Employee burnout is not a new phenomenon. And, the start-up culture is not doing anything helpful to bring the burnout numbers down. All employees feel stressed at some point in their career but start-up pressures are taking its toll on the employees, especially on the best ones. When it becomes a recurring event, things can spiral out of control unexpectedly, jeopardizing both employee’s health and company reputation. Modern employees are blaming stretched work hours, hostile managerial expectations, and tough deadlines for their social isolation. A majority of the US managers and workers find it extremely difficult to stay consistently motivated throughout the 40-hours of their week. In fact, 22% of the employees switch jobs only in search of a better, healthier work-life balance. Employers can certainly leverage HR Tech to measure risks of workplace burnout and social isolation in this era of fast-paced communication and intrusive “on-it” job roles.
What is Employee Burnout at the workplace?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Burnout is not a health condition. Rather, it’s an occupation phenomenon.
The WHO defines burnout at the workplace in their 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).
It states,
“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
It is characterized by three observations:
- Lethargy, inattentiveness, and exhaustion;
- Increasing cynicism and hatred toward one’s job, workplace, and peers;
- reduced overall efficiency at the workplace.
Recommended: TecHR Interview with Tanya Jansen, CMO & Co-Founder at beqom
All these dimensions lead to mental agony, discord towards work peers, and social distancing from friends, family members, and others.
In a poll, Kronos Incorporated and Future Workplace revealed that 46 percent of HR leaders say employee burnout is responsible for a majority of their annual workforce turnover. In a competitive talent marketplace, retaining employees could become tougher if HR managers fail to address burnout issues. In 2019, HR teams ought to sync their employee performance measures with how their staff manages burnout and social isolation.
HR Technology to Employee’s Rescue
Employees need help. HR Technology management could identify disengaged employees who are on the verge of burnout and social isolation.
Listening is a skill; understanding is a gift! HR Technology does both. Companies that have managed to retain employees with the highest degree of workplace burnout are essentially the ones who have deployed an HR Tech stack.
A majority of the employees who have faced burnout at some point or the other in their career blame irrelevant administrative tasks, compensation issues, conflicts with the peers and managers, and delayed appraisal and appreciation as the biggest factors in feeling dejected at work. However, the greatest challenge comes from the ‘ghost’ staring at our faces — an inability to work with technology and the latest workplace connected devices.
Strategic adoption of HR Technology can significantly reduce workplace burnout by letting employees focus on tasks that are closer to their current roles.
For example, employers can address burnout problems using a single platform HR Tech HCMS platforms that take care of the organization and tracking of various employee management and performance metrics. For all kinds of burnout issues, HR tech can supplement employer’s efforts invested in recruitment, training, learning and development, upskilling of the workforce, robotic automation, and so on.
To conclude, HR Tech will play a key role in fighting employee burnout and social isolation by delivering better employee experience. AI and Automation, train your eyes on their adoption and the wide range of applications they have for HR Tech users.
HR Technology News: Morgan Stanley Study Finds That Financial Wellness Is an Opportunity to Reduce Employee Stress, Improve Retention and Engagement, and Differentiate Companies