Millennial Burnout: How to Encourage Employee Work/Life Balance
Seeing signs of Millennial Burnout in your employees? Here’s how to help them foster a better work/life balance for increased happiness (and productivity!).
Something’s got to give. Debt, working more hours, and job security worries have become the norm. Throw in the pressure of being a parent and a pinch of social media anxiety, and it’s not hard to see why employees could be about to burn out.
The solution? Take some advice from the Swedish model. Sweden’s been a trailblazer in the promotion of a healthy work-life balance. It’s adopted ideas to stop millennial burnout. The result? Happier and more productive staff. Here’s how.
Make Breaks Compulsory
It’s all about changing the culture. There’s a perception amongst many millennials that managers may frown upon breaks. The longer you stay at your desk, the better, right? In fact, that’s wrong.
Almost one in five workers worry managers won’t think they work hard if they take regular lunch breaks. Hardly surprising as that’s the perception of a lot of bosses, many of whom don’t encourage workers to take breaks.
The truth is that this kind of ‘work till you drop’ mentality is not effective. It’s also unhealthy. The way to change things is by example, and that starts at the top.
Why Taking Time out Is Important
It may seem counterintuitive, but taking regular breaks actually increases productivity. Breaks help employees gain focus, and they’ll return to work more energized.
A quick walk or even a short workout reduces stress and improves mental wellbeing. Workers also gain a fresh perspective on difficult projects. They’ll feel more valued too as they’ll feel rewarded for the hard work they’re doing.
All this means better job satisfaction and a stronger likelihood that the employer will be able to retain its staff.
What Employers Should Do
Employees need somewhere to go to take their breaks. That means providing them with a pleasant and quiet space to use. Employers should offer workers incentives to take breaks and should communicate the benefits of taking time out.
What you don’t want to find happening is that employees use their break time to scroll through web chats. For some companies, social media may well play an important part in certain roles but not during downtime.
Shorter Working Hours
Sweden and other countries in northern Europe have experimented in reducing daily working hours for the same pay. Such a move might leave workaholics aghast but there is a logic and results have been positive.
It’s hard to concentrate for eight hours but a shorter working day lets employees be more focused. It can also encourage them to get things done faster. Add to that more leisure time and you could end up with a more efficient and happier staff.
Employers Can Help Reduce Millennial Burnout
Reducing millennial burnout in the workforce may mean creating a different culture. Employers need to encourage workers to take breaks and to make the best use of them. Exercise during breaks is a great way to reduce stress and boost energy.
Find out more here about how millennials in their thirties can make a successful career change.
