Burnout can cause workers to feel stressed, fatigued, depressed, and disengaged from their jobs or companies. Dissatisfied employees can be detrimental to your organization and can lead to:

• Poor performance
• Decreased productivity
• Absenteeism
• Employee turnover

Understanding the causes, risk factors, and solutions for combating employee burnout can help you re-engage and retain your workforce and empower your team members to perform to their potential.

What causes burnout at work?

Several factors can cause employees to feel dissatisfied with their jobs or workplaces. Some of the most common factors for burnout include:

• A lack of autonomy over a job or position
• No clear path to advancement within an organization
• Working long or excessive hours
• An unmanageable workload
• Unclear or unrealistic expectations
• Dysfunctional workplace dynamics
• Lack of social support
• Work-life imbalance

Age, demographics, and lifestyle can also be indicators of burnout, including:

• Gender: Based on a Women in the Workplace report, women are more likely to experience burnout than men. 42% of women reported feeling burned out often or almost always in 2021 compared to 35% of men.
• Working parents: 47% of working mothers of young children felt burned out often or almost always compared to 38% of fathers of young children.
• The current state of work: Based on data from McKinsey, the lack of a hybrid work plan is 2.9 times more likely to result in moderate to high levels of burnout in employees.
• Lack of support from leadership: Employees who don’t feel supported by managers are 70% more likely to experience burnout.

4 Ways to Tackle Burnout in the Workplace

Understanding the risk factors that can lead to burnout is essential to help you anticipate where it may occur. Organizations must take a holistic, proactive approach to prevent burnout and improve employee engagement and well-being. 

Here are four focus areas to support your employees who are experiencing burnout.

1. Prioritize employees’ mental health.

It’s more important than ever to prioritize mental health in the workplace. Based on Corporate Wellness magazine’s 2022 State of Workforce Mental Health report, 31% of workers surveyed said their mental health has declined over the past year—up from 24% at the end of 2020.

Mental health issues like stress and anxiety can lead to burnout, decreased productivity, and employee turnover. But prioritizing mental health isn’t just HR’s responsibility. Leadership and management can get on board as well.

• Open the lines of communication. Encourage managers to regularly check in with team members and discuss workload, responsibilities, goals, and well-being.

• Offer mental health benefits. Help employees get the support they need by offering a robust benefits package that includes mental health care. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey, 39% of employers have updated their health plans since the start of the pandemic to expand access to mental health services.

• Promote mindfulness. The workday can be stressful, but it’s crucial to find ways to encourage employees to slow down and take time to pause for breaks. Plan activities that help employees unplug and regroup.

2. Support work-life balance.

The term work-life balance gets thrown around often, but it’s a genuine concern for employees. We spend more than 81,000 hours working during our lifetime, so employees must unplug and recharge during their time off.

• Remind employees to take breaks. Team members may feel rushed to finish everything, but breaks can help with focus and productivity. Robert Pozen, senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and author of Extreme Productivity: Boost Your Results, Reduce Your Hours, recommends taking a break every 75 to 90 minutes.

• Be generous with paid time off. If you want employees to be engaged and productive during work, you must give them the time they need outside of work, and data shows this is a priority for team members. A 2019 employee benefits study shows that 72% of workers value PTO. 

• Manage workloads. Talk to team members about their responsibilities. If they feel overwhelmed, help them solve problems, prioritize, and delegate when possible.

3. Recognize employees for their efforts.

Team members can feel disconnected from the workplace when they aren’t valued or appreciated. Recognition for good work is the most important aspect of the work environment for 37% of employees according to one survey.

Managers and leaders need to show their appreciation for team members. There are many ways to recognize employees, but these efforts must be genuine and sincere.

Here are some ways to show appreciation:

• Give out thank you cards, and encourage employees to write them for coworkers.
• Celebrate milestones like anniversaries, promotions, goals, and quotas.
• Recognize great work and effort in company-wide messaging apps like Slack and Teams and in all-hands meetings.
• Offer rewards like gift cards and cash incentives.
• Plan team happy hours, outings, and employee appreciation events.

