The World Health Organization (WHO) says that employee burnout is an “occupational phenomenon”. It goes beyond being tired, having time off, or missing a deadline; it’s a state of ongoing mental and physical exhaustion caused by a range of workplace factors.
Employees who are experiencing burnout often feel exhausted, disconnected from their work, struggle to remain productive, and question their capabilities. This can have serious impacts on both physical and mental health, especially when left unaddressed by employers or managers.
A YouGov survey found that in 2024, 34% of adults experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’, and 91% experienced high pressure or stress at ‘some point’.
However, burnout doesn’t just affect employees. It can also significantly impact your business processes and workplace environment, as burned-out employees are more likely to take additional time off and less likely to be productive.
If employee burnout is left unaddressed, it can eventually lead to sudden resignations. If this is the case, businesses should consider offering a payment in lieu of notice (PILON) rather than requiring the burnout employee to work through their notice period. This managed solution will reduce employee stress without harming your business.
This article explores five key causes of employee burnout and how to take preventive action.
Feeling Unsupported
Employees who feel unsupported by the business or their direct managers are more likely to experience burnout. When support is missing, employees feel a lack of guidance, recognition, and feedback, which makes everyday pressures harder to manage.
How to take action? Train managers to effectively support and communicate with employees.
An employee’s direct manager or supervisor has an extraordinary impact on their well-being in the workplace. Managers can support employees by helping them with mistakes, recognizing their good work with shoutouts or rewards, and reassigning projects to ensure they have a manageable workload.
In addition, managers should be trained and encouraged to communicate with employees in both group meetings and one-on-ones. This helps employees feel less alone and build a better bond with their direct managers or supervisors.
Poor Work-Life Balance
If work is taking up so much time and energy that an employee has nothing left for family and friends, it can lead to burnout. An employee’s personal time is important for ensuring that work boundaries aren’t blurred and sleep, exercise, or socializing isn’t sacrificed.
How to take action? Offer your employees a flexible working arrangement.
Remote or hybrid work, flexible hours, and compressed workweeks help employees better manage their work-life balance, reducing daily stress and the risk of burnout.
In addition, given how prevalent technology is in our lives, it’s important to communicate that employees aren’t expected to respond to direct messages, emails, or phone calls outside of work hours. This ensures boundaries are maintained.
Unmanageable Workloads
Unmanageable workloads, tight deadlines, and growing workplace responsibilities are likely to contribute to burnout as employees operate in a continual state of pressure. In addition, employees begin to feel inadequate when deadlines are missed, even when the cause is an impossible workload.
How to take action? Monitor workloads and set realistic deadlines.
Managers or supervisors should regularly check in with their team to ensure the workload is manageable and make any suitable adjustments if not.
In addition, managers should set realistic deadlines that ensure employees aren’t working excessive hours, skipping breaks, or wasting personal time, and still repeatedly falling short.
Unfair Treatment
Employees who feel they are being treated unfairly in the workplace by coworkers or managers are more likely to experience burnout because this treatment adds emotional strain on top of normal work stress. Employees who are treated unfairly may also begin to lose trust in a business or their managers.
How to take action? Prioritize diversity, equality, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace.
DE&I means valuing, recognizing, respecting, and including everyone in the workplace. Employers should foster diverse, equal, and inclusive teams with consistent rules and no bias.
(Image Source: Quantive)
In addition, any workplace mistreatment should be taken seriously and addressed immediately.
External Stress
Stress outside the workplace can also cause employee burnout. Unplanned life events, relationship issues, and financial trouble can contribute to burnout, with signs beginning to manifest in the workplace.
How to take action? Provide access to health and well-being programs.
Not only should managers regularly check in with their employees on a personal level, but they should also provide them with access to health and well-being programs. This could include financial well-being services, online therapy, or nutrition and exercise plans. Access to this type of support can directly improve physical and mental health.
Conclusion
Employers can’t always track exactly how their employees are feeling or what is going on in their personal lives. However, they can implement measures to prevent burnout.
Burnout is not an individual employee’s problem. It extends far beyond the individual and creates a burnout culture in the workplace, which affects morale, productivity, and retention. This makes employee burnout a company issue, so be sure to know the causes, signs, and solutions.
