4 in 10 employees suffering from burnout: report

Leads to lower levels of engagement, retention, work output

4 in 10 employees suffering from burnout: report
In Canada, 46 per cent of workers feel a sense of burnout, says a survey

Nearly eight in 10 employees (79 per cent) worldwide are suffering from burnout at work — with 40 per cent suffering moderately to severely, according to a report.

In Canada, 46 per cent of employees feel a sense of burnout — even though 68 per cent say they are satisfied with their work environment.

And almost all (95 per cent) of HR leaders say that burnout is contributing to nearly one-half of the annual workforce turnover, according to the O.C. Tanner Institute’s 2020 Global Culture Report based on a survey of 20,088 workers in 15 countries, 16 focus group discussions and 108 interviews.

The results echo those of a Canadian survey earlier in 2019 that found 96 per cent of senior managers believe their team members are experiencing at least some degree of burnout.

Similarly, the Police Association of Ontario (PA) called on municipalities to take action because police officers are burning out, it said, by being asked to work more overtime or come in on their days off, while staffing levels are not increasing.

Burnout is defined as a combination of physical and mental exhaustion, perceptions of futility and avoidance of their work, including dread and absenteeism, according to O.C. Tanner.

Mild burnout causes companies a lot of negatives: 220 per cent decrease in the probability of highly engaged employees, 247 per cent decrease in the probability of great work incidence, 210 per cent decrease in the probability that an employee will be a promoter of the organization and a 12-point decrease in the reported employee experience rating.

Companies with moderate-to-severe burnout see a 376 per cent decrease in the odds of having highly engaged employees, said the study, while there’s an 87 per cent decrease in employees’ likelihood to stay, a 22 per cent decrease in work output and a 41 per cent decrease in the perception of the employee experience.

Moreover, burned-out employees are 63 per cent more likely to take a sick day, 23 per cent more likely to visit the emergency room, 2.6 times as likely to leave their current employer and 13 per cent less confident in their performance.

As a solution, it’s about “creating peak and microexperiences that help employees feel connected to their organizations, supported and appreciated by their leaders and teams, clear about their goals and performance, and listened to by their companies,” says O.C. Tanner.

“The same tools that can improve the employee experience (rethinking leadership, utilizing one-to-one conversations, building safe and supported teams, and active listening) also help with burnout.”

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