Preventing & Healing Burnout: seeing employees through the COVID-19 pandemic

08.27.2021

Carolyn Lu, LPC, NCC, CADCI, CMS

Goal-Execution Coaching / www.carolynlu.net

Abstract

The goal of this white paper is to summarize the relevant research as it relates to employee burnout prevention and treatment. 

Problem Statement

Burnout, as defined by the World Health Organization in 2019, is a “syndrome...resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed.”1 According to a 2019 Gallup study, 28% of full-time employees reported feeling “very often” or “always” burned out at work. Seventy-six percent (76%) of employees felt burned out at least “sometimes.”2

Not surprisingly, a newly published study of 1,500 employees by the Harvard Business Review documents that over 89% of employees reported that their workplace wellbeing had declined since COVID-19.3 While concerning, these international statistics can’t account for the local events of 2020 and 2021. Local events like the increased community acknowledgement of ongoing systemic racism and resulting protests and police conflicts, the vaccine distribution and delta variant challenges and the record-breaking wildfires, ice storms and heat waves add additional stress and potential for burnout. 

The problem for supervisors and managers in the present day is to develop an effective strategy for how to prevent increasing burnout and how to heal existing burnout, promoting resiliency, so that the workforce is healthy and the work of the organization can continue. This paper explores the available data related to burnout prevention and cures and makes recommendations for steps forward in the prevention and cure for burnout. 

Background

Burnout is defined by the field’s foremost experts as: 

  1. Overwhelming exhaustion

  2. Feelings of cynicism and detachment

  3. Sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment4

The statistics around the negative results of burnout are extensively documented. The negative outcomes include things like: 

  1. 63% of employees are more likely to take sick days

  2. 23% of employees are more likely to visit an ER

  3. 2.6% are actively seeking employment elsewhere

  4. Employees experiencing burnout are 50% less likely to discuss their performance with a supervisor 5

Disengaged employees are estimated to cause 125 to 190 billion dollars in additional health care costs annually. They also cost employers 34% of each employee’s paycheck as a result of their disengagement with the workforce.6  Disengaged employees are focusing on survival rather than workplace tasks and outcomes. 

Even without taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, burnout rates are higher among specific populations. These populations include:  

  1. Passion-Driven workers

  2. BIPOC

  3. Millennials

  4. Working parents

  5. Women

These specific populations are showing even higher rates of burnout than their peers. 

Passion-Driven workers are individuals who have chosen to work in a field they love and are passionate about. This group includes healthcare workers, clergy, mental health workers, social services workers, educators, and many others. Passion-driven workers report being more stressed, having fewer feelings of “well-being” and a decreased “sense of efficacy” compared with other workers. Researchers say that one potential cause is that these workers identify so strongly with their work that they are unable do disconnect from their  work life when they are away.7 Other sources state that this group has “too much empathy” which can lead them to greater levels of burnout.8

For BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) individuals, a recent study at the University of Washington cited that Black healthcare workers not only had to deal with the “regular” stress of the pandemic, but also had to witness people of color being provided with lesser-quality care because they were viewed through a stereotyped lens by their colleagues.9 One study showed that Black women were three times (3x) more like to have lost a family member due to COVID, than Caucasion women.10 In addition, the stress of historically lower pay and daily racism has resulted in a higher stress level for all members of the BIPOC community as they go through the pandemic.11 

Millennials: A recent Gallup study of  nearly 7,500 full-time U.S. employees,  Millennials were more likely than older generations to report significant levels of burnout.12A recent study of burnout amongst Millennials during the pandemic attributes higher burnout rates due to having less autonomy at work, lower seniority, greater financial stressors and feelings of loneliness.13

As has been well-documented in the news, working parents have experienced the challenges of simultaneously working, homeschooling and providing daycare for children. Forty-six percent (46%) rate their stress level as an 8 or higher on a 10 point scale.14 

The larger percentage of the afore-mentioned responsibilities have fallen on women, who are reported to have added 20 hours a week of pandemic-related responsibility to their plates.15 Women also report higher workplace stress, which is attributed to having lower levels of decision-making authority, being overqualified for their roles and feeling they have fewer career alternatives.16 Other reasons for increased stress for women are workplace inflexibility, feeling the need to always be “on” and not feeling they can share openly in their workplace about the real struggles they are experiencing. According to the Center for American Progress, Black, Latinx and Indigenous women have had even more challenges than Caucasion women because they are more likely to have lost jobs, were more likely to be an essential worker and are more likely to have to solve their childcare problems alone. Not surprisingly, women have left the workplace during the pandemic in droves at the rate of four times (4x) higher than men as of September 2020.17,18,19

