By Jennifer Moss
Burnout continues to plague the global workforce. According to a 2023 Cigna survey of 12,000 global employees, a staggering 94% have experienced at least one symptom of burnout in the past 12 months. And a Future Forum survey of 10,243 global employees found that 42% of workers feel burned out.
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2021 Report, 43% of workers across 100-plus countries experienced burnout. The U.S. and Canada reported the highest levels of daily stress globally at 57%. Only 32% of the workforce said they felt engaged at work—a historic low, according to the report.
With this level of stress and unhappiness, it’s no wonder that more than half of American workers are considering quitting their jobs this year. According to an Indeed survey of U.S. workers, 92% of respondents who had switched jobs twice since 2020 said the pandemic made them feel that life is too short to stay in a job they weren’t passionate about.
To be sure, if someone’s workplace is chronically stressful and causes burnout, they should make a change. But before jumping too quickly, workers should consider the root cause of their burnout.
When on the job hunt, people tend to focus on all the things they want in a new opportunity. But it’s equally important to have people list what they don’t want in a job, and the red flags they should watch out for. Burnout is a complex condition with a variety of root causes. Knowing the signs of burnout can help workers avoid unhealthy work situations. Here are a few examples of the root causes of burnout—and how to detect them in the job-hunting process.
Overwork
Overwork—characterized by an unmanageable workload and long hours—is one of the most likely causes of burnout. Key warning signs of overwork are found in “always on” and “growing at all cost” cultures. Many industries have a legacy of overwork. Therefore it’s critical to analyze whether other organizations in the same sector will be any different. If not, it may be time to consider a more substantial career change. It can be hard to imagine the sunk costs of time and training, but if it’s the career (not the job) that is causing persistent stress, it could be time to pivot.
A culture of overwork can often be determined during the interview stage by asking about meeting guidelines, paid time off, and right to disconnect policies. For example, unlimited PTO sounds like an amazing perk, but researchers have found that unlimited PTO policies work only in cultures that support taking time off.
It’s important to dig deeper about how the organization values personal time. Try to assess how leaders model self-care. For instance, does the CEO joke about never sleeping?
Be mindful of rapid-growth companies and startups. They tend to move quickly with fewer resources, which can require more overtime. For some this can be exciting, fulfilling, and financially rewarding—getting in at an early stage might offer a big payout. But it is necessary to go into startup environments with eyes wide open.
If it’s unclear whether the company is in rapid growth mode, ask how many people were recently hired and analyze the pace of how fast the growth goals are. Does the interviewer use language like “hit the ground running”? This can suggest the organization will have a quick onboarding process and potentially less patience for learning on the job.
A lack of community
One of the other big risks for burnout is a lack of community, which can lead to feeling isolated and lonely or dealing with toxic workplace relationships. There are a few ways to determine the sense of community in a company during the interview process.
The first is to find out how the company defines a team. Do they mention only technical skills, or do they also reference social-emotional skills, like empathy, openness, and curiosity? According to Gallup, one of the top reasons why engagement has fallen so significantly over the past two years is that many, especially women, Gen Zers, and Millennials, feel “uncared for at work.”
Also be sure to ask about the team size. Evidence shows that smaller teams tend to be more connected, supportive, efficient, and better at solving problems.
You should also ask how success is measured. Are groups remunerated for success equally?
Find out how the company uses its social collaboration platforms, like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Are there ways to connect with people in a nonwork-related way, or are the platforms for business use only?
A lack of diversity
Lack of justice and fairness continues to be a major source of burnout in the workplace. Poor diversity and inclusion practices often make people feel overlooked and undervalued. Engagement and motivation are negatively impacted when employees can’t see themselves represented in leadership roles.
Before any interview, check to see if the organization has a DEI strategy. If yes, does it align with the investments it makes internally? Is there representation of diversity at the executive and board level?
Once you’re in the interview stage, ask for a specific example of diversity in action. One way to do this is to ask about parental support. Even if it isn’t relevant to you, asking this question can indicate how the company supports workers. True equity requires robust maternity and paternity leave policies—bonus points for using nondiscriminatory language like “career leave.” Also useful, ask for a description of the model employee and ask yourself, “Does the description sound inclusive?”
Mismatched values and skills
Lack of fit happens when someone is hired into the wrong role or wrong culture. Anyone who has experienced a skills mismatch or disconnection from the mission knows how disorienting that can feel. It can increase imposter syndrome and reduce self-confidence.
One of the ways to figure out if an opportunity is a fit is to understand what values matter the most to an organization. How do they signal their viewpoints? Does the external brand align with the internal behaviors? How are employees rewarded and celebrated?
When it comes to skill building, ask about upskilling, reskilling, and training. How do people move up and around the company? Are there leadership tracks and a strategy to develop new talent? Are there mentorship programs and continuing education programs?
It’s normal to feel out of place at times, but a healthy culture helps people find their place again and again.
A lack of autonomy
In recent years, the concept of autonomy has shifted. Most conversations revolve around the topic of where one works—remote, hybrid, in person. But it’s so much more complicated than that.
Adam Grant, organizational psychologist, best-selling author, and newly appointed chairman of BetterUp’s Center for Purpose and Performance, suggests we’re having an overly narrow conversation about where we work, instead of looking at the bigger picture of autonomy. “One of the clearest lessons of the pandemic for so many people is that you could actually give human beings more freedom at work and they didn’t abuse it,” Grant says, noting that he recognizes that not every employee can work remotely, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have flexibility.
“What we should be asking is what do employees want freedom from and what do they want freedom to,” he says. “Employees can be offered more choice in where we work, how we work, how often we work, who we work with, what we work on.”
A frontline worker, for example, may not be able to choose to work from home, but in a culture that supports autonomy they may be able to choose when they start work and who they work with. Simply put, there are other ways to offer choice and autonomy—not just where.
Before the interviewing process, consider which freedoms are a priority for you and which ones are negotiable. Be aware that flexibility isn’t just about where you work, so go deeper on the questions related to autonomy and how it’s represented in an organization.
Lack of autonomy also creeps up around achievement and productivity. In an interview, ask how managers assign and approve tasks. What is the ideal workflow? How are people expected to hit their goals? Is it more about following a process or getting results? Are goals shared?
Inevitably, there is no guarantee that burnout won’t occur in a future job, and the process of leaving a job and seeking out another can be daunting. But by knowing the root causes of burnout, and carefully screening for them when on the job search, you can reduce the risk of swapping one unhealthy workplace for another.
Jennifer Moss is an author, international speaker, and workplace culture strategist. Her most recent book, The Burnout Epidemic, was named among the 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 and shortlisted for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature Award. Her first book, Unlocking Happiness at Work, received the distinguished U.K. Business Book of the Year Award.
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