{"id":119311,"date":"2021-06-10T09:59:20","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T09:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/?p=119311"},"modified":"2023-06-09T06:08:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T06:08:01","slug":"avoiding-the-next-emerging-crisis-worker-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/avoiding-the-next-emerging-crisis-worker-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding the Next Emerging Crisis: Worker Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many things have changed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that it has become increasingly difficult to track each of the shifts that have emerged from the turmoil. The past 18 months have truly impacted us in more ways than one; whether it\u2019s in work, health, financial stability or our personal relationships, no one\u2019s life is the same as it was back in March 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

This profound transformation in how we live and work has pushed us beyond any limit, and even though the severity of the impact varies depending on where you\u2019re living today, something has been uniformly damaging for workers all around the world\u2014and it\u2019s that productivity levels have been expected to stay firm or even increase in the midst of a pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what did that do to the workplace, among other factors? It created the worst unemployment rates in over a decade, globally\u2014and, naturally, caused usually reliable workers to burn out, as <\/span>their productivity levels have been expected to stay firm or even increase despite the fact that most companies cut costs to withstand lesser revenues, and turbocharged responsibilities for the employees that remained in the payroll.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did we get here? This certainly didn\u2019t happen overnight. For decades, differences in work descriptions have been blurring \u2014causing an overlap in workspaces where nobody truly knows where their scope ends\u2014 and the idea of having a healthy work-life balance has been thrown out the window. Besides, the pandemic added a new layer to the \u201calways-on\u201d mentality, as WFH (work from home) settings essentially disappeared the boundaries between home & office.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how do we continue to go through it? What can we as individuals and organizations do to better support people? It\u2019s crucial to take a step back and really think about what\u2019s happening all around the globe, and also understand that everyone is going through this in at least a slightly different way\u2014all while trying to earn a living, and take care of themselves. It\u2019s clear that your company should have your back\u2026 but, how?<\/span><\/p>\n

Raising awareness<\/b><\/h2>\n

First of all, we have to understand what burnout is. Originally, this concept came about in the 70\u2019s, after analyzing nurses and caretakers and their working days, and it was defined as a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress<\/a> that has not successfully been managed, and that is hard to eradicate both from worker\u2019s routines and the culture of a company\u2014especially during its biggest growth period.<\/span><\/p>\n

With time, the situation only got worse, as climbing the corporate ladder turned into a life ambition, and the start-up landscape started <\/span>glamorizing working hard<\/span><\/a> in order to get things done. Around 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) took upon itself to even classify burnout as a disease, partly to raise awareness about its prevalence in the workforce, and also to finally get those who need professional aid the help they need.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this only glances over the actual problem. Most people \u2014and their companies\u2014 don\u2019t even know they\u2019re burned out, or on the brink of it. That begs the question: how can one tell? For starters, it usually happens to over-engaged workers, who either are assigned way too many tasks, or ask to take on more than they can efficiently perform. The WHO mentions three key elements in most cases of burnout: feelings of exhaustion, mental detachment from one’s job and poorer performance at work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, living under a stressful routine \u2014especially during today\u2019s unprecedented events\u2014 can and will put employees under extreme pressure, which in turn makes them unable to cope with even the smallest requirements of their job. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), \u201csome causes of burnout may also include feeling either permanently overworked or under-challenged, being under time pressure, or having conflicts with colleagues.\u201d That means that, in the end, this \u201cextreme commitment results in people neglecting their own needs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Work-related exhaustion issues haven’t improved recently; in fact, as we noted before, the pandemic has only made them worse. According to a new <\/span>HBR study<\/span><\/a>, which asked individuals about the impact burnout has had on them, personally, these are some of the key changes:<\/span><\/p>\n