Is your marketing department burnt out?

Marketing staff are all sick and tired of the pandemic. They’re done.

In fact, everyone is so tired of their day job, that in general, employers are reporting a way higher number of resignations, mental health issues, sickness and employee burnout as a result. 

Employee burnout originates from the absence of a healthy work-life balance. The added COVID regulations, demands and extra volume of workload is piled on top of what was already a busy role.

Plus, not everyone is thriving, nor cut out for remote working. It becomes extremely difficult to disconnect from your stressful workload, when your home is also your office. 

In addition, those who are already back into the office full time, are under immense pressure from the extra protocols of COVID, pandemic impatience of customers and physical exposure to others.

Then, add to it the stress of living through a pandemic, financial worries, childcare responsibilities, prolonged social isolation, illness and everything else you need to achieve in life — and the risk of a total breakdown increases, dramatically.

Subsequently, overwhelming workloads, especially in customer facing roles are now becoming the norm. With a projected 1/3rd of the workforce due to be out sick in the coming months as Omicron rips through workplaces. How are those that are left working for you, going to cope without burning out?

What exactly is burnout?

The World Health Organization, in 2019, noted burnout as an “occupational phenomenon.”  The WHO said burnout resulted from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”  They identified three key indicators to burnout:

• Feeling exhausted or depleted of energy
• Feeling negative or cynical towards one’s job, or mental distance from work
• Reduced professional efficacy

How can I protect my marketing department from burnout?

• Encourage employees to manage stress by taking mini breaks during the day. Staring at a screen for 8 hours solid is not productive and causes eye strain and overstimulation. 
• Help employees manage their workload if struggling
• Set clear objectives and realistic deadlines for your staff.
• Regularly check in with your marketing team so that they don’t feel isolated or neglected.
• Have an open-door policy and encourage employees to reach out to you if they experience any difficulties keeping up with the workload.
• Unless urgent, don’t send emails or projects to your employees after designated working hours or on holidays. 
• Show your continued support to your marketers with a couple of hours a week of regularly using an expert interim marketer. Taking on a whole project, assisting with high level tasks to clear the backlog, or simply to bring an expert hand to the table in tough times.
• Hire a marketing consultant, marketing temp or marketing freelancer to alleviate that workload for a few days!