Is Employee Burnout Worse Than Ever Before?

Burnout is not a new phenomenon, but it became a pandemic of its own in the initial months of the pandemic.  

While this simulation-like return to normalcy could have been the key to alleviating burnout, other factors have emerged that are leaving workers even more burdened than ever before. 

According to the most recent quarterly survey from Slack’s Future Forum, 43% of office workers in the U.S. are experiencing feelings of burnout, close to the peak seen last year.   

Additionally, a Glassdoor report showed that references to burnout were up by 40% from 2019 levels.   

There are a few reasons for this. For one, some business leaders remain rigid in their work arrangement desires, with many eager to bring employees back into the office since April of 2020.   

“Executives want to return back to how things used to be,” said Sheela Subramanian, Vice President of the Future Forum. “Executives are operating from a focus group of one right now.”  

However, return-to-office policies are just the beginning. Inflation hit a 40-year high over the summer, while wages remained stagnant across a majority of the country.    

For companies, this could be good news. An economic downturn means employees are likely to “job cuff,” or stay on at their jobs for stability. In fact, a survey from Owler shows that one-third of workers would rethink quitting their job if a recession hit. 

Other global issues such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the continued fight for racial equality and the period of inescapable awareness have weighed on the psyche of many workers. 

All of these factors considered, the job market is volatile to say the least.    

Although the war for talent is still red hot, the threat of a recession has changed the trajectory of what job openings could look like in the near future.