Much has been said about the threats posed by staffers who don’t pull their weight. But what about the top performers who always try to do too much?
Workaholics usually have trouble leaving the office behind when they’re at home. While it sounds absurd to complain about workers who care too much about their jobs, there’s a very real danger associated with this behavior: employee burnout.
Flexible work scheduling and telecommuting options have helped blur the line between work and home. Now, with record layoffs and stress over job security likely to push more employees to work harder and longer to appear indispensable, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their overall well-being.
It’s easy to tell which employees are overworked if they exhibit classic, physical symptoms. But what if the signs are more subtle?
One company, Accenture, regularly sends out personal engagement surveys to its employees to get a feel for their work/life balance. Unlike typical surveys that simply gauge a firm’s success with career development, Accenture polls employees on how their quality of life has been while working with the company.
The surveys let employees rank life quality in comparison with factors such as benefits and salary. The company is also rated (and ranked by employees in order of personal importance) in the following areas:
- diversity and reputation
- work
- opportunities
- competitive rewards, and
- people.
