Gratitude@Gov
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ROLE
UX Designer
PLATFORM
Web
PROJECT OVERVIEW
How do we detect early signs of burnout?
MY CONTRIBUTIONS
User Research, Prototyping, User Testing
ABOUT THE TEAM
1 UX designer, 3 Developers
ROLE
UX Designer
PLATFORM
Web
PROJECT OVERVIEW
How do we detect early signs of burnout?
MY CONTRIBUTIONS
User Research, Prototyping, User Testing
ABOUT THE TEAM
1 UX designer, 3 Developers
With 85% if Singapore employees expected to experience burnout at work in 2022 based on a study done by Mercer, how do we effectively detect early signs of burnout?
Issue 1 — Existing methods of burnout identification are inaccessible
From our research, existing methods of burnout identification are primarily physical questionnaires, which limits the scale of dissemination.
Scoring and tabulation of results are done manually, which increases the effort required to conduct tests, awe well as increases human errors and misinterpretation of results.
Issue 2 — Frequency of questionnaires conducted are low
Questionnaires are disseminated once a year — with focus on a small group of professionals, primarily healthcare workers, and medical students.
With a low frequency of dissemination, this results in burnout being detected either too early or too late, where intervention would have limited effect on the individual.
Based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory, there are three contributing factors towards burnout. Identifying these aspects early are key in recognising signs of burnout within individuals.
Information about the three aspects can be found a
Using these three indicators of burnout explored above, we begin to conceptualise a solution to address and encompass each of these indicators in hopes to better identify early signs of burnout.
To address the causes of burnout, we envisioned three approaches to tackle the issue. These approaches would inform our solution to the issue of early burnout identification.
These approaches work in-tandem to offer a wholistic solution for individuals who not only want to detect burnout early, but also to help them to alleviate some of the stressors which may be causing the issue.
To address the issue, we proposed adopting a wholistic product based on the premise set above. This would encompass:
1. A digitised form process as well as automated generation of the MBI score
2. Increased frequency of questionnaire, leveraging on agile methodologies and structure.
3. Introduction of peer feedback and review
4. Expanding the target audience of the questionnaire
The following sections will explain these in more detail
This first feature combines the aspect of a digitised form, along with reflection, and journaling tasks to tackle the identified causes of burnout.
Check-ins are crucial in detecting stages of early burnout. Users would be highly encouraged to complete a questionnaire containing the Maslach Burnout Inventory after each sprint. The score from this questionnaire would inform varying levels of an individual's emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal fulfilment at work.
Journaling and self-reflection through writing accomplishments has been studied to have a positive effect on one’s self-worth and satisfaction — this provides the feeling of being in control of difficult problems at work.
At the end of the questionnaire, users are given results of the risk of burn out, according to the Maslach Burnout Inventory.
This gives the individual feedback on their mental state based on the scoring of the questionnaire. While it is only a gauge, it encourages self-reflection and could serve as a warning for the user.
Building upon the first feature, external validation is beneficial to an individual's sense of Personal Fulfilment in a workplace, further adding to our holistic approach of addressing the issue of burnout.
By allowing teammates to leave reviews, external validation and feedback can be created and is important for an individual’s mental wellbeing.
This correlates to higher levels of personal fufillment at work and satisfaction, based on the identifiers of burnout, such as; Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalisation and Personal Fulfilment.
Building upon the first feature, external validation is beneficial to an individual's sense of Personal Fulfilment in a workplace, further adding to our holistic approach of addressing the issue of burnout.
The element of Govtech’s social initiatives were added as tapping on existing support systems for physical and mental wellbeing would be useful in introducing another dimension to an individual’s work satisfaction.
It was my first time taking part in such an event — and I was moved by the motivation the participants had, to develop and devote time outside of their work to create something for the public good.
Our team of four focused on the topic of recognising early indications of burnout, which is prevalent in this day and age. With that, I am pleased to say that our team came in second. 🎉
Creating meaningful products for Public Good is something which I seek fulfilment in — having a platform to explore ideas for the benefit of society is an experience I value greatly.
