According to a survey by accounting firm Deloitte, the cost to employers of poor mental health in the workplace in 2024 is £51bn per year. Mental wellbeing is a foundational workplace issue which employers ignore at their peril.
Today (10th October) marks World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme set by the World Federation of Mental Health is workplace mental health. In this week’s blog, taking our cue from this theme, we consider the concept of employee ‘burnout’. Here are 10 things employers need to know:
- Burnout is not just stress. Burnout goes beyond normal work-related stress. It involves chronic emotional exhaustion, detachment, and a reduced sense of accomplishment. Unlike temporary stress, burnout is long-lasting and requires intervention to resolve.
- Burnout can be caused by more than workload. While heavy workloads are a primary cause, burnout can also stem from unclear expectations, lack of autonomy, poor management, and even a toxic work environment. Employers need to evaluate these factors to mitigate burnout.
- Burnout impacts productivity and performance. Burnout severely reduces an employee’s effectiveness, causing them to disengage from their work. Productivity decreases, errors increase, and creativity and problem-solving abilities are impaired. It can also lead to more absenteeism.
- Burnout is linked to physical and mental health problems. Burnout isn’t just an emotional or mental state—it can be linked to physical problems like heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, and weakened immune responses. It also increases risks of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
- Recognition and prevention are more effective than intervention. Early recognition of burnout signs—like changes in behaviour, declining work quality, irritability, and disengagement—can prevent burnout from becoming severe. Employers should focus on prevention through regular check-ins and creating a supportive culture.
- Work-Life balance is key. Encouraging a healthy work-life balance is one of the best ways to prevent burnout. This includes respecting boundaries, offering flexible working arrangements, and ensuring employees take their breaks and holidays.
- Management styles influence burnout. Lack of recognition and inconsistent leadership contribute significantly to burnout. Training managers to be supportive, communicative, and to provide clear direction can reduce the risk of burnout.
- Employee autonomy reduces burnout. Allowing employees more control over their work can decrease the likelihood of burnout. Empowering them with decision-making capabilities and offering them flexibility can improve their engagement and sense of purpose.
- Culture of overwork perpetuates burnout. A workplace that glorifies overworking, long hours, and constant availability fosters burnout. Employers must shift the culture to prioritise efficiency and quality of work over the quantity of hours worked. Although the government seems to be moving away from any form of mandated ‘right to disconnect’ for UK workers, employers who are committed to avoiding employee burnout should make sure that the lines between work and life in their own workplaces are not unreasonably blurred. Set clear boundaries on communications outside of core hours and make sure that managers lead by example.
- The workplace is not always the only cause of burnout. Employees are human beings with stresses and concerns outside of the 9-5. Wellbeing initiatives which focus solely on the workplace environment itself could be missing a trick. Issues such as parental illness, financial concerns and relationship breakdown can all end up being ‘brought to work’ and contributing to burnout. By way of example, Deloitte’s 2024 report explored the impact of children’s poor mental health on working parents for the first time. According to the survey, 46% of working parents are concerned about their children’s mental health. Half of those who were concerned about their children’s mental health said it impacted their performance at work. A holistic approach to wellbeing, which recognises that employees may need support and compassion with issues outside of the physical workplace will place your business in the right place to minimise the risk of employee burnout.
The points above are a starting-point to assess and manage the risk of employee burnout in your own business. Useful supporting information can be found at https://mentalhealth-uk.org/burnout/