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How to Prevent Marketing Team Burnout and Stress

Reading time: 9 minutes
Written by
Claudette Jennifer van Rensburg
Stressed woman in front of a computer.

Burnout is unfortunately becoming a more prevalent phenomenon as our careers and personal lives become busier and busier. The distinctions between work and home life are growing hazy with the long hours we are putting in at the office while trying to juggle personal responsibilities.

What is burnout?

According to The World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome that is thought to be brought on by ongoing workplace stress affecting the well-being of team members and which is believed to not yet be effectively controlled. It has three dimensions that define it:

1.  Reduced professional efficacy,

2. Emotions of energy depletion or tiredness, a widening mental distance from one's employment, or

3. Thoughts of pessimism or cynicism about one's job.

Burnout only relates to phenomena in the context of the workplace; hence it should not be used to describe experiences in other spheres of life, however, some specialists believe that depression and other disorders may be to blame for burnout. Researchers have noted that a person's personality and family circumstances can affect whether they experience job burnout.

You may be in danger of burning out if you're worn out, disinterested, and unable to take pride in or enjoy your work. The World Health Organization classified burnout as a work-related phenomenon in 2019. The 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) recognizes burnout as a work-related disorder. However, it does not fall within the category of disease.

 

Common causes of burnout for marketing teams

It is not sufficient to just be aware of the warning signs of burnout and to comprehend the effects it can have on your organization. Additionally, businesses need to know what is causing it.
 

High workload

Burnout can happen if workers believe they are constantly understaffed, and the demands of their jobs exceed their capacity.
 

Lack of control

Employees desire autonomy and want to be trusted with their work. They also want to be able to regulate their time, workload, and location, as well as participate in choices that may affect their work. Probably the main reason why remote work has become increasingly popular. Think of it this way, you can easily outsource your content marketing to an agency using remote workers and lighten the burden of your in-house marketing team.

Burnout can result from a lack of autonomy and empowerment, which might be taken away or perceived as inadequate. Giving team members such as freelancers more control over their working times and environment will increase the workflow and result in a productive workday. That’s the bottom line.
 

Inadequate compensation or acknowledgment

Positive feedback is desired and required by employees. It encourages sentiments of pleasure and success in their work and gives them the confidence that they are doing a good job. Employees can question whether their efforts are worthwhile, and become cynical about why they are putting forth such high effort. They might even wonder whether their performance is adequate since no one has acknowledged their contributions when financial, social, and intrinsic rewards fall short of matching the amount of effort and time spent on the job.

Employees who experience an imbalance between incentives and work may become demotivated, ineffective, and self-deprecating, which can lead to burnout.
 

A rift in the community

Employees who don't feel like they belong and who don't think their supervisors, co-workers, or teammates are there for them run the danger of burning out. A continuously toxic atmosphere, such as one that encourages bullying, microaggressions, or other bad behaviors, might have the opposite impact of what support can do in terms of preventing burnout.
 

Sense of injustice

Burnout may result if there is a general perception that certain employees are not receiving fair treatment or that other employees are receiving preferential treatment. Mistrust can result in cynicism, a component of burnout, all employees must feel that they are treated equally, respectably, and with opportunities.

Employees who believe that advancement opportunities are given based on favoritism rather than merit, for instance, may become pessimistic about developing the abilities necessary to land the next opportunity and fail to understand how their efforts will have any bearing on the predicted, unfair outcome.
 

Misalignment of organizational and individual ideals

Pride in one's work can suffer when the values of an individual and those of an organization conflict. When there is a gap between what people value and what the company values, it can severely affect people's desire to feel like they are making important contributions and lead to experience burnout.

 

What are the signs and repercussions of burnout?

Burnout can appear as physical, mental, and/or emotional tiredness due to stress from the workplace or one's employment. Burnout brought on by work-related stressors can have several effects on a person's life.

They could experience a variety of physical symptoms (i.e. headaches, stomach aches, frequent illness, and changes in sleep and eating patterns) and psychological symptoms (i.e. sense of failure, self-doubt, feeling trapped, loss of motivation and increase negative outlook), which would have a major impact on their general quality of life.

Workplace burnout can create excessive anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, mixed emotions, abuse of alcohol or drugs, heart conditions, elevated blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes in employees. You can eventually feel as though you have nothing more to contribute. Burnout has a detrimental impact on all aspects of life, including your home, job, and social life. Burnout among employees is neither a personal problem nor a sign of incompetence. Instead, it is a problem that must be solved at the organizational level.

 

How to prevent burnout and stress

There is a widespread perception that many people still struggle to find a work-life balance because of working greater hours from home and staying "plugged in" all the time. This eventually hurts company morale, client happiness, and your ability to expand your organization because it makes it harder for people to recover from stressors related to their jobs and personal lives.

