How to prevent employee burnout

An eye-watering four-in-five (79%) UK employees experience some level of workplace burnout, with 35% suffering extreme levels of it. These statistics should not be taken lightly, since burnout has the potential to be detrimental to your employees’ mental health, workplace satisfaction, and productivity. It’s a widespread problem that is damaging to organisations and workers alike. In fact, it’s estimated that workers taking sick days as a result of burnout costs UK business around £700 million each year, so it’s in employers’ best interests to take measures to mitigate it.

Know the warning signs

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes the indicators of burnout as feelings of energy depletion, increased negative thoughts about work, and a drop in efficiency. By understanding these signs, you can better identify if a member of your team is suffering from burnout. If this is the case, your first step should be to speak to this employee, offering them a safe space to open up about what’s causing these work stresses and what support or accommodations you can provide to help their wellbeing get back to where it should be. Each case of burnout may be caused by different factors, so it’s important to listen to employees’ needs individually when they’re facing these struggles.

Lead by example to encourage healthy work habits

Do you make a habit of sending emails to your team while you’re on annual leave or outside of office hours? If so, you’re not alone – 28% of accountancy and finance professionals say their manager or organisation contacts them outside of their contracted working hours, according to our latest Salary & Recruiting Trends Guide, and 65% feel obligated to respond in the same manner.

It’s important to set a good example when it comes to working outside of regular hours, as employees who are unable to fully switch off from work during their evenings, weekends and holidays could become overworked and burnt out. For example, you could consider implementing a no contact outside of contracted hours rule for your whole team, including yourself – more than two-thirds (68%) of accountancy and finance professionals think this rule would have a positive impact on staff wellbeing.

Encourage flexibility, not presenteeism

Hybrid working is now the norm in the accountancy and finance industry; 63% say they currently work in this way, while 12% are fully remote and 25% are based solely in the office, according to our findings. Adopting more flexibility with working patterns could improve your team’s work-life balance, ultimately helping to prevent burnout. If your team currently works fully in-office, consider giving them the option to work one day per week at home, or if you operate a hybrid working pattern, maybe you could be more flexible and allow employees to choose which days they come to the office.

While home working has come to represent the epitome of flexible working, we have seen its increase in popularity coincide with a new type of presenteeism, where employees work from home when they’re ill instead of taking a sick day. It’s important to make sure your team don’t feel obliged to work – whether that be in the office or at home – when they’re unwell, as not having appropriate recovery time can contribute to burnout.

Many factors can lead to employee burnout, but as an employer, you play a crucial role in preventing it. By recognising the signs of burnout, setting a positive example by disconnecting outside of contracted hours, and promoting flexibility to ensure a healthy work-life balance, you can significantly reduce the risk. These proactive steps will help maintain a happy, healthy, and productive workforce.

To discover more world of work insights and talent management trends, access our latest Salary & Recruiting Trends Guide today.