You should also ask employees about the best ways to help them feel appreciated. Send out an anonymous survey, and use the results to plan activities or initiatives to help the team feel recognized and valued.

4. Offer Learning and Development Opportunities

According to Glint’s 2021 Employee Well-Being Report, opportunities to learn and grow are the top driver of positive work culture.

Continuous learning and development can help employees succeed in their current roles, advance to more senior positions, and feel more engaged. There are some key ways to promote L&D in the workplace.

• Start with onboarding. Show new employees you’re invested in their growth and success. Help them acclimate to their roles and the company. But don’t stop there; talk to new hires about their professional goals, create an action plan, and schedule regular check-in meetings to hold them accountable and help them succeed.

• Promote ongoing skill development. Employees are in their current roles because of their skill sets, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to upskill and reskill. The job market is constantly changing, technology is evolving, and you must continue developing employees’ skills to increase their job satisfaction and maintain a competitive advantage.

Your people are your organization’s most important asset and when you are invested and caringly in touch with your people, you create an unstoppable team.

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Dental practices are increasingly recognizing the significance of soft skills as a key differentiator in building high-functioning teams. In this article, we explore the importance of soft skills in the workplace and how they contribute to individual and organizational success.

Defining Soft Skills:

Soft skills refer to a set of interpersonal, communication, and personal attributes that enable individuals to interact effectively and harmoniously with others. Unlike hard or technical skills, which are job-specific and teachable, soft skills encompass a broader range of traits that contribute to personal and professional development. Examples of soft skills include communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and time management.

#1 – Enhancing Communication

Clear and effective communication is fundamental in the dental industry. Soft skills such as active listening, clarity in expression, and empathy are essential for fostering transparent communication between dental professionals and patients. Dental professionals with strong communication skills can articulate treatment plans, address patient concerns, and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues, leading to improved patient satisfaction and practice efficiency.

Moreover, effective communication plays a crucial role in building trust and rapport with patients. By actively listening to their needs and concerns, dental professionals can create a supportive environment where patients feel heard and understood. This not only enhances the overall patient experience but also contributes to better treatment outcomes and long-term patient loyalty.

#2 – Building Strong Teams

Teamwork is an essential component of achieving collective goals.  Soft skills like collaboration, conflict resolution, and interpersonal effectiveness contribute to the creation of a positive team culture. Dental professionals who excel in these areas can navigate diverse perspectives, work cohesively, and contribute their unique strengths to the team. A harmonious team environment, fueled by strong soft skills, fosters creativity, innovation, and a sense of belonging.

When individuals feel valued and supported within the team, they are more likely to collaborate effectively and leverage their skills for the collective good. By continually nurturing these essential soft skills, dental professionals can create a positive and thriving team dynamic that paves the way for excellence in patient care and professional growth.

#3 – Adapting to Change

In the dynamic landscape of dental practices, soft skills like adaptability and resilience are necessary for dental professionals to navigate uncertainties and embrace change constructively. Individuals possessing these skills can confront new challenges head-on, assimilate new knowledge swiftly, and pivot when circumstances demand it. This adaptability is essential for dental practices to remain competitive amidst evolving industry landscapes.

Being adaptable means being open to learning new techniques, being flexible in your approach to patient care, and being willing to step out of your comfort zone to try innovative solutions. It also involves being resilient in the face of setbacks, bouncing back from challenges, and staying positive even when things may not go as planned.

#4 – Enhancing Problem-Solving

Soft skills contribute significantly to an individual’s problem-solving capabilities. Critical thinking, creativity, and decision-making skills are vital for addressing complex challenges. Dental professionals who possess strong problem-solving skills can analyze situations, propose innovative solutions, and make informed decisions, contributing to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

Furthermore, enhancing problem-solving abilities through these soft skills not only benefits the individual but also elevates team dynamics. When team members excel in problem-solving, they can collaborate better, share diverse perspectives, and collectively work towards achieving common goals. This collaborative problem-solving approach fosters a supportive and innovative work environment where challenges are seen as opportunities for growth and development.

#5 – Cultivating Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, another key soft skill, involves understanding and managing one’s emotions and empathizing with the emotions of others. Employees with high emotional intelligence can navigate interpersonal relationships effectively, resolve conflicts, and provide support to colleagues. This skill is particularly valuable in leadership roles, where the ability to inspire and motivate a team is crucial for success.

