A rather sad fact these days is that too many companies assume that their employees are somehow indestructible. The very life blood of any business is the employees. Having a great product or service is not enough. Having leadership visions and dreams is not enough. A football coach may have the greatest game plan ever drawn up, but without a team to carry it out that great plan, it remains just that – a plan. As if these times were not already challenging enough, the small business owner now has one more thing to be seriously concerned about and that is the stress and burnout that is afflicting most employees these days.
Before such a notion is to be dismissed out of hand, note that the health of your employees equals the health of your company and bottom line. In some published research done by Thrivemyway, it becomes more than clear that stress and burnout should be major concerns for any business. The following is take directly from that data:
- Two-thirds of full-time employees say they have experienced burnout at some point in their careers. Workplace burnout is becoming increasingly more common. 36% of workers state that their organizations have nothing in place to help stave off employee burnout.
- Women are more likely than men to suffer from burnout. In 2020, 32% of women said they were consistently burned out at work, while only 28% of men reported feeling burned out. More than 50% of women in leadership positions consistently feel burned out. Having young children is additional stress that can contribute to burnout. 47% of working mothers and 38% of working fathers are often burned out.
- 57% of workers feel they are required to give 24/7 accessibility to their employers. Employees who feel unsupported by their managers are 70% more likely to experience burnout. Employees are 70% more likely to succumb to burnout when faced with unreasonable time restraints. Employees struggling with burnout are 63% more likely to take a sick day and 23% more likely to visit the ER.
- 43% of employees suggest that employers should encourage time off and offer mental health days to help combat burnout. Employees are 32% less likely to experience burnout when leadership assists them in managing their workload. Workers are 40% less likely to burn out if they have a strong ally at work.
- Job-related stress contributes to 550 million workdays lost each year. The U.S. economy loses an estimated $500 billion due to workplace stress. Absenteeism and lost productivity due to depression cost the U.S. $51 billion annually.
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
