Senior leaders are not spared from rising cases of burnout in the corporate world. A survey conducted by ExecOnline revealed that 72% of senior leaders feel burned out at work. Though the majority of these leaders report being “somewhat” or “slightly” burned out, leaders should immediately address their condition, no matter the severity of their case.
It can be challenging to address leadership burnout when focusing on multiple responsibilities at work. If you want to strike a balance between the two, here are some strategies that can help you out.
Learn How To Set Boundaries At Work
Professionals usually experience burnout when they take on more tasks than they can handle at work. Unfortunately, this practice is common among leaders who want to ensure the success of their team.
Though it’s great to take initiative, you can burn yourself out and create conflict within your workplace if you take on too many tasks. Creating boundaries at work is crucial; being upfront about your needs and availability will help others learn how to interact with you.
These boundaries could be practices like not responding to emails after work hours or saying no to tasks that are outside your scope of responsibilities.
Make Your Work Schedule More Sustainable
Aside from setting boundaries, you can also adjust your schedule to make more room for rest while still being able to get things done. This adjustment ensures that you’re not compromising your professional responsibilities for your self-care practices, and vice versa.
EHS Today recommends that you stick to a consistent starting and stopping point each day to avoid working more hours than needed. You can also squeeze frequent breaks into your busy schedule so that you can meditate, go for a walk, or take a nap.
Through these adjustments, you can slowly address your stress and prevent burnout from happening again in the future.
Strike A Balance By Delegating Your Tasks
You can also make your work schedule more flexible and sustainable by delegating tasks to other team members. However, you should only add extra responsibilities to team members with less busy schedules to avoid putting them at risk for burnout.
If the plates of your team members are already full, consider hiring an administrative assistant that can support you with your tasks.
Seek Professional Help For Burnout
You can also ask for help with your burnout by consulting with mental health professionals. These experts can serve as a listening ear or even provide solutions to help you address the root causes of your burnout at work.
You can also consider hiring a corporate psychologist for your organization, especially if you’ve noticed a high burnout rate among your staff. Psychology Today states that corporate psychologists can support leaders experiencing burnout due to increasing demands and expectations. These professionals can also guide you in supporting the well-being of your subordinates to ensure that they won't experience burnout.
You have to start caring for yourself, even if you’re just starting to feel burned out from your role. Try these strategies that can help you combat burnout while leading your team before it’s too late.
