Understanding Employee Burnout in 2022

Employee burnout

Did you know that almost 70% of people working from home during the pandemic experienced burnout?

With longer hours becoming the norm and no separation between home and office, it was bound to happen! But even now, many people are back at work or taking a hybrid approach; burnout is still common.

In this article, we take a look at the rising cases of burnout throughout the UK, what employers can do to support staff, and how it could affect your business. With any luck, employee burnout will be a thing of the past in your workspace!

Read on to find out more.

What is employee burnout?

Burnout is a specific type of work-related stress and exhaustion. Staff become overwhelmed with work and productivity starts to go down. They can feel mental, physical, and emotional fatigue, all of which affect their performance.

Signs of employee burnout include:

  • Increased irritability
  • Trouble focusing
  • Increased procrastination
  • Changes in typical behaviour
  • Physical signs of fatigue
  • Signs of stress

Be aware that burnout can differ from person to person. Just because someone isn’t showing as many visible signs as someone else doesn’t mean they aren’t experiencing burnout.

If left alone, these symptoms can quickly manifest and cause permanent damage to the health of your staff as well as their career.

How does burnout in employees affect your business?

If you don’t work to prevent employee burnout, it can quickly start to affect your business as a whole. This can happen in several ways.

The first is a decrease in productivity. It’s normal for staff who are experiencing burnout to struggle to deliver high-quality work on time. Just as if you’ve only slept three hours, you won’t work as well, if your employees are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and irritated, they won’t reach their performance goals.

It’s also more likely you’ll see increased employee turnover. If staff aren’t feeling happy at work or they can’t keep up, they may leave. Training new staff wastes resources costs money and creates a less collaborative office.

Your business may also struggle to win public sector contracts. The well-being of your staff is a vital aspect of the social value model, and if you don’t prioritise it, the government won’t want to support your company.

Burnout is on the rise in the UK

35% of UK workers have experienced high levels of burnout in their jobs. During the pandemic, rates of burnout soared to up to 70% of all employees. Now, in 2022, it’s driving resignations.

Over 9 million employees are expected to leave their workplace this year. There’s no denying the correlation between increased burnout and more resignations, making this an issue your business has to pay attention to.

How to prevent burnout among your employees

If you want to reduce the risks of employee burnout, there’s plenty you can do. here are our tips for boosting your employee wellbeing.

Encourage normal working hours

One of the biggest causes of burnout is overworking. If your staff are working too much overtime and not giving themselves time to relax, you need to put a stop to it. This isn’t healthy behaviour!

You can do this by closing the office on weekends, for example, helping your staff take a break. Make sure your employees take their holiday days and don’t overload them with too much work.

Add variety to your work

If the work is monotonous, some staff will struggle. Make sure employees feel comfortable telling you if their work is getting repetitive and they need to switch it up. If you can, be aware of not handing the same work to the same staff, too.

Don’t micromanage

Micromanagement isn’t fun for anyone! If you’re obsessing over every little thing your staff do, they’ll begin to feel both stress and resentment, which can lead to burnout. Instead, show trust and empower your staff.

If you’ve assigned them a project, leave them to do it. Use systems so that they can manage time on their own. You could even offer flexible working hours, allowing staff to work when they want as long as they get the work done – it’s one of the most trusting things you can do as an employer.

Create a supportive culture

It’s vital that your staff can be open about their issues in the workplace. If they feel as though they can’t say anything about being overworked or feeling stressed, you might not know that they need your help. Whether it’s problems at home or with work, make it clear that they can always come to you for support.

Try to encourage the same behaviour among your staff. Employees may not always want to talk to their boss, but if they can talk to their colleagues, it can still help. Their colleagues may then be able to have a quiet word with you if the topic isn’t confidential, giving you a heads up.

Reward staff

Working hard on a project only to get a “thank you” and “could you close the door on your way out” is a one-way street to burnout! Putting all of your effort into something and receiving no recognition is hard on morale. So, be sure you recognise good work and give something in return.

This could be lunches out with the staff, bonuses for great work, or even just a bottle of wine at the end of a good week. These little things can go a long way.

Keep staff happy and secure public sector contracts

Employee burnout is a sign that your staff’s well-being isn’t being put first. At Supply2Gov, we know just how much that can affect your chance of winning government contracts. But if you put your staff first, your business is bound to flourish!

If you’d like to learn more about government contracts and begin your journey to winning them, register for free today.