From his first day on the job, it was clear that Rob was a superstar employee—always the first one in and the last one to leave, he constantly went above and beyond what was expected of his position.

A year later, however, Rob has become a completely different person: His work is cluttered with mistakes, his productivity has plummeted, and he's missing more and more workdays. While he used to be the comedian in the back cube keeping everybody's morale up, these days he hardly speaks to his coworkers.

While the hiring manager may be wondering what happened, the answer is easy: Rob is suffering from a serious case of employee burnout. The symptoms of burnout vary—from depression to health problems to a decrease in productivity.

Mark Flaherty, sales executive for SALO Project, believes that too many companies overlook the problem of burnout and the serious consequences it can have for an organization. Ongoing burnout causes decreased productivity, lowered morale among staff, and high turnover rates, which lead to future hiring difficulties.

And unfortunately, all too often an organization's best employees are the ones most likely to “burn out” by pushing themselves too hard.

“If you lose good people, you may have trouble hiring,” says Flaherty. “Once you lose people, you start stressing out your other workers and you may develop a reputation that you burn out your people. If people reach their breaking point, they're going to leave. You have to make sure you're accommodating people's need for work/life balance.”

The biggest problem with burnout is that if it goes undiagnosed, it takes a lot more than a few days off, or even an extended vacation, to remedy. The longer an employee suffers from burnout, the more difficult it is to shake—and often by the time you've discovered an employee is burnt out, it's too late: You've already lost him.

So how can organizations remain productive while eliminating the risk of burning out top talent?

The key is prevention—even in a deadline-driven world, companies must re-envision their workplace environment as one that values the well-being of workers.

1. Create a Sense of Balance

Even in the face of tight deadlines and ever-increasing workloads, it's necessary to show your staff that their well-being is important to you. While the corporate mentality often focuses on getting as much done in as little time as possible, putting this kind of stress on employees can be counterproductive.

“There's a crucial difference between being motivated and being driven; while both forces may produce stellar results, motivated people stay fresh and energized over time. Driven people burn out,” says Douglas B. Richardson in his CareerJournal.com online story “Stressed or Burned Out? There Are Solutions.”

Make sure your staff understands which tasks are priorities and which are not. This way you'll ensure that they don't feel like they're being dragged down by never-ending pressure and deadlines.

Some other small ways to create balance are allowing staff to chat and joke during work, encouraging open communication, or having a monthly fun day where the office takes half a day off to go see a movie. Activities like these increase a sense of camaraderie between co-workers and help to boost employee morale.

“People get burnt out when they're wound too tight,” says Flaherty. “The harder you work, the more fun you need to have in the workplace. Most companies realize their employees need that.”

When a tough deadline does arise, recognize employees for their efforts throughout by rewarding them for a job well done. Or after a long period of intense work, help employees de-stress by taking them for an evening out. This will show your appreciation for their efforts as well.

2. Show You Care

To keep your office upbeat and motivated, it's extremely important to show staff that you value them as individuals, not just as employees. A 2005 study by the Families and Work Institute found that “employees who balance career and family demands are healthiest and most successful,” yet the majority of Americans claim to be unhappy with their work/life balance.

Rather than expecting your staff to constantly work overtime and weekends, encourage employees to have hobbies outside of work, and to take vacations. “In other countries, it's perfectly acceptable to take a month off a year, but in America you take 2 weeks off, and that's a long time here…people get frustrated when they are getting a salary but aren't getting paid for extra hours—they're thinking: What am I getting from this?” says Flaherty.

If you suspect an employee is experiencing burnout, communicate by asking questions. Why is this particular employee feeling unmotivated? Is she working too many hours? Placing unrealistic expectations on herself? Feeling like she spends so much time at work that she doesn't have time for other activities she enjoys? Asking questions will help you create a plan of action to combat the problem.

Find out what tasks the employee truly enjoys, and look for ways you can help her do more of these satisfying tasks. Or try to recall what initially motivated the employee about the position. Can this feeling be rekindled, or is a modification of the position necessary? Be open to new ideas, and to reassigning certain tasks to help employees get out of a rut.

“Make sure you're cognizant of career tracking,” says Flaherty. “Are people getting new opportunities to do different tasks? Give people the opportunity to move around. Companies take advantage of people who are extremely good at one thing because they think it will hurt them to let that person do something else. Companies must be cognizant that people don't want to work like that.”

If possible, consider offering flexible work schedules, telecommuting options, childcare services, or sponsoring work/life balance seminars at the office to show your employees that you care about them as people.

“Variety is the spice of life,” says Flaherty. “Variety in your home and work life—you've got to have that. Everyone needs some change once in a while.” When managers understand this, they're likely to get much more out of their staff.

3. When the Going Gets Tough

Finally, when the workload truly gets to be too much, consider bringing in more talent. There are times when staff should be pushed and challenged, but there are also times when it's necessary to bring in more bodies and expertise.

Companies are moving to variable staffing models as a means to better manage the peaks in work load because they find that the staff comes to appreciate the extra sets of arms and legs during busy times. It reduces the stress of peak cycles.

Company management should ensure that it is done in a non-threatening way, so the staff does not fear replacement, or misinterpret the gesture to mean that they are not living up to expectations.

Contractors can also be utilized in specific situations when companies need skill sets that do not exist in the current organization for a particular project or set of responsibilities. Associates in this capacity can mentor current staff and transfer appropriate knowledge, which can help the staff build their resumes and increase advancement opportunities.

By implementing small changes into your work environment, you'll keep your staff happy and committed, and your organization will reap the rewards.

Megan Martin is a writer based in Chicago. She can be reached at Megan.M@BeTuitive.com.