Today, 52% of employees report feeling burned out, and businesses face significant losses over it, with over 80 million hours lost annually due to stress-related absences. This highlights the urgency for innovative solutions in addressing workplace burnout.
In a pivotal conversation, DesignRush sits down with Seth Barron to explore the company's innovative approach to mitigating workplace burnout.
Barron discusses how TaskHuman's platform, recognized by many for its effectiveness in stress management and employee retention, caters to the modern workforce's demands for balance and support.
Who Is Seth Barron?
Seth Barron is the VP of Data Intelligence & Insight at TaskHuman in New York, with a prior 16-year tenure at Google focusing on strategy and leadership. An accomplished speaker and RYT-500 yoga instructor, he advocates for personal and community growth through yoga and coaching. Barron also contributes to the Africa Yoga Project, promoting economic empowerment in the continent.
DesignRush: About 89% of employees experience burnout. How does TaskHuman's coaching address that issue in the workplace?
Seth: TaskHuman supports the whole person.
We know that for many, work-life integration becomes more relevant as the lines blur between work and personal life. The quest for balance — on top of daily demands — can compound into a pressure cooker of stress ultimately resulting in burnout.
The first way TaskHuman manages this is to give the employees the full support they need with real-time live coaching from experts in over 1,200 areas of support. We firmly believe that people need immediate support in their moment of need, that is why our platform offers true real-time support 24/7.
Users, regardless of where they are located, can connect with our global network of coaches instantly to get support in their work and personal lives. For teams facing burnout together, we offer group coaching sessions to bridge the gap between hybrid and global teams.
Can you elaborate on the role of leadership in preventing team burnout, and how they can recognize the early signs of burnout among team members?
We believe in human values.
Great leadership is the cornerstone in steering clear of team burnout. Our leadership team crafts an environment built on openness, understanding, and heartfelt communication.
We set the stage by being honest about goals and expectations, listening actively to team members, and nurturing a caring culture.
Championing autonomy, advocating for work-life balance, and rolling out coaching act as safeguards against burnout. Regularly acknowledging efforts, conducting group coaching sessions, and flexibly managing workloads are also part of the proactive approach.
Leaders champion a growth mindset, seeing challenges as chances for growth.
These practices ensure our leadership team embodies our values, putting the team's well-being first and foremost to stave off burnout.
With the rise of digital fatigue, how does TaskHuman propose to manage these challenges while maintaining team productivity?
As an all-remote company ourselves, we are very attuned to the challenges of maintaining team engagement and productivity for our customers. Our platform is designed to meet users at the moment of need with live 24/7 support, so we easily accommodate flexible work schedules & cultures.
Our broad range of over 1,200 coaching topics on the platform allows all our users to find exactly the support they need, allowing each user to drive their own coaching journey.
We know that specific groups of people need tailored support, so we offer Curated Programs to highlight key topics that are relevant to those groups.
With our recent platform expansion now offering TaskHuman in Microsoft Teams and via desktop web browser, in addition to our iOS and Android mobile applications, we can now better meet the demands of all our users on any relevant topic on any digital device.
Our users have told us that we drive engagement and productivity.
In a recent survey, 82% of our users said TaskHuman has helped drive engagement with personal and professional development opportunities offered by their company.
At the same time, 86% of our users said that TaskHuman has helped them improve their job performance or productivity.
Considering that different employees have varying thresholds for stress, what is TaskHuman’s approach to customization in this regard?
Understanding that needs vary by individual, seasonality, and organizational context, we strive to serve diverse populations, including students, gig economy workers, and white-collar professionals.
Each population may require a different curation strategy tailored to address the specific skills most valuable to their industry. We recognize the uniqueness of each individual and aim to provide a holistic solution that caters to diverse requirements.
This approach ensures that our platform remains flexible and adaptive, allowing users to customize their experience based on their unique stressors and workloads.
How has TaskHuman's coaching led to tangible improvements in employee well-being and productivity in organizations that were struggling with high burnout rates?
Our commitment to employee well-being is not just a philosophical stance but is backed by tangible results.
In a recent survey, an impressive 93% of users reported that TaskHuman helped them effectively manage stress and reduce feelings of burnout.
Equally significant, 89% of respondents stated that TaskHuman played a crucial role in influencing their decision to remain in their current job.
How does building trust within a team contribute to burnout prevention, and how does TaskHuman facilitate this process?
Building trust within a team is instrumental in preventing burnout.
At the core of team trust is psychological safety, which serves as the foundation for effective collaboration and well-being.
TaskHuman actively contributes to establishing psychological safety in the workplace by providing robust support at both the individual and group levels. We address key aspects of trust-building through topics such as workplace courage, communication with empathy, and adopting a coaching mindset.
These elements are essential in creating a culture where team members can openly express themselves, share concerns, and seek guidance without fear of judgment.
By offering a menu of resources focused on these crucial aspects, TaskHuman helps teams cultivate the trust necessary for a healthy and resilient work environment. This approach significantly contributes to burnout prevention by promoting a workplace culture where individuals feel valued, heard, and supported in their professional journey.
How does TaskHuman integrate tech solutions and coaching to create a sustainable work environment that prevents burnout?
TaskHuman takes a comprehensive approach to integrating technological solutions and coaching, creating a sustainable work environment that actively prevents burnout, particularly in teams heavily reliant on digital tools.
We ensure accessibility on every device and platform, and this inclusivity ensures that our solutions seamlessly align with the diverse ways teams operate, enhancing user engagement and overall effectiveness.
We recognize the challenges posed by digital reliance, and to address this, TaskHuman has made strategic technological investments.
Our collaboration with Zoom SDK showcases our commitment to technical innovation for connection quality.
This collaboration not only improves the user experience but also fosters meaningful interactions, mitigating the negative impact of excessive digital reliance.
Moreover, TaskHuman demonstrates a commitment to sustainability in preventing burnout through the TaskHuman Effectiveness Institute (TEI). By investing resources in studying coaching effectiveness and customer value, our technological solutions are not only cutting-edge but also align with the best practices in coaching methodologies.
Editing by Katherine 'Makkie' Maclang
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