Guidance on addressing burnout and stress in council employees and frontline workers

Explore some helpful strategies for addressing burnout and stress in council employees and frontline workers. This article emphasises the importance of openly talking about mental health and wellbeing while adopting good practice to maintain boundaries and a balance that helps to create healthier and more positive working environments.

With demanding deadlines, increasing workloads, and continued anxieties around job insecurity, council workers are exposed to stressful situations in the workplace on a daily basis.  

Continued and unmanaged exposure to stress can result in many frontline workers facing burnout, which can have a detrimental impact not only on their own health, but also affect those who use vital council-run services. For example, in Warwickshire County Council, recent reports showed that stress and mental health problems accounted for around 35% of all staff absences.

It is crucial to support the mental health and wellbeing of council employees, especially frontline workers who work with vulnerable community members. But in order for local government to protect their people and the vital work they do, they must find strategies that empower employees to set boundaries and protect their work life balance, while equipping managers and senior leaders with the tools to manage expectations and foster a more positive working environment. 

In this article, we will look at: 

• Some of the main issues that council employees and frontline workers face that can cause stress and burnout
• Identify opportunities for improved practices,
• Outline the key strategies that can be adopted by local government and councils to create better working environments and a healthier work-life balance for all employees. 

Opening up conversations about mental health at work

Most mental health treatment centres support individuals in building emotional resilience and providing tools to better manage their response to stress and depression, equipping them with techniques to avoid burnout and improve their quality of life. 

Employers can adopt strategies inspired by this approach to foster an environment for their employees that supports stress management and reduces the impact on mental health. Unfortunately, there are still some apprehensions and anxieties when it comes to talking about mental health, especially in the workplace. 

By creating opportunities for open and honest conversations about mental and physical wellbeing, organisations can:

• Aim to remove stigmas.
• Help to reduce stress.
• Manage causes of burnout before they become an issue.  

Creating safe, nonjudgmental spaces where all employees feel comfortable sharing their struggles can encourage peer-to-peer support and help avoid burnout. 

This can also create increased empathy throughout an organisation of the kinds of stressors other colleagues face, allowing collaborative advice and discussions of stress management techniques. 

Training staff in stress and mental health support

One of the best strategies for supporting the mental health of local government workers is to invest in training to create a wider understanding of issues faced by frontline workers. Giving everyone in the organisation the tools for managing burnout and practical techniques to deal with stress in the workplace. 

Investing in mental health awareness training can also help organisations to identify signs of stress in their peers, providing opportunities to support staff to avoid stress becoming burnout and further impacting overall health and wellbeing. 

To further expand this effort, recruiting and training mental health first aiders within the team can give employers clear paths to seek support from colleagues who are trained, knowledgeable and able to handle and escalate mental health issues within a professional environment.   

Empowering employees to set healthy boundaries at work

Employers and employees alike need to establish clear boundaries between personal and professional lives. This can help avoid overextension, oversharing or overstepping lines when it comes to building relationships or managing workloads.  

Empowering frontline workers to set clear boundaries around work hours and availability can help to better protect their mental and physical health. This can be particularly important in matters like overtime and working additional hours.  

A YouGov survey found that 70% of frontline NHS staff have taken on additional shifts to account for missing staff and feel pressured to take opportunities for overtime. Organisations should look to encourage workers to set boundaries and ensure employees have adequate time to recuperate between shifts, and focus on better managing workloads, as discussed later in this article. 

Giving employees the space to communicate their availability to work can create a healthier separation between working and personal time, contributing to an improved work-life balance and decreasing the risk of burnout. 

Leaders setting the tone for wellbeing culture

Managers and senior employees must lead by example to create a more balanced and healthy working environment by encouraging a more inclusive and open approach to mental health and stress in the workplace. Organisations can normalise these conversations by encouraging senior teams to talk openly and share their own experiences with stress and mental health. 

Similarly, by upholding and respecting the boundaries set by their employees, they can be seen to be proactively protecting the mental wellbeing of their team and fostering an overall more positive environment for all employees. 

Managing workloads and setting realistic expectations

With resources squeezed and demands increasing, council workers may feel unable to manage their workload. This can lead to struggles in maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and become a cause for NHS staff burnout and increased stress among frontline employees. 

Setting realistic expectations and making sure the workload is achievable can help employers to redress this balance and reduce the pressure on frontline workers. 

Looking at performance and project data can help pinpoint any pain points when it comes to deadlines or resources, and lead to more robust planning that reduces stress on employees and helps managers and senior leadership teams within local councils to allocate time more appropriately and delegate efficiently. 

Embracing flexible working

Flexible working has been more widely embraced in local councils. For example, early results of the South Cambridgeshire Council’s four-day week trial are largely positive, so far showing no negative impact on productivity or performance.

While many remote and hybrid working roles within local government can adopt flexibility, various other roles have more restricted flexibility when it comes to location or hours. For frontline workers, flexible working could include part-time working requests or adjusted shift start/end times, allowing employees to better manage their personal commitments, improve their work-life balance, and reduce stress. 

To truly embrace flexible working means encouraging flexible working requests and taking time to fully review these, understanding the impact on individual and business needs, and making reasonable adjustments on a case-by-case basis. In doing so, local governments and councils can help their employees manage stress levels and avoid burnout. 

Recognising and rewarding employees

Creating clear recognition and reward systems can help improve employee satisfaction outside of remuneration. Openly acknowledging and appreciating employees’ contributions and hard work in public forums can help employees to feel proud of their hard work and be seen within the wider organisation. 

Promoting a positive culture of appreciation can help to create a workplace where employees feel valued and appreciated for their efforts. This can increase employee satisfaction and contribute to better employee retention. 

Closing thoughts

When it comes to addressing burnout and stress for council employees and frontline workers, finding strategies that balance individual support and needs with wider organisation initiatives and training can help all employees to better manage their response to stress and avoid burnout. 

Creating a working environment that fosters recognition, embraces flexible working and invests in training can lead to improved employee satisfaction and wellbeing. With more focus on wellbeing, local government can improve staff retention and better serve their communities and users. 

Looking for more?
Explore LGIU’s mental health resources

Writer Gemma Williams actively contributes to conversations about career development, workplace culture, and the future of work. She is dedicated to creating resources and platforms that provide meaningful connections and support career growth. After gaining experience in various HR roles, she now turns her focus toward growing her personal brand and connecting with leading experts in the industry. If you would like to know more, you can follow her at @GemmaWilliamsHR or take a look at her website.