Moreover, cultivating emotional intelligence fosters a more positive work environment, promoting collaboration and open communication among team members. As individuals strive to enhance their emotional intelligence, they not only benefit personally but also contribute to the overall success and well-being of their workplace.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while technical expertise and qualifications retain their significance in dental practices, the importance of soft skills is increasingly acknowledged for both individual and organizational triumph. The capacity to communicate effectively, collaborate seamlessly, adapt to change, solve problems creatively, and handle emotions adeptly is crucial in today’s fast-paced and competitive dental environment.

Dental employers should prioritize the nurturing and evaluation of soft skills in their recruitment procedures and ongoing professional development strategies to foster resilient, high-performing teams capable of addressing the challenges inherent in the dental profession.

Our training programs at Intouch Global are carefully crafted to help you develop essential soft skills that are crucial for personal and professional growth. All our programs are rooted in Christian values. 

With so many demands on our time, it can be challenging to balance work, family, and personal responsibilities. Effective time management is the key to achieving your goals, reducing stress, and improving your overall quality of life. 

Here are 15 practical time management tips that you can use to make the most of your time and achieve your goals. We hope this helps!

1. Prioritize your tasks: Make a list of all the tasks that you need to complete and prioritize them according to their importance and urgency. This will help you focus on the most important tasks first.

2. Set goals: Set clear, specific goals for yourself and break them down into smaller, achievable tasks. This will help you stay focused and motivated.

3. Create a schedule: Make a daily or weekly schedule that includes time for work, exercise, family time, and other important activities. 

4. Use a timer: Set a timer for each task to help you stay focused and avoid distractions.

5. Take breaks: Take short breaks between tasks to help you stay energized and to keep your mind refreshed.

6. Avoid multitasking: Multitasking can be counterproductive. Instead, focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention.

7. Eliminate distractions: Turn off your phone notifications, close unnecessary tabs on your computer, and find a quiet place to work.

8. Delegate tasks: If possible, delegate tasks to others to help lighten your workload.

9. Learn to say no: Saying no to non-essential tasks and activities can help you stay focused on what’s important.

10. Review and reflect: Take some time at the end of each day or week to review what you’ve accomplished and reflect on what you could improve. This will help you stay on track and make adjustments as needed.

11. Keep your workspace organized: A cluttered workspace can be distracting and can make it difficult to find what you need. Take some time to organize your workspace so that everything is in its place.

12. Take care of yourself: It’s important to take care of your physical and mental health in order to be productive. Make sure that you’re getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and taking breaks to rest and recharge. Be intentional in setting a time to holiday your mind away from the day-to-day happenings 

13. Use a planner: A planner can help you stay organized and keep track of your schedule. Use it to plan out your day, week, or month in advance. For Digital planning, use Google Calendar, and view it at the start of each day for awareness of your schedule. You can also use it to send calendar reminders and calendar invites for meetings.

14. Manage Overwhelm: Use Intouch Global’s EET DERT conversational structure to identify and replace unhelpful thinking when you’re feeling down, stressed or overwhelmed. Sharing with a friend helps, but don’t empower the problems by talking about them too much, talk about the good things and solutions. Always remind yourself of what you are grateful for, even having eyes that can read this.

15. Avoid procrastination: Procrastination can be a major barrier to effective time management. Identify the reasons why you’re procrastinating, and take steps to overcome them.

Gallup reveals that 59% of millennials, 44% of Gen X and 41% of Baby Boomers say they want opportunities to learn and grow. 

Generational Definitions

Looking at millennials, they deeply care about their development when looking for jobs. Stats from Gallup and others show 87% of millennials rate “professional or career growth and development opportunities as important to them in a job”

Top 3 Factors in Retaining Millennials

#1 LEARNING

They want to learn and grow in their jobs. Only 39% said they had learned something new in the past 30 days.

#2 EMPOWERMENT

They want to be empowered and expand their knowledge and skills, they want to be useful and they want their workplace to have meaning to them.

