their TLs some time to respond.

Aside from this, their place might not be too conducive for work because of noise pollution. These factors can affect their transactions with their callers, and their company audit can mark them down on their call quality.

Work-from-home employees like them also need to manage their productivity. Companies provide software that can monitor it even if they’re working remotely. However, system and hardware issues can hinder work-from-home employees from completing their work hours. An employee that doesn’t meet their productivity receives a lesser salary, reduces chances for promotion, and possible suspension if they don’t meet the productivity the company requires. Unsurprisingly, CSRs working at home have a considerable resignation rate.

How Can You Help Your Work-From-Home Employees?

As a company, there is little you can do to lessen the pressure your employees feel from their work. However, here are two things you can do to improve their situation:

1. Video Call Coaching

Coaching is a healthy approach to dealing with employee burnout. A supervisor reaches out to an employee to talk privately. Given that the employee works from home, they can still conduct the coaching via video call.

A video call allows a supervisor to meet their employees face to face, which is essential to initiate a genuine conversation. They can ask how the employee feels instead of sanctioning them. It’s also an excellent opportunity for a company to know if its work-from-home policies have specific weaknesses that need improvement.

Video call coaching allows both parties to communicate and work out their lapses, aside from leaving their employees with an impression that they care for their welfare. Reaching out even to those working from home builds trust and may inspire them to work harder.

2. Show Empathy By Giving An Exemption Whenever Possible

Work pressure plays a significant role in employee burnout. Some feel that way because they don’t feel their companies listening to them. As a company, consider giving an exemption when applicable.

For example, suppose an employee fails to meet their week’s required number of hours. What you can do is look for supporting documents that mention an internet service provider (ISP) or power outage. An employee can provide proof like screenshots showing that they couldn’t connect to the internet at that time and an announcement from the power company that there was an outage.

If they do so, excuse them from salary deductions or other sanctions. Better yet, you can also discuss the possibility of offsetting the hours they didn’t work. It can relieve some pressure that an employee feels. Low performance rating is not always because of underperforming employees. If they did their part for the company, they deserve empathy instead of punishment.

Conclusion

The work-from-home setup is favorable to many, but it doesn’t make an employee immune from burnout. Work pressure can make them feel that way. A company can tackle employee burnout effectively by initiating video call coaching while showing empathy whenever possible.