Can flexibility help curb worker burnout?

There’s a myriad of data that shows the two years of the pandemic took a significant toll on the physical and mental health of kiwi workforces.

So, for most organisations, 2023 is a great chance to stabilise and rebuild, but newly released data suggests that the effects of the pandemic are still being felt by many workers.

Almost half (45%) of workers claim to be exhausted at the end of the day, while 31% say the source of their exhaustion is work stress, according to the Telus Health Mental Health Index.

“The statistics suggest that something needs to be done by organisations,” says Rose Zaffino, director of clinical wellness at Telus Health.

Is the four-day work week the answer?

Movements like 4-Day Work Week Global have been gaining a lot of media attention lately. Kiwi fashion label Kowtow, for example, signed up to the New Zealand four-day week trial after an internal survey revealed it was a popular option amongst employees. 

But Zaffino isn’t quick to recommend this approach, telling HRD, “It’s not as simple as just implementing a four-day week and a three-day weekend.”

“I think there’s a lot of people experimenting with ‘flexitime’, like a day off a fortnight, but it’s really important to think about some of the components that are important in setting up the concept,” she said.

“I think organisations shouldn’t fly into it, they should get some qualitive and quantitative measures around ‘What does success mean?’ and what are the outcomes you want to achieve?”

Include employees in the process

In considering the flexibility to provide staff, employers should look at how the company operates, such as which meetings or tasks are necessary.

And employee feedback is important, according to Zaffino.

“If employees are included in decisions, then you’re going to get engagement and it does impact positively because people want to be able to be innovative, and they want to have some autonomy about how they operate and that creates work-life satisfaction,” she said.

“Flexibility requires leaders to be able to make decisions around when and how they will be productive, and it requires trust so it’s important to set up policies and guidelines and provide some direction around what 100% productivity looks like for each employee.

Overall, flexible work options aren’t the only solution to avoiding burnout in your workforce, said Zaffino.

“The danger will be organisations that think it’s the only solution to mental health issues rather than looking at support mechanisms like leadership training and awareness and also the culture of an organisation.”