Avoiding burnout on the job

Question

From a project management perspective, how might one avoid and prevent burnout by the team or individuals?

Answer 1

Burnout can also come into play when there is a lack of recognition and appreciation. It is the PM's role to not only manage the various intricacies of the project or program but also to LEAD.

It has been my experience in my 15+ years of being a PM that my projects run smoothest and my teams are happiest when they feel supported not only by me as the lead but also by other team members. And I make a vested effort to ensure that everyone is doing what they love to do best as well as call attention to their strengths and contributions.

My approach has always been to learn as much as humanly possible about the roles and responsibilities of each contributing team and educate other teams about what that is during the life of the project. This also opens up lines of communication and creates more possibilities for collaboration, which in turn usually tends to make the project as a whole move faster and stay within the budget if not under budget.

I also am very collaborative by nature and keep everyone on the same page, marching to the same beat, through fun daily games and competitions, fun and funny rewards, contests, and the like :)

Answer 2

Burnout signals that one is working much too harder qualitatively than smarter, or that one is working much too more quantitatively than one can bear.