The last 12 months stand out almost as a case study on the effects of stress and every employer is witnessing firsthand the its impact on workers. It’s no wonder that employee burnout is listed as one of the top Human Resource challenges for 2021! Indeed, the “world’s #1 job site,” posted some useful information we’ll share with you in three blogs.
In this message, let’s explore, exactly what is employee burnout.
The Indeed authors define burnout as a stage of extreme stress where employees become exhausted, frustrated, disengaged and unmotivated at work. Before we even tackle workplace issues, we need to acknowledge that employees’ background stress has skyrocketed in the last year with issues like these taking center stage: fear of contracting or having family/friends sick with COVID-19; homeschooling children while perhaps also trying to work from home; spouse’s job loss and possible homelessness; social unrest; and a contentious election season. It’s no surprise then to see the spillover effects of this stress in the workplace.
Among the signs of burnout are feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance and negativism about the job and a sense of ineffectiveness. Employees in its first stages experience short bursts of stress that can be handled with traditional coping mechanisms. As stress escalates, employees begin experiencing more regular episodes of anxiety, fatigue, lost focus and headaches, which can chip away at their optimism and resilience. Those under chronic job stress feel these symptoms on a daily basis and may find their productivity negatively affected. The last stage of burnout is heralded by stress that can’t be successfully managed, along with behavioral changes, lost productivity and engagement and even a plan to quit or look for a new job.
In Part Two of this series on burnout, we look at important symptoms and who is more susceptible to burning out. Hope you’ll join us!