12 minute read
FYI and the boss
Three ways To prevenT employee burnouT
Different ways executives can prevent employee burnout and promote wellness within their new digital environment.
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Employee burnout has become common, but it’s a huge threat to your organisation. According to a 2018 Gallup poll, about two-thirds of workers experience burnout, and these employees are more likely to take sick days and look for new jobs. And even if these employees do show up, they exhibit lower confidence and engagement at work.
Leaders need to take steps to prevent employee burnout and promote wellness. Here are three ways to make that happen.
1.
Empower employees with control over their technology
According to occupational psychologist Cary Cooper, employees who feel they have no control or autonomy in their workplace are likely to get a stress-related illness - and the overload of new technology is a major factor. The average business worker uses 9.4 different applications for daily work. Every time they have to switch apps, they’re spending valuable mental energy on adjusting to a new context. Add this stress to the fact that many employees have no say in which apps and devices they use to do their work, and you have a fast track to burnout. To address this: Empower employees to choose the technology they use to get work done. For example, defining secure but flexible bring your own device (BYOD) policies for your office allows your employees to control which devices they use for work. It’s also helpful to leverage technology that integrates with the familiar consumer apps your workers know and like to use. Finally, look at workspace technology that brings all essential business apps together in one interface. This minimises context switching between applications to help employees focus.
2.
Deploy technology that reduces distraction by automating routine tasks
By the time you reached this section, there’s a good chance something interrupted you. Whether it was an invitation to a meeting, an expense report in need of your signature, or a Slack message in a company-wide channel, you probably didn’t get to this paragraph without something else vying for your attention. These distractions happen every day, but they come with a mental price: employees who experience frequent interruptions report a 9 percent higher exhaustion rate, and make significantly
more errors than employees who aren’t interrupted. These are classic symptoms of burnout.
While it’s impossible to eliminate all interruptions from your workplace, remember not all interruptions are equally important. To address this: By deploying the right technology, you can screen out nonessential interruptions using settings that eliminate notifications from Slack, email, or calendar updates during certain work times. New developments in machine-learning and AI also make it possible to automate low-value tasks like RSVPing to calendar invites or approving expense reports. These technologies help prevent the distractions that lead to burnout and hurt your employees’ engagement.
3.
Schedule weekly whitespace time for all employees
Even when you’ve taken steps to give employees more control and protect them from distractions at work, an “always on” work culture can still cause widespread burnout. “Always on” workplaces expect employees to tightly schedule all their work time, want them to answer messages promptly at any time of day, and ensure their workload is always close to max capacity. According to Quartz, 67 percent of employees believe being “always on” has a significant negative impact on their health and wellness, which explains why “always on” workplaces tend to have awful employee retention and engagement. To address this: The solution is finding the right balance between focused work time and open whitespace hours. By scheduling weekly whitespace hours in your employees’ calendars, you can designate time in the workweek for creative thinking, passion projects, and exercise. It’s also beneficial to facilitate communal spaces (like a game room or yoga studio) for your employees to spend this whitespace time together if they wish—this helps staff build stronger working relationships as they unplug together. Your employees take burnout seriously. Do you? Quartz research says 81 percent of workers believe decreasing burnout should be a top priority for employers, suggesting your employees know burnout is a significant threat that demands your attention. Are you ready to act? Source Citrix More information on: +27 78 186 6568
And another angle on the same critical topic…..
Deal wiTh faTigue anD morale Drop in remoTe Teams
By Andrew Bourne, Region Manager, Africa, Zoho Corporation
While the pandemic paved way for even the most staunch opponents of remote work to change their perspective, fatigue is starting to set in for some of the teams, especially for those who have been isolated for the best part of the year now. While remote work undoubtedly has certain advantages, some teams may be experiencing a morale drop after months of being stuck at home without a chance to socialize. There are also concerns about adverse mental health impact. In order to boost your team’s morale, here are a few suggestions you can try:
1.
