9 Causes of Employee Burnout & Strategies to Prevent It

Many of us are familiar with the ‘Monday blues’ – that feeling of dread as the weekend comes to an end and you prepare to start your workweek. It’s common to feel like you need a break, or to be stressed or frustrated at work. But how do you know if your experience is reasonable, or a sign of something more serious? Employee burnout is a pervasive problem across industries, with a quarter of surveyed workers worldwide indicating that they’ve experienced the symptoms. 

Employee burnout can impact companies as well as individuals, as stressed and overworked employees lead to tangible losses for organizations. Employers and human resources have an important function in recognizing and reducing employee burnout, and there are plenty of ways they can work with staff to prevent it. In this article, we’ll cover the signs and causes of employee burnout, as well as proactive tips for managers on how to avoid it.

The definition of employee burnout is unmanaged work-related stress that’s characterized by physical and mental fatigue and results in poor performance at work. It’s more than just workplace pressure, which is manageable and felt by most workers at one time or another. Burnout is a more debilitating experience, and it can lead to more complex and long-lasting mental and physical health problems. Employee burnout involves the following:

Emotional exhaustion

Employee burnout can feel emotionally tiring, and often develops into general fatigue. Someone struggling with burnout may feel emotionally unable to take on challenges and struggle to maintain emotional stability. 

Depersonalization

One complicated effect of employee burnout is the feeling of reduced personal identity. Someone experiencing burnout can feel numb and detached, and consequently will struggle with their motivation. 

Reduced personal accomplishment

Employee burnout creates a feeling of inadequacy at work. Employees devalue their work and may struggle with negative feelings about their contributions and career.  

This type of work-related stress is more common than you might assume, and the current employee burnout statistics paint a stark picture. In 2021, the American Psychological Association found almost 3 in 5 employees had struggled with higher than usual work-related stress and were experiencing the signs of employee burnout. Although some industries are more predisposed to burnout, it’s nonetheless a global problem, and it isn’t just individuals who suffer. A surprising Gallup poll found that employees experiencing burnout are nearly 3 times more likely to be engaged in job searching.

Whether you are an employer or staff, recognizing the signs of employee burnout in yourself and others is essential. The sooner you catch employee burnout, the earlier you can intervene and stop its progress. Employers and human resources staff play a pivotal role in recognizing employee burnout. Workers might feel pressure to persevere, or take on more workload, which makes getting help difficult. They may even be afraid to discuss their situation, or they can miss the signs of employee burnout completely. Employers are better situated to intervene and provide relief through policies and practices. 

The following are some of the key indications that employee burnout is impacting an individual. 

Behavioral and Emotional Indicators

1. Increased irritability and mood swings

An early symptom of employee burnout is emotional dysregulation. This could be in the form of frequent or unexplained mood swings, or increased irritability. 

2. Withdrawal from social interactions

A terrible effect of employee burnout is increased social isolation. Someone suffering from burnout might avoid social situations big and small, in both their professional and personal life. 

3. Decreased enthusiasm

A worker suffering from employee burnout can lose their enthusiasm for work, as well as their love for things that once brought them joy. 

4. Increased absenteeism

A telltale sign of employee burnout is absenteeism. Employees struggling with their mental health might take more time off than usual and are more likely to be tardy or leave early. 

Performance and Productivity Decline

1. Decreased efficiency

Employee burnout leads to reduced efficiency, as employees are less able to focus, more distracted by health issues, or less motivated to work. 

2. Missed deadlines

As motivation and efficiency decreases, deadlines will be missed. Employees struggling with burnout may request more deadline extensions and struggle to keep up with their workload. 

3. Increased error rates

Employee burnout can lead to reduced focus. With diminished attention, staff are more likely to make mistakes and fail to notice their errors.

4. Decline in creativity

Creativity dies in stressful situations, and workers struggling with employee burnout will be less creative and innovative. This can in turn lead to issues with problem solving, independence, and adaptability. 

5. Reduced initiative

When employees struggle with their mental health, they shift their focus from thriving to surviving at work. Employees grappling with burnout may fail to take initiative and will instead do what they can to get by.

What are the causes of employee burnout? While employee burnout is different for everyone, there are some commonly recognized causes, like the following: 

Excessive workload

It stands to reason that overworked employees will suffer from burnout, as they fight to juggle more tasks than they can reasonably handle in a workday.

Lack of autonomy

Independence is an important contributor to good mental health at work. Staff who are micromanaged and controlled will feel frequent irritation and are more likely to experience employee burnout.

Insufficient support and poor management

Employee burnout is common when staff don’t get the support they need at work. Good management teams will help employees do their job to the best of their ability, and if this foundation is missing, it’s sure to cause frustration and resentment. 

