Work overload: revealing the worrying percentage of employees in burn-out

The pandemic has affected the mental health of people around the world, beyond your age and gender. But this was not only because of the prolonged isolation measures, but also, and above all, phear the overload of work it has caused.

The working hours increased by 14% compared to 2020 and by 63% of employees report having worked more than 40 hours per week in the past 12 months, according to a global study by Adecco Group, which includes Argentina.

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Due to this overload of work, Burnout is a concern of nearly 40% of employees across all geographic areas, emphasizes the study.

Although it affects everyone, Burnout is most felt among younger generations: more than half of young leaders (54%) say they have experienced it, according to the Adecco study, Resetting Normal 2021, conducted among 14,800 respondents from 25 countries.

The report also stresses that “it is significant that this is the same generation with a substantial part of the responsibility for the future progress of the company.”

On the other hand, the survey found that the deterioration of mental health and physical well-being causes another element of disconnection, since Seven out of 10 (71%) of those consulted say that it is important for them to be able to benefit from mental health support in the future. And nearly three-quarters (74%) expect their business to prioritize this issue higher.

However, the study specifies, it doesn’t seem like the leaders are prepared to contribute to the well-being of employees. More than half of supervisors They struggle to identify when staff may be struggling with mental health issues (53%) or overwork or burnout (51%).

This fact is confirmed by non-supervisors, since 67% two believes that their leaders are not meeting their expectations in taking care of their mental healthAl.

“As we look beyond the pandemic, higher expectations for mental health assistance have remained. It was already a growing concern before Covid-19 and now workers expect companies to apply the right measures to promote well-being at work. It is too important a consensus to be ignored “, underlined Alexandra Manera, director of human resources of Adecco Argentina and Uruguay.

The study underlines that, given this situation, “Burnout could be the next pandemic in the workplace“, since it affects all workers, regardless of age and gender, and the number of people who report their mental health has been affected by the pandemic has increased. This is why, he specifies, is a major challenge for the future for companies and managers and specifies what aspects they should work on.

“Businesses should reassess their support for maintain good mental health among your employees in the new hybrid working model“, explains the report. And emphasizes that be the key, in the new normal, develop and create work environments, cultures and skills that promote and help maintain positive mental health at all levels of the organization.

“As most supervisors say it has not been easy for them to identify when staff may have mental well-being issues, overwork or burnout, and nearly four in 10 workers are overworked or exhausted, urgent intervention is necessary“, he warns.

For that, it is increasingly necessary for companies to put in place processes, resources, framing and tools to promote openness and listen to the needs of employees to help them build their resilience.

Since two-thirds (67%) of non-supervisors say their leaders are not meeting their expectations for controlling their mental health, “Leadership development, coaching and resources for supervisors on how to manage and respond to these situations are essential”.

The “Resetting Normal 2021” study, carried out by the Adecco Group, focuses on the outlook from 2021. 14,800 respondents from 25 countries participated, including office workers in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland.