You’ve probably heard of social workplace burnout, a feeling that social media professionals encounter when experiencing the gloomy side of social. It’s a difficult space to navigate when your role is centered around immediate response times and filtering through comments, both positive and negative. At times, cyber abuse can also become significantly overwhelming. 

In this article, we’re offering four proven tips that have helped BBTV preserve and protect the mental health of its team and creators. Learn how social media professionals such as yourself can combat the negative effects of the online world.

What Does Burnout Look Like?  

Before we unwrap how you can foster a healthy work-life balance, we need to understand what workplace burnout is, and how it can vary from person to person. In fact, burnout doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Here are some signs to watch out for: 

• Workaholism; “I’m the only person who can do this and I need to be available 24/7.”
• Displaced conflict. Normally easy-going and collaborative teammates become difficult, unresponsive, and can lash out at others. 
• Withdrawal. You or a teammate may be skipping meetings, team syncs, company events, or generally not participating in the day to day camaraderie.
• Declining work quality and attendance issues. Someone who is usually reliable starts to miss deadlines, or the quality of their work declines.
• Physical symptoms may show up. These are often stomach, throat or voice issues. 

Now that you know how to identify burnout or a decline in your overall well-being, consider these four effective strategies to prevent the negative impacts from emerging in your work environment and personal life.

Set Boundaries 

Setting boundaries and expectations with your team allows you to create an effective work-life balance. Having a clear and open line of communication with your colleagues and managers will help them understand the most appropriate ways to reach you, especially if you need to be contacted outside of regular working hours.

Speak with your manager or the HR team about what resources are available for you or your team. This includes utilizing a Wellness platform (sometimes called an Employee Assistance Program) or other mental wellness resources. Having access to a work computer and phone to differentiate your professional and personal life will go a long way when logging on and off. 

We recommend turning off your social media notifications after the work day. As social media professionals witness the good, the bad, and the ugly that the internet has to offer, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal online interactions. 

Consider unplugging yourself from the online world during non-working hours. Remember, social media never sleeps. If you are constantly online, you will eventually experience burnout, leading to a lack of drive and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. 

Work Smarter, Not Longer

If you have a solid social media strategy in place using response templates and scheduling/community management tools, you can significantly reduce your workload. 

Try an automation program that can amplify your social media strategy. These programs can help you with optimal posting times and dates, publish your content in advance, and provide you with performance listening month-to-month. When you’re out of the office, they’ll also help you schedule all your content prior to your vacation or off-days. The pay off? Alleviate your workload and prevent the scramble for any last-minute changes.

Here are three valuable and convenient social media tools you should consider using for content management: 

ICONOSQUARE

• Maximize your performance by making insightful, data-driven decisions based on intelligible analytics.
• Add multiple social profiles for different brands and companies.
• Publish your content automatically with built-in features such as Best Time to Post, Geolocation, and User Tagging, ensuring that your content reaches the right audiences at the right time.

LATER.COM

• Preview your feed before you post to create a beautiful Instagram aesthetic.
• Share the original photo with your own followers.
• Sync photos and videos from your phone, desktop, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
• Track your likes, followers, and clicks with Later’s Instagram Analytics.

SPROUT SOCIAL

• Intuitive and easy to use.
• Well-organized and separates subject matter into six distinct areas: Messages, Tasks, Feeds, Publishing, Discovery, and Reports.
• Real-time snapshots and aggregated trends that help you better understand your audience.

Additionally, consider establishing response templates to reduce time spent on community management. Create pre-approved templates with predetermined replies to comments or direct messages as a backup support system. Implementing smart tactics to streamline your tasks will improve your daily productivity and efficiency.

Time to Collab! 

The internet can be an inclusive and exclusive place all at the same time. Working as a social media professional can feel incredibly lonely, so fostering relationships with your teammates can be a great way to reduce the chances of workplace burnout. Everyone should have a backup; team collaboration can be a lifesaver when you are away or are low on bandwidth. Ensure you have a teammate who can step in for you, and vice versa.

Suggest weekly editorial syncs with your team to see where you can gain support, or to brainstorm for new ideas. You do not need to be responsible for every idea, concept, or piece of content that is published. Instead, lean on your teammates and social media community as sources of inspiration.

Prioritize Mental Health 

You can’t control your feelings, but you can control your reactions. This mindset is incredibly important when working as a social media professional. 

Mental health has become a priority in the workplace. Having a candid conversation with your team about your mental health will naturally make you feel more comfortable, resulting in a productive mindset. Fostering an environment where employees can comfortably invest in protecting their well-being can reduce the chances of workplace burnout. Eliminating the “stigma” attached to mental health in the workplace can help everyone find positive solutions. Here are a few changes you can make: 

1. Don’t eat lunch at your desk, take a real break.
2. Get a full eight hours of sleep.
3. Try to connect with a member of your team at least once per day.
4. Exercise or go for a 20-minute walk.
5. Charge your phone outside of your bedroom.
6. Use the Paid Time Off offered by your company. Taking regular breaks from work to rest and recharge are crucial to preventing burnout.

It’s important to invest in your physical and mental health on a daily basis. Try incorporating one of the four tips that have been crucial to BBTV’s success to help you combat workplace burnout and ultimately protect your social media wired brain!