Organise virtual team building
ou can organise virtual meet-ups and brainstorming sessions. An additional option is to coordinate virtual oneon-ones between staff members, giving them topics to talk about. An in-depth dive into a subject with another person can do wonders for sparking ideas and creativity. You can also add value by bringing in subject matter experts to present specific topics. Even if it’s not directly related to what you do, the sessions can help employees gain a fresh perspective, inspire different ways of thinking and rekindle interest in ongoing projects.
2.
Introduce a mental health wellness programme
If you haven’t already, bringing a mental health professional onboard can be extremely helpful for employees who find it especially hard to deal with social isolation and loneliness. Hire an inhouse counsellor or offer subsidised clinical screening to those who need help. You can also host seminars to increase awareness and initiate internal discussions to normalise conversations on mental health.
3.
Get people moving
Exercise can be a great way to reignite people’s mental freshness. After months at home, they may have slipped into moving less than they did previously. You could organise a virtual group class that everyone can get involved in or make a personal trainer available to advise them on exercises and workouts.
You can also inspire them to eat healthy meals by having a chef give healthy food and snack advice, perhaps even including a virtual cook-along class.
Decisions to stay fully remote or to go back to the on-site office are not exclusive of each other anymore. Instead, you may find yourself opting for a hybrid solution where people spend some time in the office and the rest at home. Either way, online collaboration will play an increasingly important role in the workplace. Applied correctly, the lessons learned now will, therefore, serve you well in the long-term.
For more information: stuart@irvinepartners.co.za
backgrounD screening viTal for conTracT employees
The recently introduced Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment bill is expected to bring more protection for contract employees like domestic workers, gardeners, nannies, and au pairs, etc. With employers facing increased responsibilities and obligations in this regard, they can also take the necessary steps to feel safe and secure in knowing who they are employing.
Self-managed checks In recent years, certain industries for contract workers have started to crack down on background checks. Agencies that manage contract domestic workers, au pairs, and tutors, for example, often at a minimum will insist that applicants provide proof of their identification, a SAPS previous conviction report, and proof of qualification(s) where applicable. Thwane says, “For those applicants seeking an advantage in a competitive job market, we suggest conducting regular self-managed checks. The purpose of a selfmanaged check is to confirm your previous conviction status and to include a previous conviction enquiry result in your CV or as part of a job application.” Thwane explains that an applicant may be under the impression that they do not have a previous conviction when they were arrested on suspicion of less serious crime and paid an admission of guilt fine. An admission of guilt fine is part of the legal system and it allows a person to admit guilt without having to appear in court not knowing what it means and how it will affect them in future.
“Conducting various selfchecks on a regular basis gives the applicant confidence in knowing that the information available about them is correct and up-to-date, and that they are in the clear of any wrong doing at the time of applying for work,” suggests Thwane. “Living in what can be considered a ‘high crime’ country has meant that over the years, we have become somewhat fixated on security; personal and that of our loved ones and homes. Knowing who people are dealing with is therefore becoming increasingly important to meeting basic safety needs and assuring peace of mind. In a highly connected world, having access to information about potential employees is becoming easier thanks to the availability of quality and biometric-based background screening services. And the changing of the contract work environment in the country will result in these services becoming more mainstream as discerning employers want to know more about who they are employing,” concludes Thwane.
More info on: www.afiswitch. com.
new book by Dr John Tibane: The reset blueprint
The present world is more cyclical with shortened change cycles. Crises of all kinds – natural disasters, economic turbulences, disease outbreaks, political turmoil, terrorist attacks, and more – have become more common, resulting in radical uncertainty. With every crisis creating a new normal, success has a new definition: the ability to survive a crisis and thrive in a new normal.
As individuals and institutions we need to learn to imagine the inconceivable, think the unlikely and be ready to do the unreasonable. In The Reset Blueprint, Dr John Tibane meticulously provides you with spiritual and scientific guidance on
How to Survive a Crisis: you will learn about agility and resilience, mastering your responses to traumatic events, getting double for your trouble, implementing lockdown principles, and bouncing forward to a new normal.
How to Thrive in a New Normal: you will learn about the 7 Reset Element – Reset your Sanity, Reset your Sight, Reset your Stage, Reset your Sails, Reset your Standards, Reset your Scales, and Reset your Sound.
