Association staff members work hard and tend to care deeply about their work. That’s good news, but beware: The kind of driven, highly engaged, mission-oriented employee every organization wants is also a prime candidate for burnout. In a Deloitte survey, 87 percent of professionals claimed to be passionate about their current roles, and 64 percent said that they are “frequently stressed.”

At first glance, employee burnout might just look like a few bad days. But if an employee who used to be highly engaged and productive starts showing up late to work, taking frequent sick days, or running on a short fuse, you’re probably dealing with burnout.

Burnout isn’t inevitable or permanent, but if you’re noticing signs of it in your employees, it’s time to act. Here are four ways to re-engage staff who may be on the road to burning out:

Increase transparency about workload. An unmanageable workload isn’t the only predictor of employee burnout, but it’s a major one. A study conducted by Kronos and Future Workplace found that unreasonable workload and too much overtime or after-hours work were two of the top three contributors to employee burnout among HR staff surveyed. (The third: unfair compensation.)

To prevent overwork, managers must understand what each staff member has on his or her plate. A regular performance check-in can help, as can biweekly meetings between individual employees and their supervisors. 

If an employee who used to be highly engaged and productive starts showing up late to work, taking frequent sick days, or running on a short fuse, you’re probably dealing with burnout.

Give employees more control over their calendar. Too many meetings can allow work to pile up. Challenge yourself and your team to keep meetings streamlined and action-oriented.

One practice that some professionals find helpful is blocking off time on calendars to work without interruptions or meetings. Consider giving your team the go-ahead to use this tactic, within reason. It’s a great way to empower employees to create their own breathing room and dedicated space to focus on strategic work and special projects.

Offering increased flexibility in employees’ work schedules can also help. This gives staff more agency to build their own schedules based on when they work best. And, if your organization can’t offer higher-than-average salaries, extra flexibility makes for an attractive employee benefit.

Practice the work-life balance you preach. Organizational culture typically comes from the top down. If your association’s staff leaders encourage employees to make use of their vacation time but the executives on the senior team are rarely seen taking time off, employees get mixed messages.

In the State of American Vacation 2018 survey by Project Time Off, 40 percent of employees said they aren’t clear on whether their employer encourages them to use their earned vacation time. But research shows that taking dedicated time off is good for staff and their organizations: A survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review found that 94 percent of employees who enjoyed a well-planned vacation had as much or more energy when returning to work than they did before their trip. A high-energy employee tends to be a more engaged employee—and of course a more rested employee who is less likely to experience burnout.

Give consistent feedback. Burnout often results when high performers produce consistently good work without much support or recognition for their efforts, which feeds an impression that the organization cares more about the bottom line than about employee well-being.

Creating a culture that prioritizes feedback can help engage employees who are on their way to burnout. When you encourage communication from employees to senior leaders, at the very least you’ll be able to spot burnout early, and at best you’ll be able to prevent it by giving high-performing employees recognition and necessary resources.

Burnout is preventable. By paying attention to employees’ well-being and giving them the support they need to thrive, you can help your staff stay energized and engaged, hold on to valued team members, and keep your organization productive.