Insufficient recognition and rewards

Everyone wants to feel they are doing well at work, and a lack of positive reinforcement can quickly lead to employee burnout. 

Work-life imbalance

Work-life balance is essential for resilient mental health, so someone who struggles to find time for the things they care about outside of work are more likely to experience employee burnout. 

Limited growth opportunities

Progress is important and feeling ‘stuck’ in a position for a long time can be demoralizing. A lack of career growth is a common cause of employee burnout.  

Toxic work environment

Negative work environments create stress and tension, making work an unpleasant place to be and staff interactions unhealthy and uncomfortable. This will surely increase the likelihood of employee burnout. 

Ineffective communication within the organization

Another cause of employee burnout is poor communication. Deficient or disorganized communication creates more work for everyone, prevents efficiency and leads to misunderstanding and tension. 

Although organizations often put the onus on employees to manage their mental health, the existing statistics overwhelmingly point to the role of the company in preventing employee burnout. A Gallup poll found that the top five causes of employee burnout are: poor communication from managers, time pressure, a lack of clear roles, unreasonable workload, and unfair treatment.

Wondering how to prevent employee burnout? While unmanaged stress can be a serious problem for staff as well as organizations, there are fortunately ways to prevent and reduce employee burnout. Employers and human resources play a special role in managing burnout, as they are ideally situated to notice signs and to enact meaningful policies to protect staff. A healthy work environment starts with leadership, and benefits everyone. 

Here are a few ways to prevent employee burnout:

Create a supportive organizational culture

A supportive work culture encourages open communication and healthy work habits. Think about how you can shape your culture to be more helpful and positive, to reduce employee burnout. One aspect of a supportive work culture includes regular monitoring and collecting feedback. If you don’t check in with your employees or seek their honest feedback, you won’t be informed enough to recognize problems or implement changes. 

Set clear expectations and goals

Giving clear guidance to employees about your expectations will help them understand their role and avoid miscommunications. Set clear and reasonable goals so staff have a distinct purpose and measurable tasks. 

Provide opportunities for skill development

Employee burnout is more likely when the tasks staff are given don’t match their skills. Employees can feel stress when they struggle to reach goals without proper training. Examine your onboarding process to ensure your employees can effectively do their tasks and look for opportunities to provide upskilling as roles change and adapt. 

Recognize and reward employee contributions

It’s important to support your staff with positive reinforcement so they feel their contributions are valued and useful. One solution for employee burnout is a regular reward system, which can be as simple as positive feedback. Find more tips to motivate your employees here. 

Promote stress management and mental health initiatives

To avoid employee burnout, consider advocating for stress management at work. This could include encouraging staff to take their allotted time off, discouraging work after hours, and having open channels of communication for staff who are struggling. Employee wellness programs are another good way to prevent employee burnout. This could be gym memberships, health benefits like therapy, and wellness workshops like meditation.

Preventing employee burnout is doable, but so often overlooked by employers. Unfortunately, it isn’t just individual staff who suffer the effects of employee burnout, but the entire organization too. 

Increased turnover rates

Employee burnout can lead to high turnover among your staff. Employees in toxic workplaces will leave to prioritize their mental wellness, resulting in lost revenue as you look to fill their role, in addition to the cost of training new staff. This might also lead to more widespread employee burnout as your remaining staff must fill in the gaps.  

Diminished Productivity

One effect of employee burnout is poor productivity. Stressed and burnt-out staff will be distracted, they’ll miss mistakes, and they may take time off. 

Reduced employee engagement

Employee burnout leads to poor engagement. Stressed and overworked staff will struggle to do their best in a tough environment, and they won’t have enough mental bandwidth to be engaged and alert at work. 

Negative effects on company culture

Employee burnout impacts company culture, creating an environment of dissatisfaction that permeates and affects everyone. 

Impact on company reputation

Another effect of employee burnout is a potential negative reputation for your organisation. In today’s information age, the voices of dissatisfied staff can reach millions, and rumours of a toxic work environment will be discouraging for future applicants as well as clients.

Employee burnout is a prevalent problem across industries and impacts behaviour, emotions, and performance. Reducing employee burnout starts with knowing what causes it and recognising its signs. Employers play an important role in shaping an environment that discourages employee burnout and supports the wellbeing of their staff. Recognizing the early stages of burnout is crucial to prevent more serious and long-lasting health impacts for the individual. If you’re looking for more information on how to manage employee burnout, use CakeResume as your resource for career development and workplace advice.

--- Originally written by Tiffany Quinn ---