Mental Health Crisis Looms As Country Braces For Post-Pandemic Boom

Burnout rates on the rise as millions return to work

As millions of Americans prepare to return to work and the country braces for a post-pandemic boom, burnout rates are on the rise across the country and it could spell the beginning of a secondary mental health crisis. 

In fact, a recent survey published by the American Journal of Health Promotion, found that 89 percent of respondents said their worklife was getting worse, while 85 percent of respondents said their well-being had declined. 
 

Compounding matters, prior to the pandemic a Gallup study found two-thirds of full-time workers were already experiencing burnout on the job, while a study from Stanford University found excessive workplace stress causes 120,000 deaths every year. 

With so many Americans already experiencing burnout, the post-pandemic boom only threatens to exasperate this growing crisis, but there are things that workplaces can do to address this epidemic before it gets worse. 

For starters, it’s critical that businesses begin to recognize their role and responsibility in solving the problem. 

For far too long, solutions to employee burnout have been directed toward the individual employee. Employees are told - largely through wellness programs - here's what YOU should be doing differently: more yoga, more mindfulness, more walking challenges. And while lots of companies say that they care about the issue, they fail to actually address the key drivers of employee burnout, such as unsustainable workloads, perceptions of unfairness and a lack of support. Too many companies have not fully recognized the fact that burnout is less about the individual and more about the workplace itself. 

So how can your company step up to meet the moment?

The first step is to develop policies that address these key drivers of stress. Do you have policies in place like paid family leave and are you taking measures to address unmanageable workload levels?

The second step is to empower your managers to become multipliers of well-being. Give each the encouragement and the tools so that they can carve out an oasis of well-being within their team, through regular practices and rituals such as walking meetings and weekly check-ins with each team member. For example, managers can kick off team meetings with emotional-boosting rituals like “5-3-1” (take five deep breaths, name three good things and commit to one random act of kindness). This simple, yet powerful exercise, not only helps employees feel better, but it also shows them that their manager and company care about their well-being. 

The final step to reducing burnout is to stop blaming the individual for "being stressed" and begin applying a more systems-based approach. Is the workload unsustainable? Are employees receiving frequent and supportive feedback? Is there a workplace conflict? Do employees feel valued? These are just a few of the questions workplaces need to stop and ask themselves, rather than blaming the employee for the way they feel and offering token wellness programs that do little to resolve the root cause of the issue in the workplace itself.

By applying these three steps, workplaces will be able to reduce the stress placed on their employees and thereby reduce the likelihood that they will feel burned out. Not only is this good for employees’ mental health and physical well-being it will also improve businesses’ absentee rate, improve employee morale and increase overall productivity, making it a win-win for everyone. 

Laura Putnam is a health and wellness expert, international public speaker and author of “Workplace Wellness That Works.” As CEO of Motion Infusion and creator of Managers on the Move, she has spent the past decade using her energy and insights to inspire organizations and businesses to think differently about their employees’ health and well-being.  Connect Laura Putnam Follow @MotionInfusion