5 Top Tips to avoid ‘Leadership Burnout’ this Christmas

‘Burnout’ is now officially recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an ‘occupational phenomenon’. They are now working on guidelines to help organisations develop strategies to avoid the negative effects on employee wellbeing. Worldwide, 615 million people suffer from depression and anxiety, hand in hand comes the massive associated costs too. So, lets start with you, as a leader, you may be feeling the pressure with the inevitable Christmas close-down looming as you frantically try and get stuff done! So that you won’t be sneaking off from family to check e-mails on Boxing day, here’s EM Coaching’s ‘5 Top Tips’ to see you successfully into 2020:

 

1. Get stuff done. This week set the conditions to ‘hit the ground running’ in the new year. Give it one last push to get that report done or finish off that piece of work that’s been looming over you. That way, you can truly rest and recuperate over Christmas (without worrying about it) and not have it waiting for you when you land back at your desk in January.

 

2. Take some time for you. Over the Christmas period, set some time aside for you. Go for a walk, a run, listen to that audio book, go for coffee but unless you really have to, stay off the laptop! If you take a work laptop home, it’s tempting to ‘just quickly log on’ to check your e-mails but you can guarantee you’ll be sapped back into stress and anxiety mode before you know it. Tell people when you’re going offline and set your ‘Out of Office’, that way, there’s no doubt that you’re taking your well-deserved time off. You would expect that of your team so why not allow it for yourself!

 

3. Take time to reflect. What went well? What went not so well? Don’t dwell on it or beat yourself up about it, just reflect on it, learn from it and move on. Make note of it for the new year and ensure you apply the positive changes that might need to be made.

 

4. Root Cause. Are the conditions right in your workplace? If you’re suffering, then how is that affecting your team? R&R is a well-known successful way of taking care of our mental health but is there a deep-rooted cause of your work stress? This might be something to address in the new year to ensure you maintain that high productivity.

 

5. Christmas is a time for sharing. Show your team you care. Everyone likes to be told something nice, especially when they’re feeling in the festive cheer of Christmas, so share some good news with them. If your team have done a great job, don’t be afraid to stand up and give them a pat on the back. You could thank them individually or as a group, either way it will have a positive effect on their wellbeing, as well as yours. Try it! Remind them to have fun and enjoy their family time, just like you will be. Be sure to let them know what’s happening in the new year to look forward to, so they come back ‘guns blazing’, just like you!

 

Have a restful, peaceful and fabulous Christmas break, you deserve it!

 

Love EM Coaching. x