如何留住优秀的员工

工作倦怠之祸

文章出自：财富中文

由于工作越来越辛苦，有些员工已经到了崩溃的临界点，但是许多公司还没有开始关注这个现象。因为一旦谈到这个问题，公司就得调整期望值，增加人手，降低要求，而多数公司都不愿这么做，但忽视这个问题只会给公司自身埋下隐患，导致优秀员工的流失。

这是个管理层已经不再使用的术语：工作倦怠（burnout）。15年前，许多企业开始缩编，员工的工作负担随之增加，这个词也流行了一阵子。而且没过多久黑莓手机就问世了——这款设备后来被人笑称为职场终极催命器。

那么，为何关于工作倦怠的探讨已成明日黄花？如今经济形势萎靡不振，大多数员工能有份工作就很满意了，不希望抱怨，也不希望表现得缺乏激情。人人都得全心全力投入，每周7天、每天24小时随叫随到。

市场研究公司Opinion Matters对多家公司的500位IT管理员进行了调查，并于4月份发布了相关报告。报告指出，72%的受调查者有压力，67%希望改行，85%都说他们的工作已经干扰了私生活，42%曾因工作问题而失眠。工作倦怠离我们还远吗？

不堪重负的岂止是IT管理员。美国劳工统计局（he U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics）2012年3月的报告显示，尽管失业率居高不下，仍有1.8%的全职员工（即约210万雇员）辞掉了他们在私营企业的工作，涉及行业包括建筑、制造、贸易、专业与商业服务、休闲及酒店。2009年6月以来，这个比例一直在缓慢而稳定地攀升，从中可以读出很多事情，包括工作倦怠的逼近。

纽约精神治疗医师、《无所畏惧：28天改变生活》（Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days）一书的作者乔纳森?阿尔珀特指出，他的病人包括企业员工、媒体和金融专业人士，而几乎所有人都“面临着更大压力，部分员工被解雇之后，剩下的人必须承担更多责任、更努力地工作，同时获得的支持却在减少，这些都有可能诱发工作倦怠。”

《价值观转变：新职场伦理及其对企业的影响》（Values-Shift: The New Work Ethic and What It Means for Business）一书作者约翰?伊佐称：“商业氛围变得如此激烈，充满竞争性，企业领袖都全神贯注于竞争，要求从员工那里压榨出尽可能多的价值，人人都工作到了自己的极限。”

伊佐还称，许多高管及其员工都因不断改变的需求而疲于奔命，将每天的大多数时间用于应对最后关头才浮现的危机。尽管竞争带来的要求不断升级，许多公司都不清楚应该如何给员工减压，有很多甚至根本就不愿提起这个话题。

倦怠与淡漠仅一步之遥

伊佐说，那些陷入工作倦怠的员工仿佛“受了工伤”，他们仍然会来上班，但却失去了动力，只希望安然度过一天又一天。这种淡漠的态度影响工作效率，扼杀创新，使职场弥漫着惰性。

伊佐举了个例子来说明自己的观点：一位医疗保健公司的首席执行官正和董事会一起遴选新的执行副总裁，他批评一位候选人说：“不管工作日程上还有多少事情，她都坚持休满两周的假期”。伊佐本人当时也参加了这场会议，他说他一直等着看，是否有人会开口反对这位首席执行官的说法，但没有一个人这么做。假期能帮助高管充电，提高工作效率。伊佐认为，这位女候选人度假之事不应该招致攻击。

阿尔珀特说，有些患者甚至在接受治疗期间都会受到打扰，不时查看黑莓信息，表明他们承受的压力多么巨大。他说，有些患者“蜡烛两头同时烧，他们晚上工作到10点，早上7点又去了公司。”

“因为担心丢掉工作，所以没人敢提意见，”阿尔珀特说，因此大多员工日复一日、周复一周地继续干下去，但他指出，在这样残酷的环境下长期工作可能产生灾难性的后果。他说：“压力可能对人们的身体造成很大伤害，诱发高血压及心脏病。”

有些人一心扑在工作上，基本上放不下。一位纽约社交媒体咨询公司的老板自豪地说，周五晚上到周六晚上是他会关掉手机、专门休息，但却没有提及一周里的其他148个小时，他随时准备接客户的电话并投入工作。仅仅是休息24个小时不够。

情感疏离、理想破灭且效率不彰

堪萨斯州立大学（Kansas State University）心理学教授罗纳德?唐尼指出，工作倦怠的一个重要症状是，“情感疏离，即员工与工作场所、工作本身、员工乃至本人的认同感消失。”另一个迹象是：员工们请的病假开始变多。员工感情上越疏远，与工作之间的不断联系就越发沉重，甚至令人窒息。

总部位于佛罗里达州克利尔沃特的GFI软件公司正是前述对IT管理员的调查的资助者，该公司人力资源副总裁史蒂夫?锡克特表示，压力级别的上升使他认识到，他的公司应

当着力使员工们了解公司对他们的期望，经理们必须清楚地说明他们希望、期望员工做到什么。他还说，如果工作上的要求不断提高、引发压力，员工应当直言不讳，如此经理人才能将部分负担转移给他人。如果到离职调查时才发现某位员工早已心生倦怠，那肯定有什么地方出了问题。

伊佐建议，有意解决工作倦怠问题的公司应当讯问员工，什么样的改变能缓解倦怠，这往往会带来大量解决问题的技巧。公司方面应考虑扫除那些不必要的任务，比如发布一份报告，回顾去年的工作，而这些工作现在或许已经没有意义；或者把冗长的会议限制到不超过15分钟。它们还可以强调福利计划，使员工产生有奋斗目标的感觉，这也有助于缓解压力。唐尼还称，主管们需接受训练，了解如何发现工作倦怠现象，以及如何降低、平衡工作负担，从而解决问题。