Inspired by King Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 7:14 NIV, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other,” Dr Tibane proposes that “Life is a series of events and experiences: we survive some and thrive in some.” Do not fear, you have a toolkit, The Reset Blueprint, and God’s grace is sufficient for you. More information on: remote@tibane.co.za
DrafT coDe of pracTice on violence anD harassmenT in The workplace publisheD
Dhevarsha Ramjettan, a Partner, Shane Johnson, a Professional Support Lawyer and Mbali nkosi, an Associate at Webber Wentzel unpack the details of the Code.
The Minister of Employment & Labour has published for comment a Draft Code of Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work (Code). The Code applies to all sectors (both public and private) in the formal and informal economy. The Code applies broadly to: employers, employees and other persons engaged in work (irrespective of contractual status); and incidents that occur at the workplace and those that occur during the course of, linked with or arising out of work (for example, work-related travel, training and social events or at employer-provided accommodation). Interested parties have until 19 October 2020 to submit comments on the Code.
The Code seeks to:
set a framework on the interpretation and implementation of the Employment Equity Act (EEA) regarding the prevention and elimination of violence an d harassment in the workplace provide guidelines to employers and employees and other parties on this issue guide human resource policies and practices related to violence and harassment in the workplace
The Code regards violence and harassment in the workplace as a form of unfair discrimination. Violence and harassment includes physical abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. It also includes the use of physical force or power (threatened or actual) against oneself, another person or against a group or community that either results in (or has a high likelihood of resulting in) injury, death, physical and psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation. The Code therefore recognises three broad categories of violence:
Self-directed violence (violence against oneself) Interpersonal violence (violence against another person) Collective violence (group or community violence)
The main forms of violence and harassment listed in the Code are:
Sexual violence and harassment;
Racial, ethnic and social origin violence and harassment; Workplace bullying; and
Violence and harassment on account of a protected disclosure.
The Code specifically applies to the following categories of people in the workplace:
Owners Employers Managers Supervisors
Workers
Workers whose employment has been terminated
Clients Contractors Volunteers Job seekers and job applicants
Anyone else having dealings with the organisation
GuIDInG PRInCIPLES FOR EMPLOYERS
The Code provides seven guiding principles for employers to guide their internal strategies in preventing and eliminating violence and harassment at work:
Workplaces should be free from violence and harassment; Working environments should be safe and without risk to the health (including physical and psychological health) of employees;
Workplace cultures should be created where complainants (and other affected persons) can report violence and harassment without fear of reprisal and with the assurance that complaints will not be trivialised or ignored; Individuals at the workplace must proactively refrain from committing any acts of violence and harassment; Individuals at the workplace all have a role to play in creating an environment where violence and harassment is seen as unacceptable; Employers, employees, employer organisations and trade unions should ensure that all persons who have dealings with the employer (e.g. clients, suppliers and job applicants) are not subjected to violence and harassment; and Appropriate action should be taken where instances of violence and harassment occur at the workplace.
PRACTICAL STEPS FOR EMPLOYERS
The Code requires employers to implement certain measures to eliminate and prevent violence and harassment in the workplace, including:
training for employees in the form of implementing prevention and awareness programmes; treatment, care and support measures to assist victims; privacy and consent measures; and policies and procedures to manage incidents. Employers are obligated to investigate complaints related to violence and harassment in the workplace. Employers who fail to do so may be held liable for damages under section 60 of the EEA.
FOunDATIOnS OF THE CODE
The Code is informed by conventions adopted by the International Labour Organisation read together with South African legislation, including:
Section 9 of the Constitution
(the right to equality)
Section 5 of the EEA
(employers must take steps to promote equal opportunity in the wokrplace by eliminating unfair discrimination in employment policies and practices)
Section 6(1) of the EEA
(no person may unfairly discrminate against an employee)
Section 6(3) of the EEA
(harassment of employee is a form of unfair discrimination)
Section 60 of the EEA
(liability of employers for contravention of EEA)
