Burnout is a serious problem that affects over 40% of people in the workplace.¹ Even with efficient and flexible staffing options like the floating property management model, employees can still feel worn out in the long run. Fortunately, there are strategies you can use to help your real estate team stay motivated, productive, and protected from burnout.
Read on to learn how to address employee burnout in the floating property management model.
Employee Burnout and How It Affects the Workplace
When employees go through weeks or months of continuous physical and mental stress, their “fuel” begins to run out—this is burnout. According to The World Health Organization, burnout happens to people who experience long-term stress without properly managing it.² It is usually characterized by exhaustion, feelings of detachment or negativity about work, and decreased ability to work effectively.
Burnout is an urgent issue that can hurt both your people and your business. Employees can lose focus, miss goals, and feel unwilling to work. Over time, they will be more likely to take more sick days than normal and eventually leave their jobs.
Lower employee retention can eventually lead to your remaining staff being overwhelmed as they try to cover the additional work. This creates a ripple effect, lowering your employees’ overall morale and productivity. Ultimately, your company might struggle with lower quality of service and revenue. On top of this, you must also deal with the extra costs and effort of handling employee turnover.
Major Causes of Burnout in Floating Property Management Teams
Real estate companies using a floating model are often dynamic and efficient. But while this system offers flexibility and adaptability, it can also pose challenges that lead to exhaustion or demotivation. Watch out for the major causes of burnout in a floating property management team:
Constant Adjustment to Changing Situations
Floating property managers or leasing teams frequently travel to different locations. In each new area, they are expected to adapt to unique challenges, policies, or demands. This constant adjustment can overwhelm your staff as they constantly navigate shifting priorities and expectations. On top of the physical toll of traveling, this lack of routine can also bring mental and emotional exhaustion.
Overworking
Some situations in a floating property management system can lead to employees covering more workload than they can handle. For example, staff shortages during busy seasons might require employees to take extra shifts or manage more properties. Regularly transferring to different locations forces staff to work longer hours to maintain service quality.
Property manager burnout can also happen if the floating system becomes too complicated for easy coordination. Once they mismanage their task delegations, some employees might handle too much work without anyone noticing.
Weak Team Dynamics
Floating employees often work alone or with different teams at different locations. In this arrangement, building strong team dynamics, let alone feeling a sense of belonging can be difficult. Employees may develop feelings of isolation and lower job satisfaction. It is also important to note that good work relationships provide technical and emotional support during challenging work situations. Without a community that boosts morale, the chances of burnout increase.
How to Deal with Burnout in the Floating Property Model
Handling employee burnout in a floating property management team will need a mix of early prevention and immediate response. By managing your systems properly and supporting your employee’s well-being, you can create a healthy environment that makes work more manageable for everyone.
Here are a few strategies to keep your property managers, leasing agents, maintenance technicians, and other staff members happy and productive.
1. Monitor Workloads
Monitoring workloads is crucial to prevent overworking. Maximize tools like Asana and Trello to track and distribute tasks evenly across your team. Ensure that no one gets the bulk of the work for prolonged amounts of time.
You can also regularly check in with your staff to determine whether some areas demand significantly harder tasks than others. Make sure to record your findings and assess whether changes are necessary. This approach will be beneficial during busy seasons when the hassle makes identifying which employees are overworked harder.
2. Employ Flexible Scheduling
Flexible scheduling gives employees a stronger sense of control, helping them adjust to the dynamic nature of floating management. This approach also helps them maintain a healthy work-life balance. You can start by allowing them to set their shifts based on their preferences. For example, a property manager may prefer to begin tenant consultations at 7 AM, then use the afternoon to check maintenance work and visit sites until 3 PM.
Another option is allowing remote work whenever possible, especially for administrative tasks. You can also explore having a compressed workweek system. For example, a maintenance technician may want to choose four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days. Finally, you can also improve support for downtimes. Start by scheduling your employees’ paid time off in advance and encourage them to use up their holidays and weekends.
3. Focus on Professional Development
Upskilling opportunities keep employees engaged and confident in their roles. Floating staff face various challenges when they work in different locations. Continuous skills development ensures that they will be well-equipped to handle the diversity of their jobs. Plus, this helps them replace stress and inadequacy with confidence and satisfaction.
Begin by organizing workshops or webinars focused on time management, customer service, property management software, and other skills relevant to your team. You can also find out what kind of learning they need by holding regular meetings where you discuss common problems they face. Mentorship programs where experienced staff guide newer members can also help your team learn from one another.
Read More: Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning
4. Support Employee Mental Health
Mental health care is a big part of addressing burnout. You can start by opening helpful conversations about mental health. Show your team how the company values mental well-being by giving them the support they need. When employees feel more comfortable discussing topics like emotional intelligence or stress, they are more likely to seek help before burnout becomes severe.
Follow up on your conversations by offering wellness programs focused on mental health. Provide access to counseling services and employee assistance programs (EAPs) where staff can get professional help with work-related issues. Stress management workshops and mental health days can also give your team a chance to rest while learning ways to prevent burnout.
5. Build a Positive Culture
A vibrant culture is key to strengthening floating team dynamics. Start by offering team-building programs or coffee breaks. Even if your employees work alone or with different teams all the time, activities like these can foster great relationships and avoid feelings of isolation.
A well-designed reward and appreciation system also plays a big role in maintaining team morale. Try starting programs like employee of the month awards, recognizing people during team meetings, and incentive-based bonuses. Even simple gestures like thank-you emails or personalized messages can go a long way in making employees feel your community.
Read More: 3 Easy Ways To Show Employee Appreciation
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References:
- American Psychiatric Association Foundation. “New Polling Data Shows Most Employers Offer Some Form of Mental Health Benefits, but Burnout Impacts.” Psychiatry.org, 2024, www.psychiatry.org/news-room/news-releases/new-polling-data-on-workplace-mental-health.
- World Health Organization. “Burn-out an “Occupational Phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases.” 28 May 2019, www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases.