68%: percentage of employees who say they are experiencing burnout
As the pandemic has dragged on, worker burnout has affected many employees. On top of the stress and anxiety of the health crisis, with most employees working remotely, there is the added strain of balancing personal responsibilities, such as taking care of families, with their job responsibilities.
Related: Here’s how to address burnout in the workplace
According to a recent survey of over 16,000 employees working from home during the pandemic, more than 68% said they were experiencing worker burnout. Fishbowl conducted this survey to get a better understanding of how remote work has affected employees. By state, New York had the highest rate of burnout, at 75%, while Indiana reported the lowest rate of burnout at 54%. Fishbowl also found that employees in the tech industry had the highest rate of burnout while teachers were experiencing the lowest. The organization also analyzed the data by gender and found that 67% of men said they were feeling burnt out, compared to 70% of women.
What it means to HR leaders
To address burnout, it is important that employers communicate with their employees so they can understand what their employees need or what their day-to-day looks like in this new reality of remote work, according to Beth Scherer, senior HR consultant at CBIZ, a leading provider of advisory services.
She also explains the importance of flexibility, especially when it comes to the hours that employees are expected to work.
“Maybe working is not a typical 9-5 day anymore. If your team has young kids at home, their work day is going to be heavy on the front end and back end but they might need a longer break in the middle of the day,” Scherer says. “Being able to be flexible in allowing them to break up how they need to manage that work at home is definitely key to alleviating some of the pressure they may feel beyond that typical 9-5.”
LEARN MORE: What’s causing employee burnout
While going on vacation is not an option for most right now, just taking a couple of hours separated from work can help employees who are feeling burned out, Scherer says. Employees are also feeling the added pressure of having to be on camera all day through Zoom and other conference meetings, so employers should strive for a balance between video meetings and individual work, she says.