Why is Employee Burnout on the Rise, and What Can We Do About It?

Employee burnout is becoming one of the most common causes of not only lowered performance but also a feeling of disenfranchised in the workplace. Medically defined as “resulting from chronic workplace stress”, the effect of employee burnout is one that can dramatically lower performance and the quality of work from previously exceptional workers. With such a drastic rise in the number of people reportedly suffering from burnout and the long-term effects that it can have on an individual’s mental health, it falls on employers to protect their employees and find ways to shield them from its negative effects.

What Causes Employee Burnout?

As a symptom of work related stress, burnout seems to have a reasonably well defined cause and effect. The pressure of an increased workload over a sustained period results in growing levels of stress. As employees begin to burnout, their productivity inevitably takes a hit, which only increases the stress that the person finds themselves under. The cyclical nature of burnout is one of the many reasons that preventing it becoming an issue of utmost importance, as the health and happiness of a company’s employees have been shown to have a very real impact on its continued success.

With the constant development of the way businesses work through an online space, the corresponding increase in demand for performance is felt most acutely by the employees of a business. Every company wants to see year-on-year growth and this need to continuously produce more and accumulate greater profit is commonly felt by the workers, who are expected increase productivity without necessarily receiving an increase in support, staff or incentives that reflect this.

The most common cause of burnout is reportedly time pressure, with lack of managerial communication and support being a close second. When employees feel that they are given enough time to complete their work comfortably and to a standard they are happy with, there is a purported 70% drop in the likelihood of experiencing burnout. A similar drop is seen when employees feel that they have a support system within the workplace as well as outside it, with strong management involvement contributing to a feeling of safety and inclusion that lowers the levels of stress and anxiety felt, consequently lowering the occasions of burnout.

What Can Companies Do To Prevent Employee Burnout?

Just as mentioned above, the majority of employee burnout cases stem from a lack of strong managerial oversight, either through a feeling of being rushed due to poor time constraints or through a sense of abandonment or isolation in the workplace. 

Fortunately, employee burnout can easily be remedied through the implementation of a more engaging management structure that facilitates and supports workers both collectively and as individuals.

hug have developed a platform to help you understand your team and build a happier, healthier workplace. It offers holistic real time analysis of your employee wellbeing and smart matches products, services and benefits to employee needs. The aggregated, anonymous data will give you a deeper understanding of your workforce, providing insights into the benefits that would best suit your employees. Book a demo by clicking here today.