Pandemic driving up employee burnout rates; managers feel responsible
Managers are internalizing their workers’ struggles, with 84% saying they feel at least partially responsible for the high levels of burnout.
Employees who have been able to avoid layoffs and furloughs through the pandemic are facing another kind of stress. A new study by Limeade shows that these workers are burned out, much more so than before the pandemic.
Seventy-two percent of workers say they’re feeling burned out, compared to 42% of those surveyed in October 2019. Managers are also feeling stretched thin: 59% said they’re working more than they did before the pandemic, and 72% said they’re under pressure to work even when they’re sick.
Related: Dealing with burnout in the modern workplace
Limeade surveyed 1,000 workers, evenly split between managers and nonmanagers. The Workplaces in Crisis: Employee Care Missing the Mark survey is a complement to the 2020 Employee Care Report, which was conducted prior to the pandemic.
Managers are internalizing their workers’ struggles, with 84% saying they feel at least partially responsible for the high levels of burnout on their workforce. Despite nearly three-quarters saying their companies have given them resources to help workers with these new challenges, only 55% of workers say their managers care about the stress they’re under.
“Managers are trying to support their teams, but employees aren’t feeling the impact, suggesting a lack of bandwidth and training,” according to Dr. Laura Hamill, chief people officer and chief science officer at the Limeade Institute. “Organizations should read these findings as a call to action to take a closer look at their employee experience in a time when their people need it most.”
Hamill noted that women are struggling disproportionately. Men were more than twice as likely to feel extremely comfortable asking for a day off when they needed one, and almost four times as likely to report “extremely positive” well-being during the pandemic. While most women felt prepared to handle the emotional needs of their workers (7e%), almost all men felt confident in their abilities (94%).
Women also felt more insecure about their jobs, a feeling that’s not unfounded as women’s unemployment has suffered more than men in the current cycle.
Fewer workers are looking for new jobs than before the pandemic, but Limeade warned against getting complacent.
“Just because employees are staying on board now doesn’t mean they’re productive, tuned in or plan to remain over the long term. Instead, they may be biding their time and going through the motions in what we call ‘silent disengagement,’” Limeade wrote in a blog post announcing the results of the new study.
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