BURNOUT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EPIDEMIC.

I’m seeing people discussing burnout every single day on LinkedIn. There are all kinds of stories, suggestions as to what to do, and advice for employers and employees. The interesting thing is that the kinds of people affected are so varied and diverse, that it raises the question as to why.

It’s telling that burnout is now included in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), although they say it is not classified as a ‘medical condition but an occupational phenomenon.’ ?

Before addressing the question of why it’s so rampant, I’d like to share some statistics, and information, which are pretty mind-boggling to say the least. When I researched the impact that burnout has on the workforce, here’s what I found:?

• > 40% of employees with desk jobs feel burned out at work, a pandemic-era high.
• 57% of American employees say they have some level of burnout.? This has increased by 5% since 2021.? Roughly the same as at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
• 42% of workers reported burnout, a new record since Future Forum began measuring work burnout in May 2021.

• 79%?of employees had experienced work-related stress in the month before the survey.
• 77%?of respondents say they have experienced employee burnout at their current job, with more than half citing more than one occurrence.
• 86%?of people who work from home workers full-time experience burnout.
• $190 billion spent on relevant healthcare — roughly 8% of national? outlays - in the U.S.
• 120,000 related deaths annually
• 40% higher suicide risks in men (caregivers) and?
• 130% higher suicide risks in women (caregivers)

Now, if you aren’t shocked by this, it probably means you already had a good idea of the havoc burnout is wreaking in the workforce!

From what I can see, there are possibly two main types of people being affected. Entrepreneurs / self-employed (first group) and employees (second group.) Before you wonder why I’m stating the obvious, this is where it gets interesting.

The first group: Entrepreneurs / self-employed and others who are essentially the ‘boss’ in their organization. ?

I think there is something that makes them vulnerable to burnout in ways that differ from general employees. Here are a few thoughts on this. (I’d love to hear your opinion. Am I way off base, or do you see the same things? Tell me in the comments!)

Please understand that what I’m going to say here is a very general, broad stroke overview. It’s not exclusive to this group, and it’s my speculation.

People in this very broad category, often have a strong sense of responsibility. So much so that they may take on responsibilities, deadlines, and commitments, far beyond what is realistic, or practical. To fulfill these, they may burn the candle at both ends, driving themselves well beyond healthy work behaviors.? Achieving their goals, delivering on their promises and living up to their commitments is a kind of badge of honor that demands this relentless work schedule. Unfortunately, this can lead them into a whole heap of trouble. How do I know? In this article published in 2021 “Our Work Life Shouldn’t Be Our Life’s Work”, I wrote about how pushing myself had landed me at death’s door. How I’d promised myself not to fall into? that trap again. Only to realize 11 years later, that I had done it again! It was a wake-up call. It was a visceral reminder of the reason Optevo exists! You can read the full story here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/our-work-life-shouldnt-lifes-andre-williams/

Employees, caregivers, medical / emergency medical service professionals and countless others, are subject to slightly different parameters. (Second group)

They have a ‘boss’, sometimes layers of ‘bosses’. They have little autonomy, or control, over their workday. They often work long hours, under extreme pressure. Sometimes in a toxic work environment, with unsupportive leadership and high levels of internal competitiveness. Whether they love what they do, or whether they don’t, more often than not, they may dread going to work.?

With the vast number of layoffs, those who have jobs are likely to have to pick up the slack from the jobs laid-off colleagues used to do. It’s been widely reported that the majority of employees who have paid vacation time, don’t take it, or if they do, work while on vacation. Partly because of the daily volume of work, and partly because they worry about losing their job if they’re seen to be ‘slacking’.

According to Indeed, 61% of remote workers and 53% of on-site workers have trouble unplugging from work during their ‘off-hours’. I think that statistic may be even higher for the first group.

The end result:

These are just a few of the things that affect both these groups. There are far too many more to list in one article. While there are differences in how each group is exposed to burnout, the end result is very similar.?

Burnout has been described as:

• Exhaustion - mental and physical
• A growing disengagement from, or negative attitude toward one’s work
• Reduction of productivity, creativity, optimism?

Besides physical exhaustion, mental health is suffering. Depression is becoming rampant. According to apa.org, the U.S. economy is losing over $500 billion dollars and 550 million workdays annually due to stress. ?

As if that weren’t bad enough, the toll this is taking on people themselves is incalculable - given that the stats I’ve cited won’t include people who suffer silently without reporting their burnout.

There are plenty of articles and posts on LinkedIn that speak specifically about how to avoid and / or recover from burnout. I’m not going to speak about that now. Instead, I’d encouraged leaders to reread the statistics and then assess their own work environment to see if it is contributing to them. This is really important, not only for employee’s sakes, but also for leader’s sakes. We cannot afford the price we pay for this to continue.?

#Burnout #WorkManagement