Beating Burnout – The State of the People Profession

With budget, time and people being the biggest obstacles for People Professionals to deliver the organisational priorities, it's likely that people teams are heading for burnout. 

There's no doubt about it, burnout and work-related stress are on the increase.

According to the 2024 Global Talent Trends report by Mercer, more than eight out of 10 employees are at risk of burnout this year. Additionally, the Mental Health UK Burnout Report 2024 has revealed that one in five workers in the UK required time off in the past year due to mental health issues caused by pressure or stress.

If you, your team or wider organisation are experiencing burnout, if your company is dealing with disengaged employees, high stress levels, absenteeism, and reduced productivity & innovation, you need to take a deep look at your organisation’s values, behaviours, rituals and norms. 

It's likely that your company culture - the way you do things around here - is one of the core factors causing burnout and work-related stress within your organisation. Poor prioritisation, unrealistic deadlines, lack of clarity and direction, and low psychological safety are just some of the ingrained and accepted behaviours that can be root causes. In all honesty, if you don’t address these, you’ll never really eradicate burnout within your organisation. 

Whilst addressing and changing these can take some time, there are steps that you can take more quickly to begin to recognise and reduce burnout in your team and business:

• Educate yourself: Understand what burnout entails, its symptoms, and common causes.
• Regular check-ins: Encourage open communication by regularly checking in with your team and having honest conversations about work and wellbeing.
• Encourage dialogue: Create an environment where discussing stress and mental health is encouraged and normalised. Raise awareness of existing resources like Employee Assistance Programmes and support groups. Invite guest speakers to discuss wellbeing and stress/burnout prevention.
• Provide clarity: Communicate business goals, challenges, and actions transparently. This clarity helps employees prioritise and feel connected to the organisation's purpose.
• Maintain balance: Proactively assist your team in managing workloads, setting realistic deadlines, and addressing unrealistic expectations.
• Lead by example: Role model healthy wellbeing practices and behaviours consistently to set a positive tone for your team.
• Boost morale: Create a positive work environment with open communication, regular recognition, and praise for exceptional performance.
• Zero-tolerance: create and celebrate a culture where behaviours that lead to burnout are not tolerated and can safely be called out.

What you can do to help yourself if you have burnout?

1. Be kind to yourself. This is not a poor reflection on you, you haven't failed, you’re not bad at your job. In fact, the opposite is most likely to be true: You're committed, diligent and conscientious.

2. Start with the simple things - eating, drinking, sleeping, walking, yoga, meditation.

3. Speak to your doctor, take time off work if you need to. It won't all fall down without you there.

4. Prioritise YOU. do the things that bring you joy. You might feel like you're taking one step forward and two steps back but that's ok.

5. Talk to people who have experienced the same thing. Don't think you're alone and the only person who this is and has happened too.

6. Seek coaching or counselling to help you heal.

7. Don't put yourself under pressure, this is going to take time, take each day as it comes.

8. Keep a journal. It helps to get thoughts and feelings out of your head. It's also good for reflection and looking back to see how far you've come.

9. Try not to think about work. Disconnect and focus on you.

10. When you do start to feel better, begin thinking about what you and your employer can change to help you return to work and address any of the causes of your burnout.

Preventing burnout isn't just about reacting to its symptoms. It's about proactively reshaping the culture where burnout thrives. Only then can we create workplaces where employees prosper, innovate, and excel. 

Jo Coxhill is one of The People Experience Hub’s trusted partners and the founder of Vision 29, an employee experience consultancy that is on a mission to create positive workplace cultures. 

Through actively listening to business leaders, managers and employees, Vision 29 helps established brands, who may be stuck, and individuals, who need a voice, to take action to cultivate inclusive and engaging cultures that drive business and people performance.

You can connect with Jo here 

You can download the State of the People Profession 2024 here