A friend told me about running into a woman she used to work with while she was out shopping. The woman looked terrible! She asked if she had been ill. “No,” the woman replied, “just tired of the same old job, the same old complaints, and the same old me.” My friend quickly decided to abandon her list of errands and share a cup of tea, cake, and lend an ear. Maybe she could help. Her friend was a nurse in an assisted living community and was burned out from too many hours, no one seemed to care, and she was trying to gather enough energy to look for a different community to work in. Normally she loved her work and couldn’t understand why she was feeling so run down. My friend knew immediately that a good training curriculum could turn her working life into a productive one where she would be happier and healthier.

Do you know that employees experiencing the oncoming feeling of burnout are more likely to take sick days and are probably looking around for another place of employment? Their taking sick days increase the workload for coworkers spreading burn-out to others without their realizing it. Replacing employees is costly and troublesome. Even before the Covid-19 epidemic threw assisted and long-term care communities into the employee crunch, management was aware of the burn-out syndrome. Pressure in service-oriented positions that grow worse from working too many hours without respite because you are needed doesn’t solve the problem. Being aware and facing the problem is the first step to repairing the situation. Scheduling flexible hours and freeing up the rigid routine would change that feeling of being in a rut. Allowing employees to have time off to tend to their personal responsibilities lifts that burden of weight that sits on many overworked shoulders. 

Training comes in to face and solve burn-out problems. Kind Dining♥ training discussions can recognize if employees believe they are being treated fairly and give them a chance to add ideas to improve their work and to express if they are being supported by their manager. This is vital to their mental attitude in the workplace. Kind Dining♥ training exercises help to reduce burn-out by teaching new skills, helping gain confidence, and helping find value in what your food servers and all your staff do. Your employees will learn how to manage their own behavior and improve their self-image leading to a happier, healthier life.

Kind Dining♥ training is now approved for 11 Continuing Professional Education credits for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, & Nutrition & Dietetic Technicians Registered, as well as for Certified Dietary Managers.

Be♥ Kind: Do you know body language extends communication beyond mere words?