Dive Brief:
- A new study by Kronos Incorporated cites burnout as a major workplace challenge for 2017. The Employee Engagement Series and Future Workplace showed that 95% of human resource executives believe burnout is blocking employee retention, and they don’t see a resolution any time soon. The study polled 615 HR leaders nationwide.
- Most study participants (87%) called raising retention a crucial priority. Nearly half of the respondents (46%) said burnout causes 20% to 50% of turnover in their organizations. They also cited unfair compensation (41%), unreasonable workloads (32%) and too much overtime or after-hours work (32%) as the three top contributors to burnout.
- Respondents also revealed the three top barriers to resolving burnout as too many competing priorities (20%), outdated HR technology (20%) and a lack of executive support (14%).
Dive Insight:
Burnout often goes undetected in the workplace. Employees struggle to balance personal responsibilities with work duties. Heavy workloads, long work days and feelings of being under-compensated can sabotage employee engagement, as the study showed. Those who burnout won’t stay.
HR executives were right when they said no resolution is immediately in sight. But managers can minimize the risk of employee burnout and reduce turnover by making sure workloads are manageable, allowing more flextime in workers’ schedule, taking time to recognize employees for exceptional performance and creating a work environment that fosters collaboration, focuses on health and wellness, and balances work with leisure activities.
