Harvard Business Review provided a simple definition of productivity:
So when burnout is thrown into the equation, it looks like employees’ work being produced at a lower level and/or it taking longer to produce their work.
But, it’s not just that one employee who suffers. It’s everyone around the burnt-out employee and even the new people, once they leave. It’s a ripple effect.
Let’s start off with the middle of the ripple.
Current (Burnt-Out) Employee
This is usually the main focus of burnout topics, the individual experiencing the issue. Burnout has three components: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. A burnt-out employee is tired and takes longer to complete their work. They have negative feelings towards their work and that negativity shows up in their final product. They think they can’t do the work and they’re right because their mindset has set them up for failure.
This is at least 4-6 months of diminished productivity and position vacancy directly related to employee burnout. Depending on the organization and the individual, getting to burnout can take months to a few years meaning a slowly decreasing level of productivity.
Co-workers of the Burnt-out Employee
When a team member begins to display these traits it impacts the workplace because of how well produce and long they take to do their work. So, co-workers who depend on that employee are now impacted too.
Co-workers bear the burden of filling in the gap for others’ lack of productivity causing them to have an increase in workload resulting in them being burnt out themselves. Now they become the burnt-out employee impacting others resulting in a constant revolving door of employees, an inability to maintain any organizational knowledge, and employees who are unable to master their role and make a significant impact.
New Employee (Replacement of the Burnt-out Employee)
Side Note:
Burnout is a symptom of cultural problems within an organization. There are individuals who are more prone to or more resilient from experiencing burnout than others. But if burnout and high turnover rates are a recurring theme in an organization, then it’s time to be honest and look at the organizational culture in the mirror.
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