Burnout in the Workplace - YourLifeAssist

Burnout in Brief

Burnout is a serious condition resulting from prolonged stress and overwork.
It can lead to severe mental and physical health issues, including decreased productivity and job performance.
Key symptoms include exhaustion, apathy, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.
Common causes include long working hours, heavy workloads, and poor work-life balance.
Employers should prioritise mental health, offer support services, and create a supportive work environment.
Breaking the stigma around mental health is crucial to encourage employees to seek help.
Addressing burnout can significantly improve employee well-being and organisational performance.

The High Cost of Burnout: A serious threat to individuals and organisations

Once a term casually tossed around to describe mere stress and tiredness, burnout has evolved into a silent epidemic, ravaging individuals and workplaces alike. South Africa is no stranger to this crisis, with countless people suffering from its devastating effects. This insidious condition not only saps energy and productivity but also wreaks havoc on mental and physical health. If left unchecked, burnout can lead to long-term consequences. While burnout isn’t officially categorised as a mental disorder, the World Health Organisation classifies it as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ due to its debilitating impact on employee productivity, corporate financial health, and overall workplace well-being.

Difference between burnout and stress

“Burnout is sometimes used interchangeably with feeling stressed, but the two are distinct,” explains counsellor and wellness consultant Nicole Imerman. “Stress is a normal part of our lives and can help to motivate us to get things done and keep us safe in the world. Burnout develops over time when stress becomes prolonged and relentless, leading to a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, as well as disengagement from work, impairing our ability to function effectively.”

“It’s like trying to drive a car with a damaged engine or an empty tank. No matter how hard you push the accelerator, it will eventually refuse to go,” Imerman stresses.

Burnout warning signs

The warning signs, Imerman notes, include apathy, decreased productivity, procrastination, irritability, difficulty concentrating, isolation from colleagues, friends and family, and a loss of creativity and motivation. Individuals may also feel physically unwell and start to miss work.

“Individuals who once found joy in their work may now feel like they’re going through the motions almost robotically. Internally, they may experience self-doubt, fear of judgment, a sense of inadequacy, and emotional numbness.”

Contributing factors

The main contributing factors, Imerman explains, include long and irregular working hours, heavy workloads, poor work-life balance, feelings of lack of control over work circumstances, an inability to set boundaries and switch off from work, not taking leave or lunch breaks, too much focus on achievement, a change in job description, a hostile work environment and a lack of supportive resources.

The type of work people do, and their personalities also put them at greater risk of burnout.

“People working for instance in the medical field including health professionals and first responders, police officers, and some journalists are more prone to burnout because of their continuous exposure to trauma, which could lead to secondary stress or vicarious trauma,” Imerman elaborates.

However, people are often reluctant and even fearful of seeking help or disclosing that they are struggling to their line manager or employer. They fear judgment, losing their jobs, and stigma, particularly in a work environment. Without help and support, they will eventually crash, leading to mental, emotional, and physical health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal issues, depression, anxiety, and weakened immune systems.

It is therefore vital for employers to create an environment conducive to encouraging employees to seek help. These should include:

Creating a culture where mental health is openly discussed.
Providing employees with information about burnout to enable them to identify symptoms and seek appropriate support.
Having regular check-ins with employees to discuss their well-being.
Providing confidential counselling – and support services like Employee Assistance Programmes.
Recognising and rewarding employees’ efforts and achievements.
Reducing overtime and encouraging employees to set healthy work-life boundaries.
Emphasising the importance of taking leave and time off.
Teaching employees stress management techniques such as mindfulness, meditation and self-care.
Emphasising the importance of enough sleep, healthy eating, and physical activity.

“It boils down to caring for and treating people holistically, normalising mental health in the workplace, and recognising that each individual is different in terms of their stress threshold and pace of work.,” Imerman notes.

Cost to the economy

In a recent article, Prof Renata Schoeman, Head of Healthcare Leadership at Stellenbosch Business School² stressed that if burnout is left unmanaged, its monetary -and non-monetary costs become unavoidably high with health economists estimating that unaddressed mental health conditions cost the South African economy R161 billion per year.³

“The direct cost of burnout leads to increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, poor work performance, mistakes, and high employee turnover – all quantifiably impacting the organisation’s bottom line. The hidden, indirect cost for businesses is the institutional loss of knowledge when employees leave, the time and cost spent on training and upskilling new employees, and the negative impact on organisational culture. Once an organisation is known for its toxic work environment, it will be difficult to attract top talent,” Prof Schoeman wrote.

“We need to realise that burnout is not a badge of honour. It is a real condition with far-reaching consequences. Burnout and other mental health issues must be prioritised in the workplace. We must break the stigma and create workplaces that support wellbeing,” Imerman concludes.

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