Remote work has a lot of positives going for it, it allows for a healthier work-life balance, less time wasted commuting, and greater flexibility for individual employees. However the one major issue with it is that the line between work and home can become blurred leading to increased levels of stress and a higher risk of burnout.

As an employer it is important that you are aware of this risk and take steps to minimize it. And it may come as a surprise but one way that you can effectively protect remote workers from burnout is by using remote PC monitoring software.

Monitor Employees for Signs of Burnout

Employees don’t just burnout all of a sudden. In most cases there are lots of early warning signs such as lower quality of work, reduced productivity, spotty communication, less responsiveness during meetings, and so on.

Using Controlio or other employee monitoring tools will make it easy for you to spot these signs early. Its features will let you monitor remote workers activity and behavior so you can quickly identify anything unusual.

Based on the data it collects, Controlio will calculate a productivity score for each employee which will let you see if their productivity is abnormally low. It also tracks other metrics such as time spent active or idle, app and web usage, and work hours – all of which can be used to check if employees exhibit signs of being disengaged, stressed, and at high risk of burning out.

Avoid Overworking Employees and Encourage Breaks

Another way employee monitoring can be useful is by giving you the means to identify employees who may be overworked so that you can intervene early on. If you see an employee working long hours you can change the way you distribute tasks so that they don’t have so much to do, or alter deadlines to make them more reasonable.

Within Controlio you can see exactly how long employee spend working, and whether they’re active or idle during that time. Additionally it will show you what apps they’re using so you can tell whether they’re working or doing something else.

Ideally you should make it a point to encourage employees to take regular breaks every hour or two. This will give them the chance to relax, unwind, and reduce their stress levels. Making this part and parcel of your work culture can go a long way towards reducing the risk of burnout, and employee monitoring will let you keep tabs on employees to check how often they’re taking breaks.

Conclusion

While these steps may seem minor, they can have a big impact on your employees. More importantly they’ll let your remote workers know that you are concerned about their welfare and take the issue seriously – which may make them more open to talking about it.

Always remember that in the long run taking steps to avoid burnout is going to be far better for your company – not just in terms of the well-being of your employees, but their productivity too.