Workplace burnout is a real thing and even the added flexibility that some employers have created for their workers failed to resolve the issue. Studies suggest that workers in 2024 feel so burned out that 24 percent consider quitting on a daily basis.
Heavy workloads, deadline pressures, and chronic work stress all contribute to extreme fatigue among employed individuals. Burnout is especially prominent in specific industries – Harvard Business Review analysis suggests that as many as 85 percent of financial professionals feel chronically fatigued and stressed out.
Burnout can have profound effects on both the individual and the organizational level. Taking effective measures to counter it and creating a better work-life balance for your employees can contribute to numerous positive developments that will ensure the long-term success of your business.
Why Burnout Takes a Toll on Businesses
The American Psychological Association describes burnout as one of the main workplace issues employers should focus on. Several factors determine the severity of this negative phenomenon.
Research suggests that on the organizational level, burnout can lead to the following issues:
- Absenteeism
- Job dissatisfaction and a high turnover rate
- Reduced productivity
- Increased risk of human error (which can lead to damage or even workplace injuries)
People who experience burnout are very likely to suffer from physical and medical problems like:
- Insomnia and sleep disorders
- Depression and anxiety
- Migraines
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
Having people experiencing such medical and mental health problems within your organization is going to lead to serious disruptions. That’s why you have to invest in one of your most important assets – your human resources.
Main Causes of Workplace Burnout
To address burnout effectively, you need to have a good idea about the workplace specifics and factors contributing to it.
A few of the main burnout triggers that have been identified through the years include:
- Extensive workload: Working too many hours and feeling overwhelmed by the complexity or scale of projects on an ongoing basis is a primary contributor to burnout. In fact, long work hours have been linked to an increased mortality rate among affected populations.
- Unclear expectations: Some managers have poor communication styles that impact work processes, deadline setting, and interactions among their team members. Such unclear expectations are a cause of stress and chronic stress is a primary burnout contributor.
- The lack of autonomy at work: When people have no control over what they’re doing on a daily basis, they’ll feel stressed out, anxious, or even depressed. Studies show that a perceived lack of control is very demotivating – people don’t want to feel that every single step is observed closely.
- No communication, no positive feedback: The easiest way to lose one’s passion for their job is to feel unheard and unseen. The lack of managerial communication and the absence of positive feedback are both incredibly demotivating and connected to burnout.
- Poor workplace relationships: Working in a toxic environment isn’t just unpleasant, it can also have serious mental health consequences. People who feel a part of a community are happier, more productive, and motivated. Take away that feeling and you get a bunch who can’t wait for the workday to be over.
Strategies to Help You Resolve Burnout Once and for All
Overcoming burnout and chronic fatigue among workers once and for all will require a corporate culture shift. Prioritizing well-being and making sure employees enjoy a good work-life balance will necessitate some proactive change. The good news is that once you introduce new practices, you’ll quickly start experiencing positive results.
Medical professionals and researchers have identified a couple of very effective approaches that reduce the risk of burnout significantly:
- Well-being should be a part of your culture: Do you provide workers with resources that will help them to lead healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives? Is there a workplace community that encourages positive change? These are the first few things you’d want to prioritize. Get employees involved in the process. Setting up an employee hotline, for example, will help you get accurate information about concerns and issues your workers are currently facing. Equipped with such information, you can start redefining your corporate culture in a way that puts the individual at the very heart of operations.
- Focus on open and honest communication: People shouldn’t be afraid of speaking out and identifying issues. An anonymous contribution hotline focused on ethics and workplace issues is once again a good idea. Make sure people feel comfortable sharing troublesome information. They shouldn’t be afraid of repercussions. The managerial team will also need to address the issues that have been identified effectively, confirming the fact that worries have been taken seriously.
- Design a better employee experience: Is there anything you can do to make work smoother? Maybe provide employees with better tools? Something as simple as efficient air conditioning in the office, for example, can create a much more satisfying environment. To make the employee experience better, you should also focus on communication issues, team dynamics, and organizational burdens that impact the individual and can be taken out of the equation.
- Continue monitoring workloads and scheduling: This is especially important for companies that have cyclical workloads or those who often onboard new employees. Get in the habit of monitoring work schedules regularly. Make adjustments and look for departments that have high turnover rates. These are the ones obviously struggling with an issue that you’ll need to handle quickly to address the situation.
- If possible, introduce flexible work options: The Covid-19 pandemic showed the world that people working from home are as efficient as those working from an office (in fact, they’re performing even better!). If your business allows for workplace flexibility, make that option available. People like having choices and if they aren’t pressured, they’ll probably enjoy the work experience a whole lot more. Needless to say, feeling better will also result in boosted productivity.
Burnout is something you shouldn’t ignore. It’s far from an issue that will resolve itself spontaneously. Employees who are pushed too hard will eventually lose their motivation and ability to perform. It’s important to introduce measures before the chronic stress gets to that point.
Some of the changes you need to introduce within the organization are simple and inexpensive. You will have to assess the current situation and you’ll probably have to eradicate some toxic practices. Making such changes, however, will pay off. Don’t postpone the transformation, it will only benefit your employees and the organization as a whole.
