According to a study, 20% of workers in the UK asked for time off to manage poor mental health conditions, a direct impact of burnout in the workplace. Further, 35% of adults reported that they were under stress often or at all times.
Let’s take a look at what workplace burnout is, its impact on the workforce, and some steps to combat it.
What is Burnout in the Workplace?
Often in high-pressure work environments, employees feel the mental, emotional, and physical drain. When these signs persist, they will be subject to workplace burnout. In turn, they may feel disengaged with the work, unmotivated, and feel like quitting.
As per a recent survey by the American Psychological Association, 57% of workers suffer from workplace stress.
While employees can try for a more holistic lifestyle where they make more time for themselves and their families, many fail to recognise workplace burnout symptoms at their onset. This hinders them from dealing with workplace burnout adequately.
Workplace Burnout Symptoms: How to Identify Them Early
Almost 49% of workers state that their employers barely look for any signs of stress or have a system in place to manage workplace burnout. However, addressing burnout in the workplace is of the essence.
Here are some ways in which you can watch out for signs of burnout.
Physical Symptoms of Workplace Burnout
After a full day of work or a busy work-week, do you suffer from any or all of the following:
- Moderate to severe headaches.
- Muscle tension, aches, and joint pains.
- Heart palpitations or elevated blood pressure.
- Too drained to do any activity.
- Loss of sleep or disturbances in sleep pattern
- Frequent illness.
- Loss of appetite.
- Gastrointestinal issues.
While you may think these are due to an underlying medical cause, it might be due to being stressed out at work.
Emotional and Mental Signs of Workplace Burnout
9 out of 10 employees in the UK have experienced severe pressure or stress in the workplace in 2024. Left unaddressed, all of these employees will feel the impact of burnout in the workplace.
When it comes to emotional burnout, the signs are as follows:
- Losing productivity
- High absenteeism
- Being anxious at all times
- Isolation
- Irritability
- Lack of motivation
- Feeling hopeless
- Depression
- Self-doubt and loss of confidence
These, in turn, lead to behavioural issues in people.
Behavioural Symptoms of Workplace Burnout
While not that easy to identify by oneself, your family, friends, or partner might notice changes in your behaviour. These might include:
- Being short or brusque with others.
- Having a low tolerance for people.
- Having frequent mood swings from sad to irritable.
- Preferring solitude over the company of peers.
- Being cynical, impassive, and/ or callous regarding most things, especially work.
- Being impulsive.
- Having difficulty paying attention or concentrating.
- Putting off tasks regularly by procrastinating.
- Frequently thinking of quitting your job.
Causes of Burnout in the Workplace
48% of employees aged between 18 to 24 have reported that they have to work unpaid overtime regularly. On top of this, 46% have to take on additional work hours due to higher costs of living.
Leading Causes of Workplace Burnout
If you are feeling burned out or distressed at work, it can be due to the following reasons:
- Excessively challenging workloads.
- Little to no perks and incentives for a job done well.
- Poor compensation for work done.
- A lack of control over work-related decisions.
- No recognition for accomplishments and achievements at work.
- A lack of support at the workplace from peers and supervisors.
- Facing biased or unfair treatment.
- Having personal values that don’t align with the company’s policies.
- Having to meet unfair work expectations.
- Facing poor or challenging leadership.
- Dealing with a toxic workplace culture and environment.
The Impact of Burnout in the Workplace
According to a study, 3 times as many 18-24 year olds need time off in comparison to 55 year olds due to medical reasons. Further, according to a 2020 study, workplace burnout can lead to 40% higher chances of hypertension. Another study shows that there are 57% higher chances of workplace absenteeism that lasts more than 2 weeks due to burnout.
Consequences for Employees
According to a survey by the American Psychological Association, 43% of employees worry that reporting workplace burnout is going to impact their career negatively. Thus, even if they feel exhausted, they still try and hang on without looking at any of the solutions.
As an employee, you will face the following as a result of workplace burnout:
- Poor performance at work.
