How Taking Intentional Breaks Can Reduce Burnout

One of the biggest reasons for the ‘She-Cession' is burnout. The Center for Disease Control reported that depression has increased in the general population by 31% in the United States, since the Covid-19 pandemic started. In addition to juggling schedules at home, with family and loved ones, leaders are discovering that they are on video conference calls sometimes as much as 12 hours a day (especially if they have a global role).

A new phenomena is also occurring where calendars get over-ridden even if a break is scheduled. These factors are leading to employees finding it difficult to make time to eat lunch…let alone find time to recharge during the day for their mental well being. The combination of schedule overwhelm is having a profound impact on overall wellness. Here are some practical ways you can prioritize your well-being during the work day:

3 Ways To Prioritize Your Wellness

1. Don't wait to take a break-schedule it. Before Covid-19, people drove in their cars, walked in hallways, took elevators, and met for coffee instead of meeting on video calls during the day. All of those little moments added up and even in the most stressful of days, it felt less difficult because there was room to breath. Making intentional, non-negotiable time every day to recharge will boost your overall wellness both personally and professionally as well.
2. Share why wellness needs to be a priority. Team members will breathe easier knowing that they are encouraged to take breaks. It is also more likely that time allocated on a calendar for breaks will be respected if everyone adopts the practice. Several Fortune 500 corporations are making it a requirement to take intentional time to think during the week. This practice will lead to healthier, happier employees, and consequently a higher employee retention and overall a morale increase as well.
3. Convert some meetings to a phone call. As much as everyone benefits from seeing one another on video conference calls-it can be very exhausting to be “on” all day. Offer to have some virtual meeting to be audio only. It doesn't mean the employees are not paying attention. It means that they are able to relax and concentrate on what is being said. Before remote working from home, many conference calls were audio only. When we create a balance between seeing and hearing each other, a person's stress level may be lowered.