How to Prevent and Treat Workplace Burnout

What Is Burnout, and Why Is It Important?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has included burnout in its worldwide illness categorization as an occupational phenomenon. Burnout is "a condition emerging from continuous working stress that has not been properly controlled." It has three major dimensions:

1. Feelings of fatigue or depletion of energy
2. Increased mental remoteness or cynicism in relation to one's occupation
3. Reduced professional effectiveness

As a representation of the overall employee experience, workplace burnout is strongly related to employee engagement, which Gallup defines as a fundamental psychological requirement for doing a job successfully. Engagement can decrease stress while enhancing productivity, retention, and overall work satisfaction. Disengaged employees are more prone to develop burnout, but employers may proactively handle burnout concerns.

As we'll see, burnout is increasing, and in this ebook, we'll explain how it occurs and how to establish tactics to recognize and avoid it.

The Roots of Burnout

Burnout happens when job expectations do not match reality for reasons beyond the workers' control. Employees often feel burnout due to structural flaws inside the firm, which may result in a toxic work environment.

• Burnout is most common at the organizational level in organizations that anticipate long hours and overtime from their workers while underpaying them and frowning on the need for time off. 
• Burnout is more likely to occur at the team level when workers are pushed to combine high workloads with tight deadlines or when confronted with imprecise expectations and a lack of appropriate limits from management.

The Burnout Outbreak

Burnout is rapidly being recognized as a worldwide phenomenon detrimental to businesses and individuals in the long run. According to Gallup, over two-thirds of full-time employees have experienced burnout and are nearly three times more likely to begin searching for another job. According to another Deloitte report, 77% of workers had experienced burnout in their present employment. 51% have reported feeling burnt out at work more than once, and 84% are dissatisfied with their jobs.

Small Business and Burnout

Workplace burnout is particularly common in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMBs), where extended work hours are often ingrained in the corporate culture. According to research, 67% of SMB workers suffer job-related stress or anxiety, with over half continuing to work even when they are ill.

Despite these signs of a burned-out workforce, 82% of SMB leaders claimed they do not presently offer any kind of wellness assistance for their employees, and just 15% of workers who work in smaller firms think their organization creates a culture that promotes their mental health. Even if resources are limited, it is critical that startups and SMBs emphasize the employee experience by setting reasonable goals and allowing for employee input.

Pandemic and Burnout

During the pandemic, burnout became more common among both remote and onsite personnel. According to Lattice's Crisis Response Survey, morale was the most important worry for HR teams in the previous year. In another worldwide survey, 92% of employees experienced burnout induced by work-related stress and COVID-19 symptoms.

Why Is Burnout Worth Your Time?

For Companies

A bad employee experience does not go unnoticed. When your employees are stressed, they are more likely to complain to prospective recruits, harming your employer's brand. Public criticism of your corporate culture may also impact how customers and consumers view your organization.

Employee dissatisfaction and overwork lead to decreased productivity, higher turnover, and absenteeism, costing U.S. corporations more than $300 billion annually. Companies that value employee engagement and well-being will benefit from long-term connections with their employees.

For Managers

Employees cannot perform at their best when working only at half capacity. Managers depend on their teams to provide high-quality outcomes, so it's in their best interests to foster a work environment where people can show up and give their all. Allowing burnout to spread increases the danger of teams losing top performers.

Understanding your workers' objectives, hobbies, and pain spots are essential to developing a meaningful connection with them. Tools like engagement surveys and one-on-one meetings may assist managers in determining what resources workers truly need.

For Workers

People with a negative mentality at work are more prone to detach from the company's purpose and principles and their personal aspirations.

When conducting self-evaluations, employees should constantly consider their own growth goals. If they aren't making progress, it may be time to discuss workloads with the next management one-on-one.

Download Lattice's whitepaper to learn more about preventing workplace burnout only on Whitepapers Online.