The employee burnout conundrum Viewpoint careers advice blog

The employee burnout conundrum It is a worrying trend for many â€" the concept of employees burning out (effectively being unable to cope with the demands that are placed on them in their work and home lives) is becoming a common problem. And it is a situation many businesses are now having to confront. According to research by Willis Towers Watson, 42 per cent of workers have suffered from stress or mental health issues at some point, and one in three believes their job impacts negatively on their mental wellbeing. This is having a direct influence on their ability to do their job as well as their health; more than a third (36 per cent) struggle to get a good night’s sleep because of work, the research found. Reasons behind rising employee burnout One reason why this is more of an issue now than in previous generations is because of the impact of technology, and particularly the fact that smartphones now mean it is possible to be “always on”. This is most likely to be a problem with younger employees; a survey by Bupa found that 82 per cent of millennials check their work emails first thing in the morning and last thing at night, with 40 per cent feeling they should do so while sick, and 32 per cent while on annual leave. “The kind of pressure we have now through technology didn’t exist before, but it’s evolved very quickly and created a workplace culture in which we have very little opportunity for genuine downtime,” says Isabelle Campbell, a Wellbeing Consultant for CABA, a charity which helps the wellbeing of chartered accountants. “A lack of downtime, as we all know, inevitably leads to burnout as we’re left incapable of stepping away from our work or escaping our professional lives.” In many industries stress is a bit of a badge of honour, and people don’t recognise that burnout can impact their happiness both at home and at work Dr Jonathan Passmore is Director of the Centre for Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School. As well as technology he identifies a further two reasons behind the increasing prominence of burnout: globalisation, meaning employees in some sectors often have to work across different time zones, and a wider trend for people to work longer hours. “There are studies from Norway and most of Western Europe, the UK and the US which show that people’s working hours are going up,” he says. “There’s evidence that some individuals are working more than 60 hours a week and at those levels then you do see significant impacts on health.” These problems can be compounded by what is going on in our personal lives, including the growing issue of caring for elderly relatives as people live longer, says Jennifer Liston-Smith, Head of Coaching and Consultancy at My Family Care, which works with major employers to help them get to grips with the factors that can cause burnout. “Over time, we can end up with an excess of cortisol, the hormone associated with a sustained battle against pressures,” she says. “Alongside the well-known physical effects there can be a strong impact on mental wellbeing. Initially we can feel panicky â€" in fight or flight mode too much of the time â€" and when it’s prolonged, we can start to feel overwhelmed.” How HR can combat employee burnout HR professionals have an important role to play in helping to tackle the issue of burnout and its causes. A good starting point, says Dr Mark Winwood, Director of Psychological Services at AXA PPP Healthcare, is to create a workplace culture where people are encouraged to live healthy and active lives, and where there is support should they struggle. “For this to work, strong leadership, line manager buy-in and a commitment to wellbeing is key” he says. “This could involve, for example, addressing the often counterproductive effects of constant overwork, by focusing on performance output rather than hours worked. This approach will give people the confidence of knowing that a break or getting away from work in good time is well earned.” But organisations need to take the time to understand the issues that are particular to their own workforce, warns Dr Thomas Calvard, Lecturer in Human Resource Management at University of Edinburgh Business School. “It could be that 80 per cent of the burnout comes from 20 per cent of particularly difficult issues,” he says. “It may be a culture of presenteeism, long working hours or frustration of pointless paper work that distracts people from what they love about their work.” Presenteeism â€" either physical or virtual â€" is a particular problem, he adds, and organisations need to make it clear that they are not expected to reply to emails out of working hours or at weekends. There have been some measures taken to enforce such policies more generally. Volkswagen famously set its servers not to forward on emails to employees out of working hours, while in France workers have the right to disconnect from work, with companies of more than 50 staff having to draw up a charter outlining the hours when staff are not supposed to send or answer emails. Passmore, though, is not convinced of the need for employers to take on such a role. “There are wider process issues that organisations can think about to discourage their employees from always working,” he says. “Then, alongside that, there are some positive steps that organisations can take, such as mindfulness training and providing opportunities at lunchtime