How to Set Boundaries and Avoid Burnout with Staffing Shortages

It’s no secret that staffing has been a big issue for pretty much every industry over the past 18 months. There doesn’t appear to be much change on the horizon, but there are ways to make things easier for employees who may be feeling the stress.

A new U.S. Labor and Statistics report shows 4.4. million people quit their jobs in just the last month. This is the highest level since the initial months of the pandemic.

The reason for this is mainly stress. Around 57% of workers reported feeling stress on a daily basis over the past 12 months.

What is causing the stress?

There are a few factors leading to burnout among employees. The main issue is staffing.

People are quitting, but on the backside of that, employers are not finding enough people to hire for those empty positions. The recruitment pool is just not as big as it was.

The pandemic has forced many people to find new jobs, but it has also led to an increase in burnout with those left in the workforce.

As restrictions start to lift, many employers are finding that their workers have found other jobs or are just not wanting to come back. Meanwhile, the current workers are having to do more work, with less help. This creates burnout.

This will lead to more people deciding to quit, or you may see several employees start to underperform because they are too stressed out.

It also comes at a significant cost. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, the economic impact of burnout is costing the U.S. about $4.6 billion every year.

How to fix burnout?

While it may seem daunting, the fixes are simple.

1. Establish a plan to make you and your employees happy. Make sure you listen to their concerns and find out where they need the most help.

2. Abandon perfectionism and look for more simple answers. Customers are not looking for perfection, they are looking for the right piece of equipment at the right price. Employees don’t need to be perfect to land the sale, they just need the right tools.

3. Don’t focus on who has quit, focus on finding solutions. Searching for new employees costs time and money. Ask yourself: “Is there an easier way to do things with the tools we have now?” Are there simple things you can add like a texting platform, or a payment system that can take some of the burden off your employees?

4. Set boundaries with workers and customers. Make sure your worker knows what to expect from you, and make sure the customer is aware of staffing issues, or the type of responsiveness they will get. Just be honest throughout the struggle so there are no secrets, and you can work through problems together.

Once a basic plan is in place, then you need to make sure you have the tools to help your employees. One of the best solutions is to come up with a more automated system throughout your company.

Texting is one of the best ways to limit employee workload, while still communicating with your customers.

You can set up a texting platform so people can use text-to-pay and get updated information on sales and service.

This will also help your staff reduce the time they spend on the phone and take some of the pressure off to get back to customers. Employees can set up automated responses, so they don’t have to be waiting by the phone all day.

Texting is also not new for customers. Many prefer it. Around 89% percent of customers say they would rather interact with a business via text message rather than a phone call.

The texting trend is not going away, but it can help you avoid burnout with your employees by creating a system that eases the pressure on them and allows the customer to keep in contact at any time of the day.