5 Tips to Increase Motivation and Decrease Burnout

In the last six months, we have heard from most of our clients that they are experiencing staffing shortages and their executives, managers, and employees are close to burnout due to the increased workloads. This has been coined ‘The Great Resignation.’ But we prefer “The Great Reshuffling” as employees did not resign and retire. They are still in the workforce; they just resigned from their current job and immediately went to another. In many of our surveys and coaching sessions, we hear from managers and employees that they are understaffed due to the number of staff leaving and having to train new staff members. All result in higher workloads, stress, and the potential for burnout. When employees experience burnout, absenteeism increases while engagement decreases, which can devastate companies.

To ensure staff does not become burned out in their jobs, leaders must take preemptive steps to increase motivation and engagement among their current employees. Below are five tips that can increase motivation and, thus, increase employee retention at organizations when understaffed.

1 – Connection to the Goals. Help employees see how their job connects to the overall goals and objectives of the organization. We know when employees can see how their job goals connect to the organization’s overall goals and objectives, they experience higher levels of engagement. When employees have increased workloads and are bordering on burnout, it is easy for them to forget why they applied for the job in the first place. If leaders can help employees connect the organization’s mission and vision, their job and the overall goals, it may spark that same drive to succeed when they first started at the company.

2 – Truly Valued. Nothing motivates and engages employees more than truly feeling valued for their contribution to the organization. When things are busy and managers are just trying to keep everything moving in the right direction, it is hard to remember to recognize employees for their efforts. We hear managers tell us, “They know I value them. I don’t need to say it.” Nothing can be further than the truth. Employees do need to know they did a good job, that you appreciate their extra effort, and additional hours, or that they had a great idea. Remember, recognition is a habit. The more you do it, the easier it gets, and the more you will see things to recognize. To start, try to recognize one employee each day. After a few weeks, it will become part of your leadership style and second nature. Then, you can see their motivation rise.

3 – Be Transparent. Open communication is a key driver of employee engagement. When employees feel that the senior leaders are accessible, communicate regularly, and care about the employees, employees feel more connected and loyal to the organization. We call it the loyalty connection. To help with this, leaders at all levels in the organization must ensure they are practicing open communication, support staff, deliver the messages from senior leaders and get out of their office to connect with staff as much as possible. The senior leaders also need to be accessible for employees and their managers as much as possible.

4 – Show You Care. Take a personal interest in your employees. When employees don’t have a good connection with their leaders, we hear employees say they don’t feel their manager listens to their concerns or cares about them. If employees feel burned out from their workload, having a boss who doesn’t actively listen can exacerbate the situation. Leaders don’t need to become friends with their employees, and we suggest they don’t. But, it is important for leaders to show an interest in employees’ lives to show they care and value them outside of their skill set. Doing so will increase organizational commitment and motivation.

5 – Mental Breaks. When you are working hard and you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, a small mental break can help. As employees become mentally and/or physically drained, it is time to take a break. Encourage employees to either schedule PTO, or, during the day, go for a short walk in the fresh air or have a quick chat about the weekend or an upcoming event. This will turn their attention away from their computer screen for a short bit and can help regain focus. It seems small, but it can help.

During rough patches when companies are understaffed, it is an arduous task to keep the existing employees engaged and motivated when they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. In order to keep the employees happy and motivated, follow the tips above to help reduce burnout and increase employees’ commitment to your organization.