In an ideal work environment, you will only be working on one project at a time. But sometimes, it is unavoidable to take on several projects to ensure growth. However, handling more than one project at a time often creates a highly stressful environment.В
As a result, there is a real risk of employee burnout among project teams. To ensure project success and achieve good outcomes, you need to be aware of the state of your team and understand how to improve their productivity while implementing ways to prevent burnout.В
Burnout is the state of emotional, physical or mental exhaustion that happens when you are exposed to long-term stressful situations. Burnout is much worse than ordinary fatigue. It makes coping with normal amounts of stress and handling day-to-day tasks very challenging.
Most common causes that contribute to burnout while working on projectsВ
The business world is constantly changing, and it can be very challenging to keep up with this pace. Burnout is often seen as a symptom of ever-evolving and fast-paced businesses. Adding to this, are the advancements in technology that makes it possible to work longer hours and work on more projects simultaneously. In the process, these aspects blur the lines between personal and professional lives.В
Some of the most common causes of burnout among team members while working on projects include:В
- Having unrealistic deadlinesВ
- Uneven distribution of workloadsВ
- Poor communication between team membersВ
- Lack of support and guidanceВ
What are the signs of burnout?
Researchers have identified three main symptoms of burnout:
- Exhaustion
Having no energy and poor memory, and getting sick often.
- Alienation
Becoming isolated, having negative perspectives and outlooks, and neglecting yourself.
- Reduced Performance
Missing deadlines, experiencing procrastination, and not being able to concentrate.
Burnout in the workplace typically creeps in subtly, over time, affecting workers in ways they almost don’t notice. Workers who experience burnout are three times more likely to have an increased risk of experiencing depression and eventually leaving the workplace. This outcome leads to a major loss of skill for businesses.В
This is why it’s so important to find effective ways to avoid burnout, especially when having to work on multiple projects at a time.В
How to avoid burnoutВ
Experts believe that experiencing some stress can be good as it helps us meet daily challenges and motivates us to reach our goals. And while some stress may be unavoidable, burnout is totally preventable.В
Here are a few steps that can be implemented to help thwart stress from turning into burnout:
- Better planning
Managing stress effectively revolves a lot around planning ahead. Many unpleasant surprises that happen during project life cycles are caused by insufficient planning. With no predictability, it’s easy for teams to get caught up in situations that they did not expect. Missed tasks can contribute to stress if it’s not accounted for.
- Setting realistic expectations
The resources used on projects must be treated with respect. This includes having realistic expectations for the work they can perform. Resources include talent, structures, processes and tools. Understanding the challenges and pitfalls that may arise during a project’s life cycle is also important to set realistic expectations for how your resources can perform.В
- Analyzing priorities
One of the most common reasons why many people experience burnout while working on multiple projects is that they fail to prioritize their tasks effectively. They usually focus on the wrong things and end up neglecting the most vital tasks. It’s essential to prioritize tasks for each project right at the start, and then evaluate their importance throughout the life cycle of each project. Constantly reprioritizing tasks are key.
- Delegating effectively
Fulfilling the responsibilities of scheduling tasks, managing budgets, and engaging with stakeholders for one person can be exhausting and can quickly become a burnout threat. Therefore, it’s important to learn the art of delegation and divide duties fairly among competent team members and departments.В
- Recognizing limits
It’s normal to want to tackle many ambitious projects at once. While it’s true that completing projects brings in more profits, it doesn’t mean you should let your ambitions get the better of you. To prevent burnout, you have to say no when you deem a project too difficult for you or your team. Even if it’s a project you’ve been wanting to work on for a while, it’s not worth the trouble of putting everyone through enormous amounts of stress. It’s better to gradually work towards more and bigger projects over time.В
- Getting help from expertsВ
You must realize when workloads become too much or when certain tasks are too complex for your or your team’s specific skill set or experience. This is when it is time to get in the help of experts.В
The Final WordВ
To keep up in a highly competitive business environment, it is not uncommon to try and launch several projects at once. This often leads to setting unrealistic goals and schedules, which results in working overtime with insufficient resources. This ongoing scramble often leads to poorly executed projects and burnout.В
The best way to fix burnout is to avoid it. However, this can be difficult. Therefore, it is key to understand and be aware of the effect that burnout can have. By being able to recognize the signs of burnout and its causes, and taking steps to prevent it, you can maintain an efficient team that continues to perform well.
