Ask Your Fairygodmentor®: How To Lead Your Team During Layoffs And Prevent Stress

Reader’s Question:

Dear Fairygodmentor,

Hi! I have been a manager for over 10 years. This year has been particularly rough, surviving several layoffs. I see the signs of burnout in my staff. I tell them frequently that the work we do is important but not at the expense of their health. How do I help them let go of the stress and recognize that what we do is important but not life/death?

Yours truly,

A Manager who’s trying to save her staff

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Dear Saving Your Staff,

Kudos to you for being an aware leader who is in tune with your staff! I’m sorry that you and your team have had to experience layoffs. It’s hard to witness your staff in pain and struggling to prioritize the demands of work. It’s an unfortunate business decision that affects employees’ productivity and emotional wellness. Burnout is common as everyone struggles to adjust to the shift in workloads and come to terms with their co-workers’ absence.

I applaud you for seeing the signs of burnout in your staff. Signs of burnout can be tricky to identify. Examples of burnout include a decrease in productivity, attendance decline, increase in sick time or leave, withdrawal from interacting with others, being short-tempered or overly cynical when that’s not the employee’s usual communication style, lack of interest in projects or assignments that used to “light them up” and being extremely hard on oneself.

I don’t want to make you super paranoid, but you’re under a team leadership microscope, especially during challenging times. Your staff are watching very closely how you are reacting to this huge change in the workplace. This is an opportunity to cast a positive shadow of leadership.

Make it a safe space for your employees to voice their concerns and challenges. Encourage them to show their ASK and advocate for themselves. When asking them how they are or what they may need to make things better for them at work—really listen. Eliminate any distractions. Truly pay attention, and if you commit to taking action to support them—take action and follow up. This will foster an environment of trust and give your staff a true voice in creating a better work/life flow.

Walk the talk. Show the staff what it looks like to let go and not take life and work so seriously. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. When you’re on vacation or out of the office, are you really not responding to emails or answering voicemails? If you’re doing that, stop it!

Are folks calling you about work while they’re out on vacation? My advice? Don’t answer their calls. I used to respond to my staff’s emails while on vacation with a sassy out-of-office response: “I’m sorry, but this inbox is no longer receiving emails from staff that are on paid time off. A reply will be made upon the staff member’s return to the office. Enjoy your vacation!”

Get creative. Remind your staff of their time off. If you’re able, help them create a flexible work schedule that keeps productivity and morale high. Are there ways to create an equally distributed workload that works best for you and the team?

Don’t give up. Keep trying to break through by showing and telling them you care about their well-being.

You got this!

Sincerely,

Your Fairygodmentor®

Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and the founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies, a consultancy that develops empowered, results-driven leaders through engaging leadership development coaching, training, and facilitation.

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