Helping Employees Combat Stress, Anxiety and Burnout
According to the World Health Organization, burnout results from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is typically characterized by three dimensions: feelings of exhaustion; increased mental apathy towards one’s job; and lack of confidence about your abilities. Burned-out employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day, 2.6x more likely to be actively seeking a different job, and 13% less confident in their performance.
In HRchat episode 342, we discuss ways to help limit the risks of employee burnout and what to do if you spot employees suffering.
My guest is Trung Tran, CEO at Amplio, a company on a mission to help businesses retain talent by helping them to avoid burnout. Trung has spent his career in silicon valley working for companies such as HP and Intel. He worked on the development of 72 products worth $2.2B in revenue. His interest in AI stems from his work at DARPA on next-generation AI systems and algorithms. He remains passionate to the idea that AI should help people reason better and not replace them.
Questions For Trung Tran Include
- What causes burnout? How has the pandemic contributed to employees feeling stressed, anxious and/or over-worked?
- Avoiding burnout means understanding one’s current state and knowing how to manage one’s stress. Is it always obvious to an individual that they are approaching/living through burnout or does it sometimes require an outsider to spot the signs?
- What role does Amplio try to play in helping to combat (potential) burnout?
- Amplio claims to collect both subjective and objective data to yield the best results. In combination with interactive surveys, your team uses devices such as the Garmin Watch, Whoop band, Google Fitbit, and the Emotiv headset to gather psychological data and physiological data. What has been the response of employees to being asked to wear such monitoring devices?
- How important do you think it is for employees to feel supported by their companies?
- In terms of lost revenue and productivity, what are the costs to employers of having burned-out employees?
- How can employers spot signs of burnout early to avoid longer-term health issues?