#3 CAREER DEVELOPMENT

They want development from their managers that find ways to invest in their futures. Millennials don’t want to wait to be given development opportunities, they don’t want to have to earn it.

What You Can Do

1.Hone their skills and coach them to become the best workers they can be.

2.Understanding each person’s best way of learning is very important! 

3.Provide learning through a variety of ways like visual, audio, in-person demo, reading, etc.

4.Provide task variations so they have new responsibilities and tasks that allow them to expand their own knowledge.

5.Handing over the reigns for them to help plan an event, or speak to the group, do a presentation, builds them and empowers them. 

6.Having them involved in more formalized learning is also important. In-house, on-site training is good!

7.Changing a role can be very empowering and engaging, yet without a discussion about how a role change meets their development, it can have an adverse effect.

Gallup discovered that 93% of millennials left their company after they changed their job roles, why? Because they may have believed they had little to no opportunity for their growth.

How to Keep Millennials Engaged

This is where engaging conversations of relations building, understanding them, listening to them with a helpful leadership approach will help.

Many workers do not open to discuss things with their manager, unless they feel comfortable and valued. 

According to studies, about 29% of millennials agree they feel comfortable discussing life outside of work with their manager, this can open doors to discuss their job roles. 

Managers need to have a good model to communicate effectively, with caring and thoughtful conversations. Some workers may have different career ideas for their futures and be adverse to discussion with their manager.

With a trusted and engaging conversations focused on helping the worker, they will begin to trust the manager and open up.

Such empowering and caring conversations can deeply help them understand that they are important & have a significant place in the company.

EVP is gaining high recognition to engage, attract and retain people in your business whilst lifting the organization’s branding. Alongside an effective people communications structure, it’s going to put your business into Surpetition.

Like USPs (Unique Selling Propositions) your unique EVPs (Employee Value Proposition) and other opportunities and benefits that you offer can separate you and attract the right people to your business.

In this topic, we’ll dive deeper into what an EVP is, why it matters, and how companies can develop and implement an effective EVP to attract, retain, and engage top talent.

What is an EVP (Employee Value Proposition)?

An EVP is a set of tangible and intangible rewards that an organization promises to deliver to its employees in exchange for their time, skills, and expertise. The employee will be trying to identify the experience and benefits of working with your business. 

It’s an essential tool for creating a strong employer brand, enhancing employee engagement, and improving overall organizational performance. An effective EVP is tailored to the needs and preferences of the organization’s employees and reflects the organization’s values, culture, and strategic objectives.

The EVP can also show the reason why other employees are aligned and happy to work there and how this attracts new people. 

It’s a two-street, both parties offer benefits.

Benefits of Having an EVP:

Imagine a team of people that want to be there, want to help build the business together and are all aligned. Knowing the EVPs helps engage and grow your people and business organically into a culture that attracts others.

An engaged workforce is more likely to produce better outcomes in less time in terms of work efficiency. Research done by Gallup shows that the teams that stay in touch with one another are 21% more productive than those that do not.

Having a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP) can offer numerous benefits for a business, including:

• Attracting top talent
• Retaining employees
• Better performance 
• Higher efficiencies
• Lifting profits & growth 
• Enjoyable workplaces
• Enhancing employer brand
• Reduced re-employment costs 
• Higher client retention & loyalty

Organizations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%.

Some EVP Elements Include:

• Company’s Mission, Vision, Values 
• Employee Salary
• Career Development & Training. Coaching and learning are essential for most. Promotions and other opportunities are highly important to those looking to future years in your company
• Stability can mean safety in both physical and mental well-being, and predictable and agreed work hours.
• Respect, putting other people first from leaders inspires internal motivation from everyone and are proven to help retain people, McKinsey research shows uninspiring leaders were one of the top reasons for the loss of employees.
• Employee Well-being
• Work-Life Balance is a large subject at the moment – see this report: EY Work Reimagined 2022 Survey (most employees want 80% remote, 2 – 3 days a week)
• Rewards, other areas include paid time off, maternity leave and time out as needed.

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Employee disengagement can be a silent menace that can negatively impact productivity, morale, and overall organizational success. Recognizing the signs of disengagement is crucial for employers and managers to take timely action and prevent further deterioration.

