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Education
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StreetSmarts SM

How to avoid customer service burnout

By Nick Cucci What does customer service burnout look like?
Fluid Pay LLC Every employee is different, and so is every team. Cus-
tomer service burnout can influence everyone differently
ost industries have times throughout the depending on the circumstances leading up to it and the
year when they experience an unusual spike resources available to the team. For some teams, customer
in traffic for customer service teams. It
M might be surrounding the launch of a new service burnout might be mild and appear as general un-
rest or heightened frustration. For other teams, it can be
product, or it could be linked to a specific timeline within a debilitating affair that impacts the morale of the team
an industry or widely celebrated holidays. At the end of
the day, it can be really draining for those in customer (see https://tinyurl.com/2az8r44k).
service or who oversee customer service teams.
Common signs of customer service burnout include frus-
Customer service burnout can lead to lower performance tration, anxiety, depression-like symptoms, low team
morale, feelings of helplessness, decreased output, more
levels and poor mental health for employees, which is
why it is so important to navigate it correctly. So, you escalations and bad attitudes.
might ask, what is customer service burnout—and how How to navigate customer service burnout
can we avoid it? That's what this article is about.
Burnout is a concern that we are learning more about
What exactly is customer service burnout? each year, thanks to increased research in industrial psy-

Customer service burnout is really just burnout that is chology (see www.siop.org). The reality is that it can—and
specifically linked to customer service teams. Globally, does—impact teams every single year, creating lasting
discontent in the workplace. To effectively navigate cus-
three out of five employees experience burnout on the job
(see https://tinyurl.com/4sz7keky). tomer service burnout, teams need the right tools and
strategies, for example:
For many teams, customer service burnout can be cycli- • Be diligent about breaks: Customer service burn-
cal, happening at certain times of the year. However, it out is often a direct result of strenuous work. The
can impact teams any time they face higher levels of de- work might be taking customer calls or processing
mand. In most cases, it gets worse in response to the tone complicated paperwork. It all comes down to the
of those needs—meaning a team responsible for navigat- level of effort being put in, and that means breaks
ing an influx of negative client calls is more likely to ex- are crucial. Regular breaks can help teams rest and
perience this form of burnout than one taking standard decompress, making it easier for them to get back to
calls. work comfortably (see https://tinyurl.com/253ye6pn).

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