或许所有这些建议听起来都是老生常谈，但大多数公司都不愿开口谈论工作倦怠问题。唐尼指出，这是因为一旦谈及此事，它们就得“改变期望值，增加人手，降低要求，而多数公司都不愿这么做”，而这样只会给公司自身埋下隐患。

“到头来，一家公司因工作倦怠问题而付出的最大代价乃是优秀员工的流失。只要经济形势改善，他们就会离开该公司。”伊佐说，如果一位经理人听到员工说：“因为这份工作，我已经没有私生活可言”，这就意味着工作倦怠情绪很快就会出现。

Employee burnout: Around the corner? Already here? Here's a word that managers don't use much anymore: burnout. The term was in vogue about 15 years ago when companies began to downsize and employee workload intensified. That was just before the advent of the BlackBerry, what eventually came to be known as the ultimate work leash.

So, then, why has talking about burnout become passé? In a struggling economy, most employees are happy to have jobs and don't want to complain or appear as if they lack enthusiasm. Everyone is expected to give 100% and be available 24/7.

A study released in April of 500 IT administrators from various firms by Opinion Matters

revealed that 72% of respondents were stressed, 67% considered switching careers, 85% said their job intruded on their personal life, and 42% lost sleep over work. Can burnout be far behind?

But it's not just IT administrators who may be stretched thin. Despite the nagging unemployment rates, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in March 2012 that 1.8% of full-time employees (around 2.1 million workers) quit their jobs in the private sector covering construction, manufacturing, trade, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality. The rate has made a slow, steady climb since June 2009, a potential sign of encroaching burnout, among many other things.

Jonathan Alpert, a New York psychotherapist and author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, says he treats corporate workers, media and finance specialists, and nearly everyone is "facing more pressure. With people laid off, people are taking on more responsibilities, working harder, having less support and that amounts to burnout."

"The business climate has become so fiery and competitive that leaders are focused on competition and getting the most out of their people. Everyone's working to their max, " explains John Izzo, author of Values-Shift: The New Work Ethic and What It Means for Business.

Izzo says that many executives and their staffers are consumed by changing demands and spend much of their day addressing last-minute emergencies. As competitive demands escalate, many companies aren't sure exactly what to do to relieve stress, so many don't even raise the topic.

A quick jaunt from burnout to apathy

The employee that suffers from burnout becomes part of the "working wounded, " Izzo says. They show up to work but have lost their motivation and are just trying to get through the day unscathed. That apathy reduces productivity, nullifies innovation, and creates inertia in the workplace.

Izzo relates how a CEO of a healthcare company was selecting a new executive vice president with his board. The CEO belittled one candidate by saying, "She takes her

two-week vacation no matter what's on her agenda." Izzo, who was sitting in that particular meeting, says he waited for someone to speak up and disagree with the CEO's judgment, but no one did. Vacations help an executive recharge and make them more productive; she shouldn't have been maligned for taking time off, Izzo argues.

Alpert says that a couple of clients have even interrupted their therapy sessions to read Blackberry messages, indicating how much pressure they are under. Some clients "burn the candle on both ends. They work until 10 p.m. and are back at work at 7 a.m.," he says. "No one wants to complain for fear of losing their job," Alpert says, so most employees just keep going, day after day, week after week. But he notes that the long-term effects of working in such a relentless environment can be devastating. "Stress can wreak havoc on your body, contribute to high blood pressure and cardiac disease," he says.

Some people are so tied to work that they can barely let go. An owner of a New York social media consulting firm proudly says that he unplugs Friday night to Saturday night, neglecting to mention that the other 148 hours of a week he's plugged in and ready to answer client calls. Taking 24 hours off doesn't yield much down time.

Disconnected, disillusioned, and not very productive

A major symptom of burnout, says Ronald Downey, a psychology professor at Kansas State University, is "feeling disconnected. Staff feels disconnected from the workplace, their job, colleagues, and ultimately themselves." Another sign of burnout: when staffers begin to take additional sick days. The more alienated an employee feels, the more constant connection to the job becomes onerous and suffocating.

Steve Heckert, vice president of human resources at GFI Software, based in Clearwater, Fla., which financed the survey of IT administrators, says the escalated stress levels suggested to him that his firm should focus on making sure staff understands what's expected of them. Managers must make clear exactly what they want and expect from employees. He also says if the demands of the job are intensifying and causing stress, employees need to speak up so managers can shift some of the burden. If the manager is learning about an employee's burnout at the exit interview, something's gone wrong.

Izzo recommends that companies interested in addressing burnout ask staffers what changes they'd like to see to reduce burnout, which often lead to a host of problem-solving techniques. Companies ought to consider eliminating unnecessary tasks, such as issuing a report that was done last year but perhaps is no longer needed, or limiting lengthy meetings to no more than 15 minutes. And they can also emphasize wellness programs that give staff a sense of purpose and help reduce stress. Downey says that supervisors need to be trained on how to detect employee burnout and how to decrease or balance workloads to address it.

All of this advice might sound like common sense, but most companies don't want to broach the subject of burnout. If they did, they'd have to "change their expectations, hire more employees, reduce demands, and most won't do that," Downey says. But they do this at their own peril.

"Ultimately the biggest price companies' pay for burnout is a loss of talented people. As the economy improves, they will leave the enterprise," Izzo says. If a manager hears an employee saying, "I don't have a life on this job," burnout is around the corner, he says.