In this article, we will explore 12 warning signs that indicate an employee may be disengaged in their work. By understanding these signs, you can proactively address the underlying issues and implement effective strategies to re-engage your employees, fostering a more positive and productive work environment.

#1 Withdrawal

Employees who are disengaged will withdraw from any non-necessary conversations or activities. They also tend to only do the minimum to get by, will decrease their productivity and no longer give discretionary effort.
HOW TO RESPOND: HR can meet with disengaged employees to attempt to find out why this is occurring and, if needed, coach leaders about how to increase employee engagement.

#2 Poor Communication

Observable signs of disengagement include lack of participation in team or one-on-one meetings or in “the meeting after the meeting,” where employees meet separately to process and communicate what should have been shared in team meetings.
HOW TO RESPOND: Regular pulse surveys provide insightful data that can be used to proactively address concerns with managers and individuals.

#3 Breaks From Routine

When patterns change — a vocal person in meetings is now quiet, or a star performer’s deadlines slip — it’s worth taking a closer look.
HOW TO RESPOND: When someone exhibits change, it’s time to inspect and open up a dialogue for explanatory insight.

#4 Silence

One prominent sign of disengagement is silence — on team calls, over email or in missed meetings altogether.
HOW TO RESPOND: If an employee seems distant, take immediate steps to connect with them one-on-one. Make yourself available to chat. Find out what drives them and coach them toward their goals. Encourage team members to also reach out and provide support.

#5 An Apathetic Approach

Observable signs of apathy could be unwillingness to engage in healthy debate, just not caring enough to present or defend their ideas, not fulfilling their commitments (doing what they said they would do), and not being willing to be accountable.

#6 Absenteeism

Because there are many reasons why employees can be gone from work, we don’t often look at absenteeism as a sign of disengagement. The truth is, really engaged employees will find a way to be at work.

HOW TO RESPOND: Organizations should look at absenteeism as an opportunity to have a caring dialogue and ask, “What’s going on?” Maybe it is just a cold, or maybe there is something more.

#7 Complacency

A clear sign of employee disengagement is complacency. Managers and employees need to have two-way, honest dialogues about performance, expectations and overall attitude before full disengagement ever becomes an issue.
HOW TO RESPOND: There are a number of factors for feeling complacent, but through honest discussions, great leaders can help discover the root cause and come up with a realistic solution.

#8 A Decline In Work Quality; Missed Deadlines

Two of the most obvious signs of disengagement are a decline in work quality or output and regularly showing up late or missing deadlines.
HOW TO RESPOND: When these become persistent, HR should approach the employee as soon as possible to determine the causes. If it’s the result of disengagement, management should work with him or her to determine what is necessary for re-engagement.

#9 Exhaustion, Cynicism, Inefficiency

Disengagement can stem from prolonged burnout, which manifests as exhaustion, cynicism and inefficiency. These employees might have been highly engaged at one point but didn’t have the tools to preserve their well-being.
HOW TO RESPOND: Explain how well-being can impact their ability to recover from their burnout. Encourage managers to adjust workloads when someone has been going full throttle for too long.

#10 Lack Of Participation

Disengagement can show up as disinterest in participating.
HOW TO RESPOND: Leaders can respond by ensuring employees have a reason to, and know how to, engage. Leaders can co-create goals that are meaningful, measurable and achievable, but with some degree of difficulty, and can clarify connections of goals to the success of the company. Leaders can share role models of expected behavior and celebrate success.

#11 Naysaying

One telltale sign is that an employee becomes disenchanted with the organization and acts out that disenchantment by frequently naysaying new ideas and opportunities related to driving the business forward.
HOW TO RESPOND: At the first sign of an issue, the manager should involve HR to help discover the root cause and work to correct the course of relations.

#12 Rudeness

Everyone has trying days, but to become curt with other coworkers or clients can be a big sign. It could actually be boredom or that an employee is not feeling heard, which may cause little effort in the workplace.
HOW TO RESPOND: Try holding a meeting and letting them speak frankly. From those meetings, conclusions could be mentorship opportunities, ongoing training or special project work they are interested in.