How to Deal with Burnout as a Manager

As Directors of a recruitment company for over 20 years, Nick Derham and I, David Berwick, have faced many challenges. I’m Dave Berwick, Co-founder, Director and Senior IT Recruitment Consultant at Adria Solutions, and today, I’m discussing a topic close to my heart and crucial for anyone in a managerial role: dealing with burnout as a manager.

Recognising Burnout: How Does Burnout Feel Like?

“Burnout feels like you’re running on empty”. That’s how a senior IT candidate recently described the symptoms of burnout to me. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. This emotional exhaustion doesn’t necessarily reflect physical symptoms.

According to Mental Health UK, one in four adults feels unable to manage stress and pressure levels in their lives. While I haven’t got the expert training to offer advice on dealing with burnout that a mental health specialist would have, I have sadly recognised stress and burnout in others around me.

Burnout at work might first manifest as a reduction in productivity, an attitude of cynicism towards your work, and a feeling of helplessness. While mental health is generally a topic many of our candidates prefer not to disclose to recruitment consultants, burnout isn’t as uncommon as many imagine.

Is Burnout Curable?

I’m afraid there isn’t a one-time fix or a one-size-fits-all approach to curing burnout. Experts say the first step in burnout recovery is recognising the problem. Stepping back, seeking professional help, and implementing changes are part of the recovery process. Several people have mentioned to me, too, the importance of setting clear boundaries between work and personal life to recover from burnout.

How can Managers Prevent Burnout?

Prevention is better than cure. For managers, avoiding burnout means recognising the early signs of burnout in not only our teams but also ourselves:

• Self-managing work related stress: Set boundaries, plan your week ahead to optimise time management and increase productivity and motivation, etc.
• Implementing regular check-ins internally, especially with those employees at risk of burnout
• Encouraging a healthy work-life balance: no after-hour emails, flexible working options…
• We offer our teams the possibility of taking time off when needed. The so-called “Wellness days” are indeed one of the company perks more and more companies are offering.

Managing Stress and Burnout as a Manager

9 in 10 adults in the UK experience high or extreme stress, according to recent research by Mental Health UK. Managing stress involves understanding its triggers. So, how do you manage stress and burnout when you are a busy manager? What do you do when you feel overwhelmed to reduce stress? While I haven’t experienced manager burnout, I have personally dealt with times of high stress.

When we started to come out after the pandemic, many of our clients started hiring. Those who had frozen their hiring processes began to work to fill their vacancies. At the same time, companies that hadn’t stopped hiring intensified their hiring efforts to cope with the higher demand for work. We also had new clients coming to us, looking to fill their IT roles quickly.

Everyone was hiring digital professionals; there was no time to lose. Things stabilised after a few intense months, and we could reduce the activity rhythm. I’m happy to report that we survived and thrived. While nobody suffered burnout, the whole team was worn out and looking forward to a proper holiday break.

In my 20+ years in tech recruitment, I have also learned the importance of prioritising tasks and delegating responsibilities. It might not look like that when you open your email inbox in the morning; you return to a full calendar or hundreds of notifications on Slack. The truth is, not everything needs a response ‘right now’. It’s essential to learn to distinguish between urgent and important tasks.

How We Prevent Burnout in Your Team

As managers, we are responsible for our team’s well-being. This means creating a supportive culture where everyone can speak up about their stress without fear of judgement. Personally, I try to customise my approach to attend to my team’s diverse needs, especially given the generational and cultural differences within our team. We always defend a positive work environment.

If you have spoken to me before, you must have realised I always look at the bright side of things. I firmly believe that a positive work environment is vital to preventing burnout and supporting your employees’ individual growth.

Setting realistic expectations, promoting a supportive workplace culture, and recognising our limits all play essential roles in shaping our work environment. For us, it must be an integrated approach involving everyone, from senior executives to new hires. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat more about dealing with burnout as a manager or share your personal story with us.