where people can step away from their desk and do something positive such as going to the gym or to a yoga session.” It’s also important to educate employees as to why it’s important to stop using smartphones after a certain time so they can get a good night’s sleep, he adds. There are other tools available to HR in helping to develop a culture where employees are less likely to burn out. “Flexible working hours can give employees a sense of control over their work and home lives, which can be beneficial for productivity and bolster their resilience in the face of burnout,” says Winwood. But employees need guidance on how to use such freedom, he says, particularly in setting clear times when they are not working. Taking breaks Making sure employees take their full annual leave entitlement is also good practice, so they can get some clear downtime away from work. “I still hear stories from UK and particularly US companies where it’s regarded as a sign of weakness if you take your full entitlement, and you’re seen as not being committed,” says Stephen Bevan, Head of HR Research Development at the Institute for Employment Studies. Sabbaticals are another option, he says, although he warns these need to be offered to everyone including high-flyers, so they are not seen as a means of pushing someone out of the workplace. The issue of burnout has also come to the fore recently in Asia, following the suicide of a Dentsu employee who had a mental breakdown last year. Tokyo’s Labor Standards Inspection Office ruled that overwork led to the death of Matsuri Takahashi. Local media reported that she had worked in excess of 105 hours of overtime in a month. Spotting the warning signs Companies also need to get better at spotting the signs of stress or burnout and consider how to deal with any cases when they do occur. Training line managers to identify the warning signs through mental health first aid courses is a good starting point, says Bevan, as individuals can then be directed to appropriate support. “Managers who have been on these programmes say that, if someone didn’t look like they were concentrating or came to work looking at bit untidy, they would previously have had a word about their performance, but now they know there may be a problem with their home life or their health,” he says. “It allows the line manager to be the canary in the mine to spot the early signs.” Providing access to help is the next stage. Often support will be available through employee assistance programmes, usually accessed through private medical insurance plans or cash plans, but dedicated support services are also available. Procter Gamble, for instance, makes use of My Family Care’s Speak to an Expert service, which puts employees in touch with professionals who can provide advice around a range of issues which could be causing stress. “It could be anything from understanding their options for helping children sleep better, to opening up the big conversation about care with an elderly relative, to managing aspects of their own work-life balance,” says Liston-Smith. “This kind of thing can stop people tipping over into burnout: catching their burning issue before it becomes debilitating, and keeping them in the zone where they feel equipped and coping.” Culture of care Sometimes, though, the employer culture itself is the problem. Willis Towers Watson’s research found that the main reason people do not disclose a mental health issue, cited by 41 per cent of those who had failed to do so, was concern that it would affect their job prospects, while 38 per cent were worried that management or colleagues would not understand. “In many industries, including finance, stress is a bit of a badge of honour, and people wear it without recognising that burnout can impact their happiness both at home and at work,” says Campbell. “This is a real developmental issue for both organisations and employees alike. How can people possibly open up about mental health issues if they feel that they should be thankful for heavy, and often unreasonable, amounts of work?” Ultimately, though, organisations will have to confront the issue of workplace stress and employee burnout, because they cannot afford not to. Bevan raises the possibility of employee health being treated in the same way as succession planning by investors. “I can’t think of a better business argument for private sector organisations than your rating as an investment going down if investors regard the health of your workforce as a risk rather than an asset,” he says. “It’s likely that over the next 20 or 30 years employers won’t have a choice about this. They will be compelled to look at it, because it’s the only way they can keep their workforce productive.” Warning signs of office burnout Becoming cynical or critical at work Lacking the energy to be consistently productive at work Lacking satisfaction from achievements Feeling unmotivated at work A change in sleep habits or appetite Unexplained headaches, backaches or other physical complaints Source: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care If you enjoyed reading this Hays Journal article, you might also be interested in the following blogs: Trailblazing firms lead the way on  mental  health How to  switch  off  (and encourage your teams to do the same) 5 things that motivate your employees more than money How’s your well-being? More than “fine” I hope? Establishing an effective middle management tier