Revealing the Real Signs of Employee Burnout
While stress is often discussed openly in the workplace, burnout remains a more elusive and misunderstood issue which can have serious and long-lasting effects on both individuals and organisations. Burnout is not just about feeling overworked; it's about reaching a point of emotional, physical, and mental depletion. Crucially, employers who understand the early warning signs are in a far stronger position to support their teams and prevent long-term damage, something that should be openly discussed.
What are the top six signs of employee burnout?
Exhaustion
Exhaustion is typically the first and most noticeable symptom of burnout, but it goes far beyond simply feeling tired.
One of the key characteristics of burnout is that it doesn’t tend to matter how much sleep we get, we still feel exhausted when we wake up in the morning. Normal tiredness can be eased with rest, but burnout persists.
Difficulty in concentrating
When normal, straightforward day-to-day tasks, like responding to an email or just holding a conversation, require all our focus and energy, this can be a sign of burnout. This is especially true if the tasks we’re struggling with are things we would normally consider simple or easy.
At work, this difficulty in concentrating can lead to more mistakes, leaving staff feeling frustrated and guilty or like they are at fault for not being able to focus more.
Cynicism and negative thinking
Burnout can also dramatically change the way people think and feel, often leading to increased negativity and withdrawal.
When we’re feeling burned out it can be hard to pay attention to the positive things around us. It’s like when we have a physical illness that leaves us feeling unwell, and there are blue skies and sunshine outside. While we can recognise that it’s a lovely day, it doesn’t feel lovely because of how we feel inside.
We can’t enjoy the positive things around us as well as we might normally, and this can leave us with negative thoughts. We can also be highly doubtful or cynical of any support offered, thinking that it won’t help or that it’s not being offered from a genuine place.
Physical symptoms
But burnout doesn't only affect mental and emotional health – its effects often show up in the body too.
Physical symptoms of burnout are common, and for the most part, overlooked. Headaches, muscle aches and pains, digestion problems, and loss of appetite can all occur with burnout. We can often ignore or diminish these symptoms, or take short-term treatments like paracetamol to mask them.
Additionally, burnout lowers our immune system dramatically, meaning we’re more likely to pick up other viruses and illnesses, and find them harder to shake off.
Withdrawal and isolation
Due to the exhaustion and possible physical symptoms, it becomes that much harder to be around others when we feel burned out. As a result, withdrawing from colleagues is common, although it may not be something that the person is aware they’re doing.
Often it starts off subtle, but can grow until we’re almost completely isolating ourselves. When we feel burned out we’re also feeling disconnected from others, as our focus turns to our own internal experience. And, when we feel disconnected from others we often fail to realise the importance of reconnecting.
What can businesses do to minimise the risks?
Building a culture of openness is essential for preventing burnout before it becomes unmanageable. Employees need to feel that it's okay to speak up when they’re struggling without fear of judgement or being seen as weak.
In many organisations there is a fear of speaking up about burnout, as it’s often seen as a weakness. People may feel like the rest of the team seem to be okay, and they’re the only ones falling short.
The truth is that we don’t always know when someone is struggling, so it’s rarely us alone. But even if it was, burnout isn’t weakness or a character flaw. If someone can speak up early, then they’re more likely to get the right kind of support, and be able to get better quicker.
Having professional services available to employees who need support, and regularly reminding them that it’s there, is also essential. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are good resources for someone struggling, but can also be utilised as a proactive measure when someone isn’t feeling themselves. They are often seen as a service people use when they’re at crisis point, but using counselling and therapy as a proactive measure is often a better use of the services.
If we treat mental health support as something preventative, not just something reactive, we give people the tools to stay healthy and resilient in the long run. It’s not just good for people, it’s good for business, too.
