Workers are burning out at record levels, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

The pandemic may be receding, but its impact still is profoundly felt in the workplace as employees, reeling from stress and overwork, continue to leave jobs in record numbers in what’s being called the Great Resignation. As such, employee burnout is one of the leading problems facing organizations today.

“It was already an issue reaching a boiling point before the pandemic,” says Jennifer Moss, a noted speaker and workplace culture consultant. “But now I’d say it’s a bigger problem than ever before. The root causes of burnout have exploded … and it’s a global phenomenon.

The pandemic may be receding, but its impact still is profoundly felt in the workplace as employees — reeling from stress and overwork — continue to leave jobs in record numbers in what’s being called the Great Resignation. As such, employee burnout is one of the leading problems facing organizations today.

“It was already an issue reaching a boiling point before the pandemic,” says Jennifer Moss, a noted speaker and workplace culture consultant. “But now I’d say it’s a bigger problem than ever before. The root causes of burnout have exploded … and it’s a global phenomenon.

“There’s a lot of cynicism and hopelessness — employees are tired and disengaged.”

In fact, about a year before the pandemic even hit, the World Health Organization classified employee burnout as an official disease in 2019, notes Moss, who also wrote a recently published book titled The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It.

Moss says there are six major causes of burnout:

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• Overwork, which is the leading factor.

• A lack of fairness, particularly in terms of discriminatory behavior toward women.

• Insufficient agency as employees have little or no chance to disconnect from work, even late at night, and often are asked to pick up the slack of departed colleagues.

• Insufficient pay or rewards for their extra efforts.

• Lack of community, which leads to feelings of loneliness and isolation as employees work from home and don’t always get a chance to meet new co-workers or even new managers.

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• Mismatched skills as employees take on additional duties that departed colleagues leave behind.

“We need to view burnout as a serious problem, not just whiny millennials complaining about their work/life balance,” Moss says.

Self-care isn’t enough

Many employers take steps to alleviate burnout. But while they’re well-intentioned, these efforts often are off-target and misguided. As an example, Moss cites things such as meditation and yoga rooms and providing days off of work.

These things can be helpful, she notes. But too often, people don’t have the time or the energy to practice self-care.

Jennifer is consistently engaged on LinkedIn, where she's eager to connect and dive deeper into the latest trends in workplace well-being and employee happiness. Let's continue the conversation there! Jen’s Profile