Understanding the Growing Crisis of Employee Burnout and Its Impact on Your Organization

Employee burnout is not new. But it’s getting worse, and employers need to take action to address its effects.

Burnout is not a short-term issue, such as someone needing a day off to recharge and regroup. Burnout is a long-term symptom of chronic work stress which leaves employees emotionally and physically depleted.

A recent SHRM Mental Health study indicated that 44% of 1,405 surveyed U.S. employees feel burned out at work, those feeling emotionally drained is 45% of the surveyed group, and those feeling “used up” by the end of the workday represent 51% of those surveyed.

Why should organization leaders care about these statistics? The direct and indirect impacts of employee burnout are many and they are costly.

Burnout leads to low levels of employee engagement which means less productive employees, which can have a negative drag on overall company profitability. One of the big effects of burnout is the fact that employees who feel burned out are 3 times more likely to be actively looking for another job, according to the same SHRM survey referenced above.

What causes burnout? Lack of support from leadership, insistence on consistently working long hours, and unrealistic expectations are some of the main causes of burnout.

Tune in next week to learn about the signs of burnout in your employees. It isn’t always easy to spot.

Need help navigating this important issue with your staff? Reach out to us at laura@conoverconsulting.com for guidance in how to reduce burnout and increase Engagement across your workforce.