Causes

Gallop has done extensive research on burnout and has made some interesting discoveries. In a recent study, these employee experiences were highly correlated with rates of burnout:

  1. Unfair treatment at work

  2. Unmanageable workload

  3. Lack of role clarity

  4. Lack of support and communication from manager

  5. Unreasonable time pressure 20

While this study was undertaken at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that employees experiencing these conditions at work are only that much more likely to experience burnout with the additional stressors of the pandemic.

Burnout Myths exposed

A variety of myths abound about the causes and cures for burnouts. The most popular are explored here. 

“Work-Life Balance”

For years, companies and wellness experts have touted the benefits of having a “work-life” balance. Newer research is showing that a work-life balance is largely a myth. Rather, well-being in five main sectors is more important in preventing workplace burnout.21 As highlighted above, employee behavior does not factor highly into the causes for burnout discovered by the Gallop. 

“It’s a Personal Problem”

Employees have long been blamed or held responsible for staying “healthy.” While we don’t want to diminish employee agency and responsibility-taking for thriving, studies are showing that organizational culture is largely to blame for burnout,22,23 Study after study highlighted that manager behavior plays the largest role in preventing and healing burnout. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a writer for the Harvard Business Review, summarizes it like this: “Leaders are more likely to cause stress than reduce it.” 24

“We have our Health & Wellness benefits”

Well-meaning and progressive companies have padded their employee Health and Wellness programs with things that are intended to improve employee well being and prevent burnout. These benefits might include things like EAP programs, gym memberships, alternative care coverage, health savings and flexible spending accounts. Research indicates, however, that unless employees are made aware of the specific programs that meet the specific needs the employee has at the moment, these programs are largely forgotten or underutilized. These findings make sense in light of the diverse workforce of today: one where some individuals are experiencing workplace stress compounded by racial or gender inequities. In short, providing a “program” employees can access is not producing significant declines in employee burnout rates. 25

Solutions

In contrast to the above-referenced myths, there are interventions that are showing promise. 

  1. Tailored Interventions

According to Gartner, the Global Research and Advisory Company, supervisors and managers need to assess what specific needs employees have and offer specific, tailored interventions to meet that employees needs. The solutions to the employees needs may include some of the Health and Wellness benefits mentioned previously, but they are just as likely to include changes in workload, support from the manager, timeline re-adjustment and redefinition of job role.26 It might include increased support from affinity groups or reengagement in abandoned cultural or religious practices. Some sources cite that often the solution isn’t hard or costly but rather a small unique change can make the employees work experience more manageable. This solution implies, however, that managers and supervisors are trained in spotting and assessing employee burnout and have skills to work one-on-one with employees and develop individualized approaches to help neutralize their stress level. 

2. Leadership, leadership, leadership

The resounding weight of employee burnout finds its unfortunate home on the shoulders of leaders. Of leaders, Harvard Business Review states that, “no one has a more powerful impact.” Unfortunately, managers themselves experience more burnout than individual contributors: 32% compared with 27% respectively.27 Therefore, managers and supervisors themselves need help spotting and assessing their own burnout and learning strategies for themselves that they can pass down to their reportees also experiencing burnout.  Some of the skills managers can be taught include: 

  1. Self-Compassion28

  2. How to assess the Five Sectors of Wellbeing29

  3. Learning strategies to cope with stress

  4. Learning tools to reawaken passion30,31

  5. How to build psychological safety for employees32 

  6. Strategies to shape the culture of the work environment from “busy-ness” to healthy productivity33

3. Five Sector of Wellbeing Assessment

There are several methods of assessing employee levels of burnout. The most famous and well-researched is the Maslach Burnout Inventory, followed by other less-expensive or free instruments like the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory.34 The limitations of these inventories, however, is that while they diagnosis the presence of burnout, they fail to provide a pathway forward to help heal burnout. Using a Five Sector Assessment of Wellbeing, however, provides employees and supervisors with a quick road map to determining which interventions would be the most helpful in decreasing symptoms of burnout. These five areas include: Career, Physical, Community, Social and Financial. When an employee lacks support in one of these areas, interventions can be recommended to bolster the area or areas that are lacking. Improvement in even one area can improve employee energy and emotional availability for work tasks. Using a five sector assessment also allows for a responsive approach to today’s diverse workforce.

