During the busy season, it is easy to get caught up in the rush without thinking about how your employees are handling it. Staff burnout in the workplace can be a huge problem for many businesses. It leads to an estimated $1 trillion lost in global productivity per year.
Some of the most common causes of workplace burnout include unmanageable workload, unreasonable time pressure, and a lack of support from the manager.
The Lowdown on Burnout
Here are some stats on workplace burnout:
- 75% of workers have experienced burnout, with 40% saying they’ve experienced burnout specifically during the pandemic. (FlexJobs)
- 67% of all workers believe burnout has worsened over the course of the pandemic. (Indeed)
- 36% of employees said their organization isn’t doing anything to help with employee burnout. (Eagle Hill Consulting)
- Burned-out employees are 63% more likely to take a sick day and 2.6 times as likely to be actively seeking a different job. (Gallup)
In a dental practice, burnout can come from staff not having enough time to complete their tasks while also having to ensure patients are properly looked after.
How do you avoid staff burnout and the lost productivity that comes with it? How do you even spot it? As we previously mentioned, burned-out employees are more likely to take a sick day. They are also much more likely to be seeking a different job. If you are noticing things such as high turnover rates or increased use of sick days, that might be a sign you are experiencing burnout among your staff.
The best thing you can do is listen to your employees’ concerns. You can find out if they are feeling as though they don’t have enough time to complete their work. It is possible they will even have ideas to help!
What are some things you can do to proactively help avoid burnout?
Optimize Your Operations
If your staff is feeling the time-crunch from having to spend hours upon hours on the phone, you need to streamline your operations. The easiest thing you can do is find ways to automate some of the tasks that fall on your employees.
Using email or text reminders to send out appointment confirmations is the first step to take. When you automate these reminders, it reduces the amount of time spent on the phone trying to call patients to book or confirm appointments. This can save you hours-per-week and relieve the pressure on your office operations.
Increase Patient Engagement
It’s no secret that it can be stressful when your patients are not engaged. No-shows and canceled appointments increase the amount of work you and your staff have to do, which creates a tenser and more stressful work environment.
Keeping patients engaged is a key part of reducing no-shows and lost chair time. When your patients are more engaged through regular email or text communication, it means they are more likely to follow their care instructions and show up for the appointment. Plus it makes follow-up appointments easier to book!
How Intiveo Can Help
At Intiveo, our goal has always been to help you streamline the operations of your practice. With Intiveo software, you will be able to automate large segments of your operations. From appointment confirmations and patient recalls to sending out care instructions and forms, we can help you ease the burden on you and your administrative staff.
If you are interested in using Intiveo to help take some of the weight off the shoulders of your office, contact us today for a free demo.
