Survey respondents tell businesses how they can address the problem
Despite figures being on a downward trend, nearly half of employees across the United States say they’re still suffering from burnout, according to a new report. Findings from Eagle Hill Consulting's survey revealed that 46% are “burning out” in their current roles, with younger workers (51%) and women (48%) reporting higher levels of tension.
The latest data indicates a slight drop from the 49% recorded in August 2022, and much lower than the 58% reported in August 2020, according to the report. Still, that’s no reason for employers to become complacent in addressing employee burnout, according to Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting.
"Nearly half of the workforce reports burnout, and that is far too high for organizations that seek optimal performance and retention of their top talent," Jezior said in a media release.
Jezior warned that tired and stressed employees could end up looking for another job, data backed up by the study which found that 30% are planning to switch employers in the next 12 months.
When asked what their reasons are for being burned out, the respondents cited the following factors:
Employers should also recognise that recent layoff announcements could "trigger an uptick in burnout," according to Jezior.
"We know that staffing shortages have been a major source of worker burnout. In fact, we asked employees how staff shortages impact their workload, and 83% of workers said it's covering the workload for un-filled positions," she said.
Other effects of staff shortages on workloads include helping others learn their jobs (37%), training new hires (39%), and recruiting and interviewing new hires (28%).
To address the problem of burnout, having more control on time emerged as the common theme among the top answers of the respondents, which included:
"It's critically important for employers to dig in to understand exactly what is causing burnout among their workers to properly diagnose and address the problem. Our research shows that workers are comfortable talking about burnout, and those conversations are essential," Jezior said.
