| I guess I would recommend some self-compassion, first of all, because this is a historically miserable time and you are muddling through the same as everyone else. The pandemic may not be the time in your management career when employees seemed happiest. I think you're right that direct asking sometimes doesn't work. Furthermore, it's easy to confuse private outside-of-work issues for hidden burnout. I have begrudgingly revealed personal problems because it seemed like the best way to stop my manager sleuthing and keep my job safe. I then had to put on a fake smile for all the free advice and unsolicited personal stories I got. The only catharsis was my manager's. So if "inbound" info seeking can be dangerous, I guess that leaves companies with "outbound" burnout interventions, like surprise days off and "optional" happy hours. Also tricky. Events might make an organizer with power feel good but if they're upsetting the forced attendees, the organizer will be the last to know. Maybe it's best to seek a lot of anonymous feedback on these "rewards" Third possibility after detecting or relieving burnout is preventing it. This means managers modeling boundaries and self-care. Take needed sick days and do not "excuse" yourself by confessing what you're sick with. Shut the laptop at 5pm and set an overnight away message. Remind people to make plans to use their benefits. Refuse some emergencies. Sadly, trust is more easily destroyed than built. The management team needs to be honest about which way accountability flows in the company: does it just go from managers to underlings, or do underlings regularly and safely point out problems? Skip-level meetings might prevent people from creating hidden "rules" inside the company ("this team stays til 7", "yeah that employee is abusive but we accommodate them because they're good at programming and our team works on critical systems", "don't talk to anyone outside the team without telling me first") Sounds like you are a good manager for caring about this issue. Best of luck |