It’s only three months until 2025, but a new poll warns that more than one-third of Britons who work have already experienced burnout.
According to research conducted by the music licensing company PPL PRS, work-related stress is “at crisis point”, as 75% of people experienced it within the last 12 months.
In a survey of 2,000 employees, almost a quarter (28%) reported burnout within the last month. A further quarter (27%) experienced it in the previous six months.
Research also showed that the leading causes of burnout at work are a heavy workload (53%), a long working day (46%), unrealistic goals (34%), lacked recognition (30%), and unfair leadership pressure (29%).
A separate survey by software company Atlassian found that nearly two thirds (64%) UK workers reported their workload was more overwhelming than ever before.
Atlassian surveyed 12,000 knowledge workers in the UK, US and Australia as well as France, Germany, India, and France. 200 Fortune 1000 executives were also surveyed.
AI is expected to help workers become better teammates. 43% of respondents believe that AI will make it easier to work together with others.
According to the PPL PRS research, burnout leaves people feeling frustrated (45%), lacking motivation (42%), and undervalued (37%). Unsurprisingly, 14% of respondents admitted that they had no way to cope with burnout.
The respondents also reported feeling anxious (45%), unable to relax (45%), and more than a quarter (36%) had headaches.
One fifth (19%) of respondents said that their burnout at work affected their appetite. A quarter also said they took their stress out on their family or friends (24%).
Leadership coach Debbie Green responded to the PPL PRS study by saying: “Staff who are stressed, anxious or burnt out at work won’t be producing their best and this can have an impact on the business as well the rest of the employees.
As an employer, it is important to set boundaries and demonstrate a work-life balance to your employees. It’s especially useful for young employees who may be eager to show off their best sides and may not realize the impact of working late or exceeding their allocated hours.
In response to the study, Dr Molly Sands of Atlassian’s teamwork labs said: “This research highlights an important issue in the modern workplace. The systems designed to help employees do not keep pace with the growing demands of the work.
As teams become more inter-functional, the lack of access to information creates bottlenecks which slow down progress. This “digital hide and seek” not only wastes valuable time, but also inhibits creativity and innovation as employees are forced into administrative tasks instead of high-impact work,” added Dr Sands.
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