Study: 22% of workers underreport hours, creating resentment, and burnout

Dive Brief:

A new survey shows that many workers who put in more than a 40-hour workweek underreport their hours, CIO reports. The Billing and Burnout Report by Kimble Applications, a professional service automation firm, found that nearly half (49%) of employers are unaware of this issue.
The report found that 22% of workers underreport their work hours, creating a cycle of feeling overburdened, resentful and burned out, says CIO. The results show that 35% of workers feel burned out. Another 33% said they must work long hours to get work done and stay ahead of their workload.
Rob Bruce, Kimble Applications' VP of strategy, told CIO that both employers and workers can be responsible for burnout. If workers are underestimating and underreporting their time, he said, they’re contributing to the problem.

Dive Insight:

No one expects burnout to go away. Employees can, however, learn to make work less stressful and to decompress to revive themselves when they’re overwhelmed with work.

Employers can encourage employees to take sufficient time off to relax and regroup; turn off devices that make them accessible 24/7, like cell phones and email; exercise through employer-sponsored wellness programs to rebuild physical and mental stamina; and take frequent breaks to interrupt the cycle of feeling overworked. Even aesthetic changes to colors and smells in the workplace can help improve productivity and ease stress.

Technology has given workers the tools, like analytics and AI, that make many tasks easier. Should more time be required to complete the work than first expected, administrative problems might be to blame.

Employers can help reduce workers’ burnout through clear and regular communication; making sure goals and expectations are unambiguous; giving workers more autonomy over their daily assignments, which should be challenging but not grueling; allowing flexible work schedules when possible; and encouraging fun at work.

These strategies, in turn, can increase employee engagement and positively change an organization's culture.