- Strained work-life balance.
- Severe mental health issues.
- Suffer from physical illnesses.
- Missed work due to sick days.
- A cynical attitude towards work.
- A feeling of disillusionment and disengagement from work.
Consequences for Employers
Only a bare minimum of 29% of workers feel that their work fulfills them. As a direct result of workplace burnout, employers will feel the following:
- Loss in workplace productivity.
- High absenteeism that impacts daily operations
- Poor quality of work delivered.
- Low morale among the workforce.
- Conflict among members of a team.
- Little to no innovation.
- Increase in healthcare costs.
- Loss of reputation.
Addressing Burnout in the Workplace: Strategies for HR and Management
HRMs and Managers need to be on the lookout for signs of workplace burnout among employees. An easy way to do this is by having regular interactions with the workers.
Further, those in management and leadership positions may also try doing the below:
Creating a Healthy Work Culture
A common feeling among many is that being open about feeling stressed out at work will have a negative impact on their tenure at the workplace. Thus, it is the responsibility of the HRMs and the managers to create a healthy and well-balanced work culture.
Instead of encouraging competition among workers which can lead to friction, more focus should be laid on teamwork and open communication.
Implementing Work-Life Balance Policies
First and foremost, it is important to define job hours and encourage workers to stick to them. Managers and team leaders can create a healthy workplace culture by encouraging breaks and peer communication. Further, employers can offer flexible work hours, remote work opportunities, and overtime pay.
Employees should be able to say “no” to excess work when required and be encouraged to delegate work and take time off when needed. To add, managers and HRMs also need to advocate the importance of maintaining a healthy boundary between work and personal life.
Managing Burnout in the Workplace Through Leadership
To learn if the employees are dealing with workplace burnout, HRMs can deploy an Employee Feedback Software. Further, using an HR software for performance management will help ensure a fair, data-driven system for all appraisals so no one feels left out. Using staff management software can also help streamline and increase accuracy in maintaining worker data.
In addition to these, succession planning can also be an effective tool in driving employee engagement. By taking up staff succession planning, HRMs and managers can provide an incentive to workers who wish to stay and flourish in the particular company. As a plus, this also helps HRMs and employees map out career paths.
Thus, HRMs should stay on the lookout for signs of burnout among their employees and deploy pre-emptive, preventive measures for addressing burnout in the workplace.
How to Prevent Workplace Burnout Effectively
86% of employers believe that managing burnout in the workplace is a priority. However, only one-fourth of them have a strategy in place to address burnout in the workplace. Further, 49% do not even have a strategy to deal with the causes of workplace burnout.
Thus, to prevent workplace burnout, employers can try the following:
Organisational-Level Interventions
To prevent workplace burnout, HRMs can do the below:
- Have a system in place to identify signs of stress and workplace burnout.
- Foster a holistic work culture.
- Have a proper recognition and reward system.
- Provide opportunities for development like succession planning.
- Use a fair and data-driven HR software for performance management.
- Promote open communication between different levels of the organisation to build trust.
Employee-Centric Approaches
Further, with an outlook towards employee wellness, the managers and HRMs can try the below:
- Promote employee autonomy.
- Ask employees to prioritize tasks as required to prevent being overwhelmed.
- Offer flexible working arrangements like remote and hybrid opportunities.
- Monitor the workload of all employees.
- Implement wellness programs for employees.
- Urge employees to take breaks and time offs.
- Encourage employees to pursue other interests outside of work.
Conclusion
The onus of maintaining a healthy workplace does not lie solely with the organisation. Instead, it is the responsibility of every employee, whether they are the HRM, a senior manager, or a new worker.
This is mostly due to the fact that when the size of the workforce is large, HRMs may find it difficult to monitor each and every employee. However, in a company that promotes a positive work culture, employees can raise a concern when they find themselves or their peers under stress and in a position to face workplace burnout.
Create a work culture that encourages work-life balance so that your workers can do their best in terms of both personal and professional endeavours.
