Occupational burnout isn’t an official medical diagnosis. But the symptoms are real. Burnout can harm your mental health, physical well-being, family life, and business.
The Mayo Clinic describes job burnout as a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.
Burnout symptoms include lack of energy, irritability, impatience, cynicism, insomnia, substance abuse, and a sense of disillusionment about your job. Over time, burnout stress can lead to high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and vulnerability to illnesses.
Burnout causes include lack of control, unclear job expectations, office politics, monotonous or frenetic work periods, long hours, and heavy workloads that lead to work-life imbalances. Other conditions, such as depression, individual personality traits, or an unstable family life, can also contribute to burnout.
Entrepreneurs, business owners, healthcare professionals, and social workers are familiar with the sense of being burned out. But a growing number of employees at all types and sizes of business are experiencing burnout, too.
When employees feel like they don’t have any input over decisions affecting their workload or schedules, burnout problems can occur.
Why Burnout is an Issue Now
Expecting your business to snap back to its pre-pandemic normalcy is unrealistic. The past 18 months have been stressful on everyone–employers, employees, and their families.
Research conducted in 2020 by Eagle Hill Consulting found “While employee burnout was an issue prior to the pandemic, it intensified during the crisis.” Their poll revealed that 57 percent of U.S. employees say they are burnt out. This is up from 45 percent in the early days of the pandemic. Both millennials and women report higher levels of burnout, as do employees with children who are remote-learning at home. About half (49 percent) of those surveyed say that workload is the top cause for their feelings of stress.
Employees who feared losing their jobs may have accepted part-time gigs or started small businesses of their own. When businesses began to bounce back, this may have exacerbated the sense of being overloaded. As women left the workforce because of child care or home schooling issues, the employees left behind assumed heavier workloads.
One response to occupational burnout is to quit. As a business owner, you may have dreamed of selling your business and walking away. Many employees are choosing to resign from unfulfilling jobs for different careers with more flexibility.
“Quitting is a concept typically associated with losers and loafers,” observes Atlantic writer Derek Thompson. But he believes the surge in resignations in 2021 is really an expression of optimism. The quitters believe “We can do better.”
As you look ahead to ramping up your business in 2022, think about how workloads have shifted over the past 18-24 months. Which employees have been asked to assume more work? Which ones are showing signs of burnout?
If you don’t take employee burnout seriously, you risk losing some of your most talented employees. Research has also revealed that the highly motivated, “Type A” personalities who are often top performers are also more likely to experience burnout. That’s because they often put a lot of pressure on themselves to exceed the employer’s expectations.
Create Options to Band-Aid Solutions
In a Wall Street Journal podcast, WSJ Work & Life columnist Rachel Feintzeig said some employers are trying to fight employee burnout with measures such as “no-meeting Fridays” or giving employees extra time off.
The problem with those approaches is that they do nothing to relieve the burden of work the employee is expected to complete within a given time. The employee may take the day off, but his mind may still be racing with how he or she can possibly achieve everything on his to-do list.
Instead, make time to listen to the specific concerns of employees at risk of burnout. The causes of stress and burnout vary from person to person. Ask what steps you could take to make their job more fulfilling. Would they like opportunities to learn new skills? More staff or freelance resources? A clearer sense of how much authority they have to solve problems? More flexibility in their schedules? Additional time off to care for family members? More input on how work is scheduled and performed?
Eagle Hill consultants suggest conducting “stay interviews” with top performers can help you customize burnout solutions that will improve retention.
Feintzeig speculated that some employees may be too emotionally invested in their jobs. Encourage them to pursue activities that help them reconnect with their identities as a person.
As you plan for 2022, help employees understand which goals are most important to achieve and which goals can slide when life gets stressful.
For burned-out employees who do choose to resign, be more creative in how you fill the vacancies and source skills. Don’t automatically fall back on old ways of replacing employees. As Eagle Hill Consulting points out: “The talent pool will be deeper. Companies can weigh the options and trade-offs of on-demand models that involve gig workers or independent contractors for certain projects.”
If burnout is an issue at your business, don’t hesitate to bring in an outside expert. Show employees you care about their well-being by hosting a presentation on burnout-related issues. Remind employees that it’s OK to ask for help.
During my years as a business owner and M&A advisor, I have seen the damage that chronic stress and untreated burnout causes–especially before, during, and after the sale of a business. If you would like me to suggest experts who can help, please give me a call at 561-543-2323.
RECOMMENDED SOURCES
Employee turnover rates expected to rise after COVID-19 pandemic ends | Eagle Hill Consulting
WSJ Your Money Podcast: How Companies and Workers Are Fighting Burnout
WSJ.com: Burned Out? Maybe You Should Care Less About your Job
Job burnout: How to spot it and take action – Mayo Clinic
The Great Resignation Is Accelerating – The Atlantic