In 2019,
the World Health Organization recognised ‘burnout’
as what it termed “an occupational phenomenon”.
During the past two years it’s likely you’ve seen headlines detailing how frontline health workers have been struggling with burnout and fatigue due to the pressures of dealing with the pandemic.
However, increasing numbers of employees across the board are now complaining of feeling burnt out, exhausted or unable to work at their usual level of productivity. We’re going to explore why this is, and what managers and employers can do to help.
What is burnout?
The charity Mental Health UK describes burnout as being “a state of physical and emotional exhaustion”. It’s when someone is feeling tired, drained or overwhelmed most of the time. They may feel detached from their work or life, cynical or jaded about what is going on around them, or experience a sense of helplessness in the face of what they’re feeling.
In 2019, the World Health Organization recognised ‘burnout’ as what it termed “an occupational phenomenon”. In other words, although not technically a medical condition in itself, burnout is something that can often be caused or made worse by the pressures and demands of a workplace or job role.
Why is it such a problem right now?
Just in the past few weeks, there have been reports of HR professionals, accountants, people working in call centres and customer-facing roles, legal professionals, university staff and (perhaps less surprisingly) paramedics all suffering from burnout.
Why now? There is probably not one single answer to this, but Mental Health UK has pointed to the mental and psychological consequences of the past two years.
We’ve all had to deal with the stresses and anxieties of living through a public health crisis, the successive lockdowns, job insecurity, the blurring of home and work life as people have worked from home, and now more recently, there is the added pressure of the cost-of-living crisis.
Software analytics company, Visier, cited a number of other factors, as well as describing current levels of burnout as an “occupational health crisis” facing the UK. Shortages of employees, whether through sickness absence or ‘the great resignation’, means more of us are having to take on extra work or responsibilities or having to cover for colleagues.
Longer working hours generally are playing a part, plus the blurring of home/work likely to also be a factor. This report, for example, has suggested working from home has led to longer working hours and not a better work-life balance.
A lack of recognition, whether money, benefits or simply the occasional ‘thank you’ is another contributor. It has been harder for managers to engage and communicate with their teams when people are working remotely or from home. We’ve also all had to get used to being and working together at more of a distance (often literally, with social distancing).
What are the warning signs of burnout?
Mental Health UK (that has some good resources in this area) has identified seven common signs of burnout:
- Feeling tired or drained most of the time
- Feeling helpless, trapped and/or defeated
- Feeling detached/alone in the world
- Having a cynical/negative outlook
- Feelings of self-doubt
- Procrastinating or taking longer to get things done
- Feeling overwhelmed
Other warning signs can include a sense of feeling depleted or having ‘compassion fatigue’. In a workplace scenario, this could come across as no longer caring so much about clients, customers or colleagues.
Another common sign can be having escape fantasies. This might mean dreaming about quitting your job or moving to another country. More darkly, if someone starts to talk about trying deliberately to get sick or injured so as to be able to take some time off work, even if just as a joke, that is a clear ‘escape’ red flag.
Not sleeping properly, eating less healthily or drinking too much can all be signs of burnout, or impending burnout. Letting health routines slip, perhaps because someone ‘no longer cares’ about taking exercise or keeping to a previously healthy routine can be another warning sign.
A further red flag is if someone is no longer able to see positives, whether in work or life generally. If an individual is becoming demotivated, unhappy or listless about things or people around them, or if everything seems ‘a burden’, it could be a sign they are experiencing burnout.
What can you do to help your employees?
One of the first things you can do to help as a manager is simply to be aware of and on the lookout for all the warning signs above. However, bear in mind that if teams are still working remotely or doing a hybrid split between home offices and workplaces, things may be harder to pick up.
Encourage employees to build in proper barriers between home and work. This may mean ensuring people are not working late (or taking work home with them) and that they’re not answering emails in the evenings or at weekends (and you’re not sending them). Equally, are they taking their full holiday entitlement and properly switching off when they do?
You might want to consider holding regular small team meetings to keep people connected, or simply make sure you are talking to people about their workload and how they’re coping.
Offering support, advice or even training on time management and personal/work boundaries may be helpful – and this should include when and how to say ‘no’ to demands.
You may also want to consider providing your employees with a mental wellbeing care plan, which helps them to identify positive steps they can take to maintain or improve their mental wellbeing. Carrying out a stress risk assessment across your business is another idea.
Recognition can help with motivation and engagement and may even re-energise employees who are beginning to feel jaded or cynical. Proactively circulating positive feedback is a way to highlight their work and contribution is valued and appreciated, even if everyone is having to work hard.
You may also want to consider offering advice or health promotion on healthier approaches to sleep, diet, alcohol and exercise, as these can all help to mitigate burnout. With sleep, the fact that it is World Sleep Day this month, on 18 March, may be a good springboard into starting conversations about the importance of getting into and maintaining a good sleep routine.
While there is a lot people can do to help themselves, do also recognise the importance of enabling people to ask for help if things become ‘too much’.
Signpost and communicate any external help and support available on a continual basis. This might include access to an employee assistance programme or some other form of counselling, a wellbeing champion or mental health first aider, or through referral to an occupational health team.
What can you do to prevent burnout in yourself?
Applying all of the above to yourself can be a great starting point to preventing your own burnout.
It’s important to recognise that by modelling good behaviours, you are not only less likely to burn out yourself, but you are also giving ‘permission’ to others around you to do the same.
Some examples you could set include:
- Being seen to leave work on time
- Making it evident you are taking your lunch breaks
- Avoiding sending or answering emails at night or at the weekend (or if you must, scheduling them to send during working hours)
- Taking your holiday entitlement (and properly switching off while you do)
On top of all that, redouble your efforts to maintain good health, such as a more active commute or making time each week for physical exercise. Ultimately, taking steps to look after your own health and wellbeing can help to inspire similar behaviours in your team.
Interested in booking a webinar or other wellbeing intervention for your team on the topic of stress and burnout?
Our workplace wellbeing team offer a range of workshops you can book that are a wellbeing intervention focusing on the essential skills and knowledge needed to manage occupational mental health and wellbeing effectively. The wellbeing interventions help to increase resilience, wellbeing and ultimately performance across your staff and are preventative and restorative. For more information, register your interest in a wellbeing intervention by contacting workshoprequest@optimahealth.co.uk