Are you tired of your job or is it actually burnout? - Futurity: Research News

One more attribute that burnout and loneliness have in common is that they are often mistakenly treated at just the individual level. People are told to practice self-care or reach out to a friend or family member for support. While not bad advice per se, these steps are likely not enough. These are workplace problems, not worker problems. The environment is triggering these responses in employees.

There is much that senior leaders can do to address burnout and loneliness, starting with educating themselves about what is really going on with their workforce. Instead of generic culture or engagement surveys, companies should collect targeted data on these issues. This is not easy, because loneliness, and to a lesser degree, burnout, are socially stigmatized. People are reluctant to admit these experiences for fear of being viewed as weak or dysfunctional.

In my research, I have created scales to reliably measure workplace loneliness, as well as incorporated measures validated by other researchers. Even with these tools, leaders will likely miss out on some of the nuances. I recommend conducting interviews and focus groups as a follow-up to any survey, led by trusted members of the organization or outside facilitators.

Once the baseline is known, leaders can work with employees to set clear targets and put an action plan in place to improve the work factors that are contributing to burnout and loneliness. It is critical to monitor these issues systematically and regularly—especially as work demands and arrangements continue to evolve. Ideally, leaders should be aware of the early warning signals before employees start walking out the door.

In general, a major step that leaders can do is to take the heat off employees from a workload standpoint. Our workdays have gotten longer with the move to remote work, and hybrid has the potential to extend them even further. We must carve out time for people to rediscover their intrinsic motivation at work by giving them opportunities to think and explore without crushing deadlines. The same goes for building social connections at work—relationship-building is one of the first activities to get cut when people feel under the gun.

Another must-do is to reward people for doing the things that will make them healthy and engaged employees in the long run. Performance criteria can be modified to encourage inclusive environments and social networking. I am currently working on a research project with early findings showing that, in workplaces with rewards for supportive behaviors, employees report stronger work relationships and lower burnout.

I encourage leaders to lean into this moment when mental health and well-being are so top of mind for employees. Set up a variety of resources, both internal and external, to provide on-demand support for employees. For example, employee resource groups can help not only with inclusion but also with loneliness. To the degree possible, I also suggest that companies add or extend mental health benefits coverage to their employees.

Overall, I hope managers and employees work together to tackle burnout and loneliness. Ultimately, we all share the goal of having a thriving workforce, a goal the pandemic has only made clearer.