Interventions Described

Here is a brief description of the Interventions (in alphabetical order) that are recommended above. 

Building Psychological Safety - Through an interactive learning process, and also book-learning, managers and supervisors can learn skills to improve or change the way they relate to their employees. Results of increased skill building in this improve employees' sense of being supported in the workplace, which is a major factor in employee burnout. A focus on racial, cultural and gender needs in communication is part of building psychological safety.

Five Sector Wellbeing Assessment - By learning to assess the five sectors of wellbeing in their own lives, managers and supervisors can develop their own treatment plans to improve wellbeing. As they start acting on their own areas of need, their energy to tackle employee burnout increases. Managers and supervisors can then implement this assessment in group and one-on-one meetings with their direct reports, resulting in tailored interventions that will help employees move through their own burnout in a way that is culturally relevant and uniquely tailored for them.

Reawakening Passion - The effects of the pandemic, the resulting increase in workload, stress and unending change have resulted in a loss of passion for many, especially those employed in helping sectors like clergy, healthcare and mental health. Conversely, those who felt a strong sense of purpose in their work were less likely to feel burnout.35 Supervisors and managers can participate in experiential sessions where they engage in activities designed to reconnect with their passion. After going through the process themselves, they can bring these activities back to the teams they lead to help their direct reports also reconnect with their passions or create new ones. 

Self-Compassion - Many studies have demonstrated that we tend to treat ourselves harshly and have unrealistic expectations of perfection. By learning skills to understand oneself better and care for oneself, the result will be a more empathetic workplace environment. Research has documented that communicating empathically is directly linked to employee job satisfaction and burnout reduction.36 Often, until one is able to have compassion for oneself, one is unable to provide the nurturing that direct reports need during times of duress and stress. Employees with compassionate supervisors and bosses are less likely to report that they lack support. 

Shape Culture from one of “busy-ness” to one of healthy productivity - Managers and Supervisors can learn how Western cultural norms that exalt “busy-ness” have turned into workplace norms that are one of the driving factors of employee burnout (that is, unreasonable time pressure). In the long run, a culture of busy-ness actually decreases productivity and fuels burnout. Learning how to instill practices that prevent a culture of “busy-ness” can promote health at all levels of the organization. 

Strategies to cope with stress - Perhaps the most widely known and available burnout interventions are in this category. Things like: sleep hygiene, relaxation strategies, taking regular breaks and vacations, learning to breathe, participation in religious activities, cultural engagement and doing enjoyable activities are all examples of strategies to cope with stress. Supervisors and managers can implement these in their own lives as a way to bolster one or more of the five sectors of wellbeing. After implementing some strategies personally, they will have strategies to offer employees and will be able to model healthy lifestyle habits to employees. 

Limitations

The major limitation of this study is the fact that we are still mid-pandemic. Most interventions that are recommended are those that have been studied over the last several years, some of which was pre-pandemic. Most research on pandemic-related burnout at this time is limited to the effects of the pandemic (e.g. rates of burnout, stress symptoms) rather than the cure. This means that recommended interventions are still somewhat “in-process”. That said, if the interventions were shown to be successful on pre-pandemic levels of burnout, we should expect to see at least some levels of success on mid-pandemic burnout. 

Conclusion/Recommendations

Goal-Execution Coaching can help your organization develop a plan and interventions tailored to your organization’s specific needs in the area of burnout prevention and healing. To discuss your organization’s needs, start with a free consultation with Goal-Execution Coaching owner, Carolyn Lu at clu@carolynlu.net. Together you can start on a pathway to improving the health and wellbeing of your organization and the employees that call it home. 

References

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34 https://nam.edu/valid-reliable-survey-instruments-measure-burnout-well-work-related-dimensions/

35Moss, Jennifer. “Beyond Burned Out.” Harvard Business Review, 2021. www.hbr.com, https://hbr.org/2021/02/beyond-burned-out?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_campaign=beatingteamburnout_t1&deliveryName=DM147583. Accessed 26 8 2021.

36Moss, Jennifer. “Beyond Burned Out.” Harvard Business Review, 2021. www.hbr.com, https://hbr.org/2021/02/beyond-burned-out?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_campaign=beatingteamburnout_t1&deliveryName=DM147583. Accessed 26 8 2021.