How Companies Can Address Employee Burnout, And How Employees Can Cope With Work Stress

Are employees turning to disengagement as a stress relief mechanism?

The American workplace has never been afraid take more than its fair share when it comes to time. Now, as smart technology coupled with global scale enable 24/7 connectivity, our work is a bigger part of our lives than ever before. We are seldom without our smartphones and laptops, so the office goes wherever we go.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s American Time Use Survey, the average workday is 8.4 hours and one-third of employees spent time working on a typical weekend. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development found that 11 percent of American employees work 50 hours or more per week. Along with the likely burnout from workplace stress, the OECD found that overwork can impact personal health and safety.
 
Since Instructure works in the corporate learning talent management space through its Bridge product offering, we wanted to understand what triggers workplace stress and how companies can combat the problem. We surveyed over 1,000 office employees to learn about the demands on their time and what they are doing to cope. The results confirmed that expectation of longer hours, unspoken demands, a lack of visibility with leadership and office politics all contribute to recent increases in workplace stress and employee burnout.

True Employee Engagement Is Missing

Survey results on employee engagement show work needs to be done. Today’s employees are often expected to work longer hours, compete rather than collaborate with their coworkers, eschew time off, and check their email at all hours of the day.
 
Only one-third of respondents were encouraged by their employers to use paid time off (PTO). Perhaps, even more dire, only 11 percent felt empowered to take mental health days as a way to use sick time.
 
When compared to their overall career aspirations and the opportunities available at their companies, fewer than half of respondents were “somewhat satisfied” with their current job. Combine the low level of satisfaction with the 78 percent who believe working more hours is important to promotion, and it’s not a surprise that employees are turning to disengagement as a stress relief mechanism.

The Boss Doesn’t Make Time to Meet

Training, discussion and feedback with managers is key for employees to achieve goals and grow professionally, but many are not afforded the opportunity. Regular discussion with managers happens biannually or less for 25 percent of people and increasing demand on time across the corporate landscape shows no sign of improving.
 
Solutions for employee burnout and increased interaction with management cannot simply shift added burden to management, however. In a global survey, EY found that 46 percent of managers worked more than 40-hour weeks, and 40 percent reported their hours increasing over the past five years. Substituting stressed employees for even more stressed management does not benefit the company or their workforce.
 
Opening continuous feedback channels with managers will help team members feel valued. Making it easy for managers and employees to engage is key to promoting career development and workplace goal achievement. That’s exactly why we built Bridge Perform.

Companies Can Adopt Best Practices to Help Employees Combat Stress 

If there is a silver lining, it is that these results also underscore an opportunity for companies to promote healthier work-life balance. When 78 percent of respondents believe working more hours is at least moderately important to advancement, there is ample room for change.
 
Employees and managers should work together to find positive solutions, remove distractions and provide healthy motivations. Dispelling unspoken rules will also help minimize uncertainty and alleviate stress. Elimination of corporate biases and encouraging employees to utilize their PTO and sick time benefits will help curb the institutional stress and waylay career burnout.
 
Although stress is always an element of employment, companies can take steps to ensure they are removing institutional stressors that compound the problem. Happier, more engaged employees benefit the bottom line, and helping people attain career aspirations encourages loyalty and well-being.
 
Work can be engaging and fulfilling, but too often employees feel overworked and burned out. By creating progressive interaction with supervisors, resolving unspoken rules, and encouraging team members to embrace time away, companies will help employees find that coveted work-life balance.