Avoiding Burn-Out After Tax Season

So, you've got through another busy season, 31 December year-ends, T4s, T1s and all that. Congratulations, give yourself a big pat on the back.

It's easy now to get back into the swing of regular practice life, but wait, there's a potential problem lurking in your closet just waiting for the right opportunity to pounce.

It's called 'Post Tax Season Stress Disorder', PTSSD, or 'Burn-Out' and it's a growing phenomenon among public accounting professionals this time of year.

Just think what you've been through in the last few months; early mornings, late nights, weekend sessions at the office, everything's urgent and nothing can wait.

Staffing shortages in public accounting continue to exacerbate the problem and worse yet, your clients hardly seem to notice the bags under your eyes or the lack of colour in your cheeks.

Some come into meetings with the 'what have you done for me lately?' attitude and it's difficult to get motivated to serve them well.

Our professionalism keeps us going, we smile at the client, are courteous and polite, but deep down we feel taken for granted, under-valued and simply not appreciated.

Going straight back into regular work patterns and 'slowing down' a little simply won't be sufficient to let you recuperate sufficiently to be good for your health.

What can we do, then, to make sure our staff (and Partners) are rejuvenated and ready for the challenges ahead? How can we ensure that we get 100% productivity from our people after such a draining and long-lasting period?

Here are some ideas that I have seen work in my consulting with public accounting firms around the world:

· Personal gifts such as bouquets of flowers with hand-written thank you notes from a Partner to all members of staff

· A day off with pay - usually a Friday - straight after tax season

· A day (or half day) at a local Spa

· A trip to the theatre or a meal out for staff and their spouse/partner

· A trip to the movies

But it's not just about spending money on people. It's about showing your appreciation for them, and it's about individuals doing something that makes them happy and relaxed.

As I have said before, 'Thank You' are the two most sought after and most powerful words any employer can use.

One idea that I have seen work really well is to have a 'me day' in the office that everyone can use at his or her discretion in the weeks after tax season.

This idea is where an individual has no chargeable time allocated for that day and can come in late and leave early. When in the office they can think about the next few weeks, plan their work, catch up on outstanding telephone messages and e-mails and just generally 'hang-out' at the office for a few hours.

They go to one of their favourite places for lunch with a couple of team members and have a sort of social day at the office.

This helps to remove some of the stress that builds up during busy season, but does not remove them from the office completely. Usually held on a Friday or a Monday, this concept has worked well for those firms that I have helped to introduce it to.

Another idea is to have a get together for all in the office around 10am and have a motivational speaker come in for a couple of hours to talk on a relevant topic, but in a humorous manner. This works best when a Partner does a brief 'Letterman style' 'Top 10 Moments of Tax Season' highlighting some of the comical moments of the past few months.

I remember a letter from a client during tax season explaining why they were late filing and asking me to make a case to the Tax Office asking that they be excused from a late filing penalty.

The letter went something like this:

'During the past few weeks the sewage mains burst outside our house, pumping six thousand gallons of effluence into our dining room, living room and basement office. Our accounting records and tax returns were soaked in the fluid and we had to fish them out to dry them before we could complete them. Please keep in mind everything we have been through and ask if we can be excused from a late filing penalty.'

Nothing helps alleviate stress like laughter so if you can come up with a good way for everyone to have a good chuckle then that too will help avoid burn out.

However you decide to re-charge the batteries this time of year, I hope that you find the enthusiasm to return to work enthused and ready for the challenges ahead.

After all, what public accountants do is a highly skilful and valuable service and when explained properly to the client, you should start to feel that they do, after all, value your help.

© 2004, MFA Group Inc