Burnout is a serious problem—and it’s only gotten worse in the face of COVID-19. A recent survey from FlexJobs and Mental Health America found that 75 percent of workers have experienced burnout at work at some point in their careers—with 40 percent experiencing burnout during the pandemic.

But why is burnout such a problem? What risks does it pose to your team—and your business? And, as a business owner, how can you help your employees avoid burnout?

What Is Employee Burnout?

First things first—before we jump into how to help your employees avoid burnout, let’s quickly define what, exactly, burnout is.

Employee burnout is a type of workplace stress. The World Health Organization defines burnout as an “occupational phenomenon...resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” So essentially, when employees feel chronically stressed at work—and they don’t have any effective way to manage or mitigate that stress—it puts them at risk of burnout. 

There are five stages of employee burnout:

• Honeymoon stage. During the honeymoon stage, employees are satisfied with their jobs, engaged with their work, and feel equipped to handle stressful times—as work stressors feel like the exception, not the rule.
• Stress onset. During the stress onset stage, employees start to feel more stressed on a more regular basis—but still feel overall happy at work and able to manage the stress.
• Chronic stress. During the chronic stress stage, team members feel stressed more often than not—and that stress is starting to take a serious toll.
• Burnout. During the burnout stage, employees are completely overwhelmed by stress, unhappy at work, and are experiencing symptoms of burnout that interfere with their ability to do their job. 
• Habitual or chronic burnout. At this stage, burnout is a way of life; the feeling and experience of employee burnout is chronic and habitual—and that burnout is not only causing issues at work, but issues in their personal lives.

What Causes Employee Burnout?

Burnout happens when employees feel chronically stressed and overwhelmed at work. That stress and overwhelm can come from a variety of sources, including:

• Unfair treatment at work. According to a 2018 Gallup study, unfair treatment at work is the number one cause of employee burnout; employees who feel they are often treated unfairly at work are 2.3 times more likely to experience burnout. 
• Demanding work schedules and workload. If an employee is putting in long hours, overwhelmed with too many tasks and responsibilities, or feel like they don’t have enough time to get things done, it can drive stress—and contribute to burnout. According to the aforementioned Gallup study, unmanageable workloads and unreasonable time pressure are major drivers of employee burnout.
• Toxic work environment. Employees want to work in a place where they feel supported, appreciated, and validated—and when they don’t, it can cause major stress. As such, a toxic company culture (or toxic co-workers) can drive burnout within an organization.
• Bad management. Often, the cause of employee burnout is less about the employee—and more about the manager. The Gallup study ranked “lack of communication and support from management” as one of the top five causes of employee burnout.
• Unfair compensation. If an employee doesn’t feel like they’re fairly compensated for their work, they can become increasingly stressed, disengaged, and, eventually, burned out.

How Do You Know When Your Employees Are Approaching Burnout?

When employees reach the point of burnout, they experience a variety of symptoms—physical, emotional, and work-related. And, 

Some of the most common symptoms of burnout include:

• Physical exhaustion
• Emotional exhaustion and feelings of overwhelm
• Issues with concentration, focus, and productivity 
• Lack of engagement with work
• Reduced feelings of competence and/or accomplishment
• Resentment, cynicism, and/or apathy towards work

For example, let’s say you have an employee that used to power through projects quickly. But recently, since they’ve started taking on more project work, you’ve noticed their productivity has taken a nosedive—and it now takes them three times as long to power through a project. That decrease in productivity (especially if it’s linked to an increase in work or work-related responsibilities) can be a clear sign of burnout.

As a leader, if you want to help your employees avoid workplace burnout, you need to be able to spot the warning signs that your employee is feeling stressed and overwhelmed—and nip them in the bud before they spiral into full-blown burnout.