How your business can combat rising burnout

Are your staff burnt out? Here’s how you can help manage.

A new survey recently rang the alarm over burnout among employees reaching an all-time high and called on employers to adopt a more flexible workplace approach to stave off its negative effects.

More than four in 10 or 42 per cent of 10,243 workers surveyed across the US, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK from November to December 2022 reported that they were experiencing burnout, according to Future Forum. 

The figures show a slight increase (2 per cent rise) from the previous quarter and an all-time high since May 2021, when Future Forum first started measuring employee burnout.

While Australia claimed the bottom spot in the ranking of burnout rates among the surveyed countries, data showed that 27 per cent of surveyed respondents from the Land Down Under reported experiencing the condition — up 1 per cent from May 2021.

Japan had the highest burnout rate, with the figures rising from 40 per cent to 50 per cent over the same period.  

Other countries also saw burnout rates increase during the period, including France (up 4 per cent to 48 per cent), the UK (up 8 per cent to 48 per cent), the US (up 2 per cent to 41 per cent), and Germany (up 8 per cent to 37 per cent). 

Data also indicated that women reported higher burnout rates compared to men, with 46 per cent of women saying they are burnt out compared with 37 per cent of men. 

Meanwhile, 48 per cent of workers under age 30 reported feeling burnt out at work compared with 40 per cent of workers aged 30 and up.

According to the report, flexible workers were 57 per cent more likely to say their company culture has improved over the past two years compared with fully in-person workers, and they cite flexible remote work policies as the primary reason their culture is changing for the better.

Flexible workers are also more likely to feel connected to their direct manager (39 per cent versus 34 per cent) and their company’s values (32 per cent versus 28 per cent) compared with those who are back in the office full-time.

On the other hand, employees who are dissatisfied with their level of flexibility at work are 43 per cent more likely to say they feel burnt out at work than those who are satisfied with their level of flexibility, according to the survey. 

When compared to workers with no ability to shift their schedules, respondents with full schedule flexibility reported 39 per cent higher productivity and 64 per cent greater ability to focus. 

Compared to those with moderate schedule flexibility, desk workers who say they have little to no ability to set their hours report experiencing 4.6 times worse work-related stress and anxiety and 2.6 times worse work/life balance. 

In Australia, a majority of workers (55 per cent) are operating under a hybrid work set-up, with only 32 per cent working entirely in the office and 13 per cent working fully remotely.

The figures are 6 per cent higher than the global average for hybrid work arrangements and lower than the global average for fully in-office and fully remote set-ups, which are respectively less than 3 per cent and 4 per cent in Australia.

Despite the benefits that are shown to stem from a flexible work set-up, 25 per cent of executives surveyed cited “team culture is negatively impacted” as a number one concern about offering employees more flexibility in an office.

HR Leader recently heard from Ignite Purpose founder and chief executive Christina Foxwell, who noted more managers than ever are set to give up their posts following the challenging pandemic period and the lack of support provided thereafter.

Ms Foxwell, whose practice specialises in human-centred performance improvement, coaching, training and consulting, said the impact of “manager malaise” is set to hit businesses hard this year if they fail to implement appropriate measures.

“I believe manager malaise will become one of the biggest business issues in 2023,” she said.

“Managers are the ones that have had to carry businesses through COVID, picking up the slack when staff check out mentally, don’t turn up, or leave altogether. Managers are also the ones that have not only had to deal with the excessive workload, they have had to manage the challenge and complexities of dealing with hybrid workplaces where staff are working from home and at the office.

“They have had to carry it all with little to no support, dealing with all these challenges while also having to meet their own responsibilities and targets as well. This level of stress has taken its toll, and managers are now burnt out and, quite frankly, tired and fed up.”