The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was a major win for workers in the United States. It established a forty-hour work week, guidelines about child labor, a minimum wage, and the requirement that workers be compensated extra for work beyond their 40 hours. 

Is your company’s push for employee engagement burning out your best people? 

Burnout happens when employees are physically, emotionally, or mentally exhausted. Throw in a lack of confidence about their performance or uncertainty about whether they’re valuable to your organization, and suddenly your formerly-great employees are floundering. 

If your employees work long hours and stay connected to email on evenings and weekends while their vacation time goes unused, odds are good they’re burned out. If they aren’t yet, it’s only a matter of time. This can turn into a big problem for you as an employer. 

What causes work exhaustion? Lack of control in job, long hours, work/life imbalance, confusion about expectations, and discord among coworkers or management can all contribute. As employees grow weary of their circumstances, job performance and attitudes suffer.

The good news? It's possible to keep employees engaged without burning them out. Here are 3 good places to start.

Annual performance reviews can be a source of dread for many supervisors. What could possibly be more awkward than a forced, stilted conversation with someone you hardly talk to all year? But with the right preparation and attitude, there’s no reason this process has to be so uncomfortable. 

Hiring new college graduates is a great strategy for lots of reasons. They’re eager to get work experience, likely to innovate and take risks, and are very comfortable using a variety of new technologies, among other factors. But attracting the best and brightest new talent can be a challenge, especially if you’re not a Silicon Valley startup swimming in funding.