Originally published March 22nd 2022 on Medium

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This last year has been anything but ordinary, so it’s no surprise that employees are experiencing languishing and subsequently burnout. As an employer, it’s important to be on the lookout for signs of employee languishing, which can keep workers from performing and feeling their best.

“No matter the industry you work in, the world has become more competitive, more stressful, and the pandemic has created hardships for most employees,” Archie Payne, CEO of Caltek Staffing, which specializes in recruitment services and often provides advice to a number of their top clients.

“We’ve all experienced that feeling when we aren’t quite at the top of our game, and no matter how hard we try, it’s hard to explain our lack of motivation. Languishing has become commonplace these days,” Payne says.

What is Languishing?

Languishing is a ‘sense of stagnation and emptiness that can create a feeling of muddling through your days,’ according to Organization Psychologist Adam Grant. In a recent New York Times piece on the subject, Grant says the feelings can create a sense that you’re ‘looking at your life through a foggy windshield.’

There has undoubtedly been an increased level of employee languishing at most organizations, which has been a significant contributor to employee burnout, says Eden Cheng, HR professional and cofounder of People Finder Free, a whitepages-style search database for a persons contact information.

Languishing that leads to burnout tends to be a natural result of low engagement and increased dissatisfaction in an individual’s current work environment, Cheng said.

“For instance, the company culture itself may be toxic, the employee may find that their personal values no longer align with the company, their compensation may be too low, or perhaps they don’t feel appreciated,” she says. “This, in turn, has contributed massively to the mass exodus that is ‘The Great Resignation’, and it is for this reason that business leaders need to make an active effort to address these issues as early as possible, or risk increased staff turnover.”

What are Some of the Most Typical Reasons for Employee Burnout Within a Company?

According to Payne, common contributors to burnout often include:

• Employees feel a sense of stagnation as they often work long hours and perform the same routine job day in and day out.
• Employees feel they don’t have a sense of real purpose in their work.
• Employees don’t feel appreciated or recognized for their contribution to the company.
• Employers don’t promote uninterrupted time-off, so employees don’t get the rest they deserve.

Why is it Important to Identify Employee Languishing?

If left unchecked, languishing can negatively impact an employee’s engagement, morale and productivity.

“This can become a severe threat to the retention of employees which directly impacts a company’s bottom line,” says Payne.

The effect of languishing leads to heightened anxiety and increased stress levels, which means that employees are disengaged and unable to operate at their peak. In response, employers should remain vigilant for early warning signs of languishing, such as a decrease in enthusiasm, employees not being present at work, or being seemingly uninterested.

“Employers need to be proactive in providing support to employees if they want to prevent an unenthusiastic workforce, struggling and unmotivated,” Payne says.

How to Address Employee Languishing

1. Conduct pulse employee surveys

Conducting surveys and setting aside time for regular check-ins for leaders to connect with their team members on an individual level will help ensure that they can spot any early signs that their staff might be struggling with their mental health like a decrease in passion or enthusiasm, Cheng suggests.

“It also pays to be proactive by implementing a reward & recognition program that not only encourages them to keep performing at high levels but also makes them feel valued within the company, which often makes a big difference in ensuring higher staff retention,” she says.

2. Encourage employees to take time off

David Farkas, founder and CEO of theupperranks, a company that helps brands increase their online presence, suggests encouraging your employees to take vacations as a solution to help combat languishing.

Everyone — especially today — needs time to rest, relax, and replenish their batteries.

“A strong work-life balance can assist them in avoiding stagnation, work-related stress, and burnout,” he says. “Spending time away from work with the people we care about is also essential for optimal mental health.”

If you, as an employer, have discovered that your team members aren’t taking advantage of their yearly leave, there are a few things you can do as a manager.

“To begin, make it obvious that your direct reports should not feel terrible about taking time off, and that you encourage them to do so,” he says. “Second, vacation time is vacation time. Set firm guidelines that they should not check their business emails or phone throughout their vacation.”

3. Listen without making any assumptions

Encouraging your employees to discuss their mental health may seem difficult, but having an open and honest environment can help your staff feel comfortable speaking about how they’re feeling, Farkas says.

“It is critical that each member of your team be able to chat with someone without judgment and in total confidentiality,” he noted. “Your team members may find it tough to open up, but we can help by giving them the necessary assistance. A basic question like ‘How are you?’ is an excellent place to start. We can all make a difference by looking out for our coworkers and taking care of ourselves.”

4. Give your employees a sense of progress and purpose.

It can be surprising how much purpose small wins and accomplishments can give workers, Payne says. That languishing feeling can be difficult to get out of when an employee is doing the same routine work day in and day out without receiving a sincere thank-you.

“Employers must recognize their employees for effort, no matter how small,” he says. “Tracking progress and supporting achieving goals helps employees feel motivated and appreciated.”

5. Create blocks of free-time to focus on tasks

Payne says he has personally invested a lot of effort into this suggestion over the past few months and has seen results.

Spending hours switching between small tasks and not really getting anything concrete done is a situation many employees find themselves in. The end result is languishing.

“My advice is to provide your employees with a set block of time once or twice a week where they can focus on dedicated tasks without the interruption of a ringing phone, virtual meetings or a stream of emails,” he says. “Giving employees the freedom to determine how they use their free block of time gives them a sense of control and allows them to immerse themselves in specific tasks which they may not otherwise get done.”

New technologies, such as BluXinga, can help managers and employees ward off languishing by engaging with all traditional personnel activities — from performance reviews to employee recognition — in a single platform. BluXinga created an innovative new application to address this issue. The company’s app is designed to empower employees and management to increase performance, job satisfaction, and achieve company targets.

The technology does this by creating a dynamic platform for instant input and recognition of achievements and fostering communication and collaboration among team members. It also helps managers better understand how their teams are feeling via an employee emotion check feature where workers log their daily emotions.

Conclusion:

It’s important to understand the ins and outs of employee languishing and ways it can affect your employees. While these tips can help, it’s important for companies to encourage their leaders to be authentically empathetic.

Supervisors of any kind need to really listen to their employee’s concerns and provide support and solutions to any problems they could be facing, he says.

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