I would bet that flexible work hours are contributing for higher employee burnout.
Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
21–30 of 239 posts
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#22Once again we have a CEO pretending to know what works best for the rank and file employee. First we didn't need bonuses, we just needed a pat on the back from managers and co-workers to achieve happiness. Now, we don't need vacations if we're burnt out, instead we just need flexible hours so we can schedule our death marches around our other responsibilities and mental health resources. 10 hours is 10 hours regardle…
I didn't assume that he meant anything like that. Digging into the company a bit: > Though results matter most and Technically Media prides itself on flexibility, as a guide, this role might expect to work roughly 40-45 hours a week. > Technically Media offers 10 paid holidays per year; 15 PTO days accrued per year with additional P TO offered progressively; as well as a month of paid parental leave. >Technically Med…
> this role might expect to work roughly 40-45 hours a week.
I “expect” a lot of things that never happen.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would you be miserable? Union dues? occasional union communication? I'm just trying to understand what hypothetical issue you feel would be super arduous.
A lot of unions can be very 'by the book' and there can be malicious compliance. There can also be multiple unions with very specific roles. From a quick search: > If your booth is a 10×10 or smaller, you may install and dismantle your own exhibit – provided you meet these requirements: > 1. The Set-up can be accomplished in 1/2 hour or less. > 2. No tools are required. > 3. Individuals performing the work must be fu…
Certainly, there’s a lot of old entrenched unions who have come to rest on their past laurels and are now mired in bureaucracy and self-satisfaction.
One would easily imagine a software engineering union to be the complete opposite of that, as such a union would be completely new and hungry.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#24> What do we do? Well, root out the real causes of burnout. If it’s not those top workplace issues, it may very well be the burn of extended, heightened stress. For employees surveyed, flexible work hours and mental health support were more popular than even a four-day work week or unlimited PTO. The point then is lots of professionals like their actual work, they just don’t like the restrictions and environment. Giv…
The passive-aggressive lie that is "unlimited PTO" is part of the growing toxicity of startup work environments.
Depends on the company!
If it's inauthentic though, employees can smell it from far away.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#25Bullshit. Vacation [1] IS the answer for burnout. Long vacations are even more ok for burnout. Sabbaticals are the most ok. Guess what a doctor would recommend you do if you're having health issues from burnout? If there's chronic burnout in your company/org then indeed, no amount of vacation will fix that. But neither would flexible work hours or mental health support. [1] Vacation means complete and total disconnec…
Agreed. We need European-style month-long vacations in the US. And sabbaticals every few years. Also we should start looking at 36 and 32-hour workweeks.
We're 20x more productive than 40 years ago, yet still work the same hours or more for pay increases that barely keep up with inflation.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#26I would bet that flexible work hours are contributing for higher employee burnout.
I agree. In my experience, "flexible work hours" is often code for "everyone works weird fucking hours so instead of having a set routine, you have to be quasi-available at all times to respond to the person who decided to wait until 8pm to do the work you were waiting on". It's great for the person who needs flexibility, and shitty for everyone that depends on that person.
Flexible working arrangements are great when the team is able to asynchronously work, but I have yet to see a team that really does asynchronous work right.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#27I don't want "mental health support" from work. I only need that if my workplace is causing serious mental health issues in the first place. (Which it is at present.)
A personal counterpoint: I do want mental health support from work. Many of the downsides of complex childhood trauma didn’t start to really interfere with my life until my late 20s/early 30s. When I started really struggling at a job I’d already established myself in, I learned of and am incredibly grateful for the mental health benefits offered by my employer and for leaders who are open, understanding and willing…
I think it depends on what mental health support means. If it means helping pay for therapy and managers making accommodations and being genuinely supportive of people when they're having a hard time, that's fantastic.
Unfortunately at many companies it just means a presentation from HR every couple of months that boils down to "10 strategies to cope with the burnout we're causing". Meanwhile the people with actual power to change things keep pushing the same "aggressive" deadlines and refusing to provide the support/resources necessary to meet them in a healthy and sustainable way.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#28The issue is also people bringing their work to vacation. This lowers the effectiveness of vacations.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#29It is not the answer, but definitely part of the answer. When I have to work twice as hard before and after vacation, to make up for it, well, that's pretty damn exhausting.
Re: Vacation isn’t the answer to employee burnout
#30unless the entire team/company takes vacation at the same time, it is not too helpful.
the person comes back to a ton of work waiting for him.
also, when others take vacation, the work pace often does not stop, and the person, who himself is going through a burnout phase, takes on even more load