This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Security Business magazine. When sharing, don’t forget to mention @SecBusinessMag!
We are fortunate to work in an industry that genuinely makes a difference. We are in the business of life safety and we do our best to protect our customers from harm day in and day out. Our work is often a matter of life or death, and many of us in the industry work very long hours to keep our customers safe.
This dedication to our meaningful jobs can also take its toll on our personal lives and the personal lives of our employees. We have all heard the popular term “burnout,” and we have all likely felt burned out at some point in our careers. Being burned out is the result of feeling extremely exhausted either physically, emotionally, mentally, or across all three. Stressful work environments that demand long hours away from our families and friends create unhappy, unhealthy people that can no longer perform at their best. These effects are far-reaching, and they also impact the people around them both at work and at home.
You may be thinking, why should I care? We have a job to do and we have no choice but to get things done, no matter how long it takes or how stressful it may be. Here is why you should care:
A recent Gallup survey reports some pretty eye-opening stats: In a survey of 7,500 full-time employees, 23% said they felt burned out more often than not; and an additional 44% said they felt burned out sometimes. If 67% of our workforce is feeling burned out at least sometimes, we have a serious problem, because according to Gallup, burned out employees are:
- 63% more likely to take a sick day;
- Half as likely to discuss how to approach performance goals with their manager;
- 23% more likely to visit the emergency room;
- 2.6 times as likely to leave their current employer; and
- 13% less confident in their performance.
Working in an environment where burnout is common is incredibly less productive than in a healthy environment, where people can perform at their full potential. People taking more sick days and higher employee turnover creates more work for others on top of their already full plates.
As if the negative impacts of turnover on the rest of your team were not enough, according to researchers at Columbia University, it is likely costing your business approximately 150% of that person’s annual salary every time you need to replace someone. Creating an environment that cultivates satisfied, productive employees makes so much more financial sense for your business.
How to Cure Employee Burnout
Recently, I worked with a client that was struggling with short staffing and mandatory overtime – which was creating an excessive number of employees calling in sick, coming in late, overall burnout, and a constant, vicious cycle of terminations and refilling positions. Employee morale was in the basement and a barrage of extremely negative comments on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, made it harder to attract good people.
After some adjustments to roles, training and staffing, morale is now at an all-time high, customer service is through the roof, and the total cost to the company was the addition of three employees. It is crazy how such simple moves can turn a ship!
While I am often hired to come into businesses to help them grow, clean up certain areas and take them into new markets, more often than not, what I find are burned out business owners and leaders, and teams that need more balance. A critical component of setting teams up for success when taking their businesses to the next level is creating a healthy, collaborative environment that functions on all cylinders as a team.
So how do we fix broken environments? First, we do a full business evaluation to understand what works and what does not, where there are bottlenecks, overworked groups or individuals, those simply not pulling their weight, and where investment is needed to reach new goals.
I find that in many cases, we need to start at the top. Many business owners take on too much and do not trust their teams to do the job up to their standards; thus, they do not delegate what they should. They think it is easier to just do it themselves than to spend the time investing in their team to train them properly. This results in an overworked leader who unknowingly creates a culture of distrust. It also results in a leader who can no longer see the forest through the trees because he or she is so focused on putting out every fire – instead of effectively leading and managing the team and business.
Once we understand the areas that need attention, we make the necessary changes. We ensure that the business leaders are focused on running the business, have a better work life balance themselves, and create healthier environments for every team member. This will usually require delegating, training and empowering team members to grow within the business.
Every business is different, but sometimes it means moving people into better roles where they can excel; other times it means adding more team members to reduce unmanageable workloads; or it might mean making some employees available to the industry because they are no longer a good fit for the particular company.
Where to Start
If the previous section resonated with you, I highly recommend taking a step back and truly evaluating your business. Survey your employees and get a sense of how satisfied they are with the company and what the employee burnout percentage looks like. Do your employees feel empowered to make the best decisions for customers and the business? Sometimes you can make a few simple changes that will make all the difference in the world and put the company back into balance.
If you do not know where to start or simply do not have the time because you are stuck in the weeds, bring in a trusted advisor or consultant to help you navigate the process. Investing in yourself, your team and your business can pay dividends in the long run and free up your time so you are not missing the dinners, games, practices, events or even quiet quality time with your loved ones that you can never get back. Do not miss out on all the good things that you work so hard for.
Life is short and fragile. I have yet to walk past a headstone that listed all the hours someone spent at work. Of course, there will always be the inevitable scheduling conflicts with personal events; however, you and your team deserve to get a system in place that makes those the exception and not the rule. Put yourself and your team members first so they can do the same for your customers. The results will be a happier, healthier you, surrounded by much more loyal employees that are able to focus on getting the job done in a collaborative, more productive team culture.
Robert Few is the Managing Partner of The Connection Xchange (TCX), where he works with top security and integration companies as well as MSOs, ISPs and other non-traditional companies looking to enter the connected home and security markets. Over more than 25 years in the industry, he successfully launched and managed the Electronic Security Association’s (ESA) Mentorship Program for several years. Contact him for help in getting a mentorship program started: (201) 838-0091, email [email protected] or visit www.securityinfowatch.com/21111763 to request more info.
