How rising burnout is affecting a variety of industries

It’s worrying to hear that burnout is rife amongst many industries. The damaging effects this can have don’t stop with the individual, as companies and even consumers can be impacted.

Burnout is a dangerous, yet avoidable, complication of overworking. It’s described as “a syndrome that results from chronic stress at work, with several consequences to workers’ wellbeing and health.”

It’s a global issue, affecting employees across the world, in a variety of industries. Forbes described burnout as “a worldwide problem,” and one that can be prevented with proper intervention.

According to Mental Health First Aid Australia, we fare worse than many other countries. Research shows that 61 per cent of Aussie workers reported experiencing burnout, compared to the global average of 48 per cent.

Between 2021 and 2022, burnout figures rose five per cent across the country and led to 40 per cent of employee resignations. Shockingly, burnout and stress-related absenteeism are responsible for an estimated $14 billion in losses to the economy.

Some industries are hit harder by burnout than others, which can lead to significant challenges. According to Ringover, the top 10 worst affected industries are:

1. Agriculture (84.38 per cent)
2. Financial activities and insurance (82.50 per cent)
3. Information publishing and telecommunications (81.38 per cent)
4. Public sector (80.49 per cent)
5. Professional and business services (79.26 per cent)
6. Education (76.99 per cent)
7. Leisure and hospitality (76 per cent)
8. Construction (75.86 per cent)
9. Manufacturing (75.32 per cent)
10. Wholesale and retail trade (69.81 per cent)

Younger workers were recognised as being the most susceptible to burnout, with 85.23 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 likely to suffer. This dropped to 82.3 per cent of those aged 25 to 34, 65.94 per cent of 45 to 54-year-olds, and 42.86 per cent of 65 and over.

A study by Workday revealed that frontline workers are especially at risk of burnout. Of the 10 industries in the analysis, seven either maintained or saw increased levels of burnout risk year on year.

The rollover effects of leaving these issues untreated extend beyond the individual. This was made evident in a strike by Kids Help hotline workers on Monday, 18 March, in which child protection workers stopped work for two hours between 4:30pm and 6:30pm.

Staff reported needing to work more than 18 hours at a time to keep up with workloads, keeping the hotline open. Workers, in a bid to protect working rights, decided to halt work, which could have negative effects on the child protection system.

“This is another symptom of a child protection system in crisis. “We’ve been telling anybody who’ll listen the child protection system is about to collapse but no-one is listening, least of all management at the Department of Communities and Justice,” said Public Service Association acting general secretary, Troy Wright.

“The after-hours response team take calls from members of the public who are worried about the welfare of our most precious resource, our children. Before the wheels fell off the after-hours response team earlier this month the response time to a call about a child in trouble was under 30 minutes, it’s now taking hours.”

Wright continued: “Some staff report working in excess of 18 hours at a time to keep the hotline open. Already chronically overloaded case workers at the district level are now picking up the slack of the after-hours Response Team which has them being woken up at all hours to rescue kids in need, that’s on top of their day job.”

This is an extreme example of how unaddressed working conditions, and burnout, can have implications on the welfare of both employees and consumers.

Eliminating burnout should be on every employer’s agenda. According to Mental Health First Aid Australia, some effective ways of doing this are:

• Celebrate wins and promote connection.
• Provide empathetic and effective leadership.
• Promote a healthy work/life balance.
• Create a safe environment for people to speak up.

Jack Campbell

Jack is the editor at HR Leader.