Some strategies to help you and your marketing team combat daily challenges and prevent burnout are to educate employees about burnout and to let them talk about it. Employees should be encouraged to take frequent breaks where they are active. A positive atmosphere and a healthier lifestyle should be encouraged. Lastly, employees should ensure that they get sufficient sleep and practice mindfulness.

Repercussions of burnout for organizations

Burnout among employees has detrimental effects on both the organizations and employees. The repercussions of burnout for organizations are:

  • Decrease in productivity: Compared to an employee who is stressed out by a demanding workload, a healthy and well-rested employee is more likely to produce high-quality work. Organizations must make investments in the happiness and health of their workers if it is dedicated to their success.
     
  • High rate of turnover: One of the main factors contributing to employee attrition is listed as burnout. A high turnover rate has a significant cost associated with it. Not only does it reduce overall labor productivity, but it also costs the company a significant sum of money. In addition to the increased expenditures, businesses run the danger of losing their best employees to burnout.
     
  • Employee disengagement: Motivated employees are more inclined to work hard and put up more effort because they care about the company's success. Employees are more likely to perform below expectations if they are overworked or given insufficient time for relaxation. As a result, both the organization's productivity and its ability to increase income are hindered.
     
  • Negative effects on health: The effects of excessive employment can be detrimental to one's physical and mental health. Working long hours can cause stress, which can cause heart disease, anxiety, and other significant health disorders like mental illness. A stressed-out worker is also more likely to engage in harmful habits like binge drinking and overeating. Self-care should be at the top of the agenda.

 

Outsourcing your marketing needs to reduce employee burnout and stress

Workplace stress can take many different forms, including being overworked, having financial difficulties, or having to keep up with customer expectations while concentrating on running the firm. Reduced stress is one of the best methods to boost employee performance and the best way to reduce stress is to reduce the workload of your employees.

Time management: You can relieve some of the additional strain on your own staff by outsourcing marketing operations and hiring professionals to handle those duties at an affordable CTC (cost to the company).

A laptop keyboard button with an Outsourcing icon.


Improving focus: You and your team may concentrate on your regular day-to-day priorities without the added burden of all the other work that needs to be done when you outsource the less crucial or time-consuming duties. You'll get greater employee performance and a higher production rate if your workers are simply required to concentrate on their work-related responsibilities rather than running about doing other people's work.

Increasing customer satisfaction: You can be sure your clients are getting a committed and skilled customer service experience when you outsource customer service. To relieve your internal staff of the added stress and give the job to the professionals, outsource your customer service department.

Reducing operational costs: Instead of worrying about operating expenses, seek to outsource. The most up-to-date hardware, software, and supplies are available to outsource organizations, enabling them to provide these services at their fullest capacity.

Burnout is a genuine concern in the high-stress profession of marketing, which could seriously impact your physical health.  You may prevent employee burnout and save your business money by outsourcing your marketing needs to o8, an agency with the expertise and adaptability to support your growth and achieve your goals.

 

Team Burnout in Digital Marketers: Causes and Effects

Keeping up can be nearly difficult in the information era when internet channels multiply at an exponential rate and customers digitally zigzag everywhere, which makes digital marketing ultimately frustrating.

Since the web is made up of multiple platforms, digital marketing can be a difficult task for one individual to handle alone, even working in teams might not be sufficient. As a result, business owners in the digital marketing sector put in long hours that will undoubtedly backfire eventually.

It is well recognized that stress precedes burnout, and those who work in the digital marketing industry frequently experience stress related to their jobs. Burnout can result in a drop in creativity, a lower level of social connection, and worse job satisfaction. Avoiding burnout should be your first solution to mitigate any downward spirals within any company.

However, some clever marketing agency initiatives can ensure you get back on track. o8 Agency prides itself on our in-person marketing ideals! And we definitely ensure the type of metrics you want to see!

 

Explore Outsourcing

Contact O8 to learn more about outsourcing and the benefits of outsourcing to an organization. We know all there is to know about marketing strategy, which gives you one less (but very important) thing to stress about. From small businesses to big corporations - your marketing strategy needs to set you apart from the rest.

From social media to content marketing, assisting sales teams and more - give us a call to explore how we can reduce your to-do list and handle all those important tasks with professionalism and enthusiasm.

O8 Agency - your agency that understands what your work environment should be like and importantly what marketing strategies you need to help you reach your business goals.

ABOUT O8

O8 is a different kind of agency, offering Fractional Marketing Services, including expert Digital Strategy, Web Design, and Marketing Automation. We understand that digital marketing gets harder each day, which is why we help marketing teams become more efficient, productive, and healthy. Here’s more information about why you might consider working with us.