Burnout is felt across professions, and it can significantly affect a company’s profitability and overall staff morale. Manufacturing is no exception. In fact, employee burnout in the manufacturing industry was twice the level of any other sector during the pandemic, according to a recent survey by LinkedIn’s Glint subsidiary.
The effects can be significant. More than nine in 10 respondents to a Deloitte study said too much stress or frustration had a detrimental effect on the quality of their work. Millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) were impacted the most. The Deloitte study found that 84 percent of this demographic have experienced burnout at their current job, compared to 77 percent of all respondents.
Burnout also affects employee retention. This is particularly problematic for the manufacturing industry, which has struggled to retain employees during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why is this bad? Consider this: When an employee leaves, it takes significant time to deal with the departure. Replacing an entry-level employee typically costs half of their salary, according to the Society of Human Resource Management.
In addition, employee fatigue can limit overall manufacturing bandwidth. Examples include quality discrepancy, missed deadlines, and decreased productivity.
Effective planning depends on a thorough understanding of all manufacturing activities. Production planning allows you to manage open time, ensuring it is well utilized while avoiding delays. The use of high-quality manufacturing staff scheduling software can come in handy. Planning should maximize (but not exceed) your operational capacity with employees. A good idea is not to plan for total capacity and leave some room for unexpected priorities and workforce changes.
Another recent survey by Shiftboard found 49 percent of hourly workers would accept a reasonable pay cut if they had more control over their schedule. This indicates that a sizable number of employees value workplace flexibility, a sign of the stress that negative shift patterns can cause.
For example, Torani, a coffee syrup manufacturer, said it “doubled down” to create a more inclusive workplace. This was achieved in part by the increased use of automation to make production jobs less strenuous at Torani’s “Flavor Factory,” which opened in 2020, according to the California-based firm.
Meanwhile, effective leadership can foster a positive work environment and good behavior modeling. Rather than creating silos between levels of leadership, take steps to understand the challenges and concerns across team roles in an effort to create a safe space to work.
One example: WorkSafeBC developed a manufacturing strategy for employees in British Columbia, Canada. The team created a self-evaluation tool that comes with a set of checklists for better identification and control of manufacturing risks. Once these gaps are identified, the proper mitigations can be implemented to keep workers safe, according to the company.
Burnout is as prevalent as ever. The pandemic has only made it a more prominent challenge for front-line workers and supervisors on manufacturing floors.
Look beyond pay and benefits and recognize the importance of schedules, workplace safety, and collaboration in overall job satisfaction and productivity. Once you do that, your workforce can thrive.
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