As Some Underlying Causes of Employee Burnout Begin to Ease, Shifting to Hybrid Work Models Could Increase Workforce Stress

• New Eagle Hill Consulting Research Offers Solutions to Mitigate Employee Burnout During Return to the Workplace Transition

While employee burnout remains high at 53 percent, some of the underlying causes of stress have fallen. The percentage of employees who cited juggling their personal and professional lives as a source of burnout dropped from 44 to 35 percent between May and August 2021. Time pressures as a source of burnout edged slightly downward during that same time frame, from 37 to 32 percent according to new Eagle Hill Consulting research.

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But as the pandemic subsides and many employers shift to hybrid work models, employees once again must reshape their professional and personal lives. Workers likely will need to readjust the routines they built during the pandemic, which could increase stress and fatigue.  Hybrid work models also can present challenges for employee collaboration and connections, which also can contribute to burnout.

“Many employees are embracing the benefits of hybrid work models – from more flexibility to decreased commuting time,” says Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. “But it’s important to remember that this is a dramatic and consequential change in how we work. Any workplace changes left unmanaged can lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety. The challenge for employers is to develop, implement, and monitor multi-dimensional solutions that ensure hybrid work environments don’t have the unintended consequence of contributing to employee burnout.”

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New research from Eagle Hill Consulting, Hybrid Work Models Should Consider Employee Burnout, provides five approaches employers can consider to manage a return to the workplace and hybrid work models:

• Manage return to the workplace, whatever shape it takes, as the enormous change that it is. Key leaders should develop a cohesive change management plan that will result in a seamless transition for employees.
• Build flexibility into hybrid work models. The vast majority of employees (84 percent) say that increased flexibility alleviates burnout.
• Optimize workforce capacity and balance workloads. Data driven approaches can help ensure teams have the right people in the right place and the right time.
• Equip team leads to create cohesive “work anywhere” teams. One quarter of employees say that not feeling connected to colleagues is a source of stress.
• Promote a culture of health and well-being. Seventy-eight percent of employees indicate that better health and wellness initiatives have a positive impact on burnout.

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