5 Tips for Coping with Burnout in the IT Field

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Information technology is a dynamic field that involves many large and complex projects. Employees engaged in this process often have to deal with several tasks simultaneously while trying to meet deadlines.

 

The downside of this busy workload is burnout. The World Health Organization [WHO] has recognized it as an 'occupational syndrome,' which can lead to missed workdays. This article will tell you why burnout in IT happens and how to manage it.

 

Signs of Burnout at Work

 

Regardless of a company's business, the symptoms of employee burnout are the same. They include a lack of desire and motivation to:

  • Come to work
  • Finish projects
  • Find ideas and new approaches
  • Perceive information and develop
  • Communicate with colleagues.

Burnout causes a feeling of irritation and fatigue. In some cases, can lead to a reduction in productivity and high rates of turnover. 

 

Causes of Burnout  

 

Several reasons increase stress and overexertion at work, which ultimately leads to loss of energy.

 

1. Performing various tasks simultaneously

IT is a large-scale field. This area may include projects related to consulting, software development, or delivering finished products, as well as digital marketing — website promotion in search engines. 

 

In companies lacking dedicated specialists, one employee may perform several functions; for example, a programmer may act as a project manager or an SEO specialist and a contextual advertising manager.

 

2. Deadlines

Most projects have a final date when the results have to be presented to the customer. The unorganized working hours lead to a situation when tasks remain unresolved by the final stages of implementation, and the team has to work much harder to meet deadlines.

 

3. Overwork

When employees have to stay in the office late, work on weekends, or take long breaks between holidays, they end up feeling tired, their concentration decreases, and, as a result, the overall productivity and the speed of execution drop.

 

4. Routine work

If a team member is compelled to spend substantial time on monotonous work, this can lead to diminished interest in what one is doing. This is especially true if auxiliary information is required as part of a project, such as searching for statistical data in search engine services, filling in data tables, and so on.

 

5. A tense atmosphere in a team

The dissatisfaction of employees, lack of feedback from management, and unresolved disputes within the team can undermine motivation and the desire to work. And burnout of one team member can affect the overall mood and performance of an entire team.

 

5 Tips for Coping with Burnout

 

Now, let's find out how to organize your work so that employees do not experience burnout. There are several effective ways.

 

1. Time Management & Prioritization

 

Create a work plan at the outset and communicate with your team during project implementation to help distribute the team's workload and tasks evenly.  The project's main objective should be defined, as well as specific goals for each team member. An individual work plan should also prioritize activities. 

 

2. Allocate & Delegate Responsibilities

 

If the team's work is not organized, a situation may arise when one employee performs too many functions simultaneously. This not only takes time to find and research more information but also increases responsibility. Work will be more efficient if dedicated employees handle each area. For example in an IT team might be comprised of:

  • project manager 
  • developers
  • testers
  • UX designers 
  • analysts 

3. Use Additional Services

 

In any industry managers need to efficiently coordinate their team's work, both in the office and remotely: selecting executors, exchanging files, using a calendar for planning. 

 

An example is Trello, a project management service with a handy task scheduler in the form of a Kanban board with "to do," "doing," "done" columns, task lists, attachments, and deadlines.

 

If your team works from home, Time Doctor time management software can help you stay as productive as possible and see your progress in real-time. When a project manager can control and monitor the entire process, it's easier for them to manage, highlight problem areas, and make adjustments during the course of the project.

 

Another popular option is Asana, an application designed to increase staff productivity. Users can create their own workspace, add new projects and tasks, set tags, or attach files. 

 

Buddy, the tool for application development, will help speed up the development process. It is based on artificial intelligence and significantly speeds up the work process. For example, implementation of CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) commands is almost twice as fast, and the average deployment time is 12 seconds.


With Bitbucket, you can manage projects, integrate with other services, including Trello, and create and test code together with other team members.

 

Special SEO services help get useful data from a website, audit its internal and external optimization, analyze competitors, and rank positions in search engines. 

One example is the SE Ranking platform, which incorporates many reports and useful features. Using the service, SEO specialists and web marketers do not need to waste time collecting statistics from various sources, as this routine work takes a lot of energy and effort. The result is more free time for more important tasks, such as management and strategy setting. 

 

Another useful tool is Google Data Studio, which can generate reports from different services: Google Analytics, Google Sheets, YouTube Analytics, Google Ads, and others. Data Studio has a wide range of possibilities for visualization and creating charts and tables. You can also set up collaborative work on projects.

 

4. Eliminate Negativity 

 

Team disputes can be caused not only by a project but also by personal relationships. Also, some employees may create a conflict environment and demotivate others. The task of managers and HR specialists is to timely identify problems within the team and solve them by communicating with team members.

 

5. Ensure a Comfortable Work Schedule

 

In addition to burnout, overwork reduces productivity. Without proper rest, professionals make more mistakes, and, as a result, speed and quality of execution decrease. To avoid this, it is necessary to:

  • Take breaks during the work process, including physical activity
  • Work no longer than 8 hours a day
  • Provide at least two days off per week, which is entirely free of work-related issues
  • Whenever possible, organize the most comfortable work atmosphere for employees — remotely or in the office with optimal working hours.

Conclusion

 

Professional burnout in the IT field or any field is a process that must be identified and addressed in a timely manner. To reduce stress levels and reduce the workload of your employees you should: 

  • Plan their work time correctly, dividing tasks according to priority
  • Organize your team so that each member has a clear area of responsibility
  • Use additional services to facilitate workflow and data search
  • Provide employees with a comfortable environment in the team and ensure adequate recreation.

Burnout increases when basic physical & emotional needs aren’t acknowledged or addressed. explores getting real & resilient in order to embrace our needs & avoid burnout. 

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About the Author

Haley Osborne

Haley Osborne is an active freelance writer. She is interested in management, web design, and writing. Regularly touches on the topics of self-development and modern trends. Her goal is to provide quality and inspiring content.

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