How to Protect Employee Well-Being and Performance

Burnout is no longer a buzzword. It’s a workplace crisis. Surveys show that more than 8 out of 10 employees are at risk of burning out this year, and 77% say they’re already experiencing it. Engagement in the workplace is slipping for the first time in years, and experts are calling it a “burnout epidemic.”

The cost of burnout is more than low morale at work. It’s also lower productivity and higher turnover. The solution isn’t just giving people more time off. It’s giving them the tools, growth opportunities, and support they need to thrive. As it turns out, Learning & Development (L&D) may hold the key to improving engagement and overwhelm at work.

What is burnout?

Burnout was coined in 1975 by psychologist Herbert J. Freudenberger to describe the symptoms he saw in overworked medical workers: exhaustion, depression, and a general inability to cope with stressors. Although it was first identified as a problem in the medical field, burnout can happen to any worker who isn’t getting adequate rest or breaks.

Today, work burnout is defined as a state of exhaustion, both physical and emotional, that can have an effect on a person’s mental and physical health.

What causes burnout?

Burnout is the result of a prolonged period of stress. When a person is stressed at work and doesn’t get adequate rest from the pressures of their job, they are likely to burn out. For example, Deloitte’s work burnout survey found that 25% of those surveyed aren’t taking all their vacation time, contributing to stress and burnout.

Stress goes beyond a lack of time off, however. Often the pressures at work that cause burnout feel like they’re beyond the employee’s control. According to one recent report, 43% of respondents cited financial strain as a contributing factor, while 40% said they were experiencing exhaustion, and 37% said they were struggling with an excessive workload. Deloitte found that even those who are passionate about their work are struggling, with 64% reporting burnout.

Some experts also believe that other factors outside work may contribute to or exacerbate burnout, such as depression, anxiety, or issues that are happening in a person’s personal life.

What are the symptoms of burnout?

Burnout isn’t always obvious. While some burned out employees might be clearly unhappy or struggling, other team members might show it in different ways. Some might even be prone to working too much when they’re burned out.

Broadly, work burnout symptoms tend to fall into one of three categories:

• Exhaustion: A team member with burnout is usually tired, and that exhaustion can show up in various ways. For example, the employee might be getting sick more. Their stress might manifest in physical symptoms like gastrointestinal upset, migraines, or a compromised immune system in general.
• Alienation: People with burnout are overworked, and this will often show up as emotional or mental distress. Team members may become negative about work, obviously frustrated, or withdrawn from colleagues. They may become angry or depressed or appear actively disengaged at work.
• Reduced productivity: A person who is burning out might be trying their best to get more done but may seem like they’re running in place. For example, you may notice a teammate working longer hours while accomplishing less, or “spinning their wheels” at work.

A person with burnout might display any or all of these symptoms. When you notice them, it’s time to step in, because burnout can spread.

How can burnout affect your business?

Work burnout is not only felt by the employee experiencing it, but by the organization as a whole. For example, 91% of respondents to Deloitte’s survey say unmanageable stress and frustration impacts the quality of their work, and 83% say burnout negatively impacts personal relationships.

Employees who are “actively disengaged” tend to have an adverse effect on a business: they are loudly disgruntled, undermine new initiatives, and sometimes actively sabotage their organization. Gallup’s most recent data finds that 17% of employees are actively engaged worldwide — including many managers. The loss of engagement on this scale cost the world economy $438 billion in lost productivity.

A high burnout rate shows up in other trends that can affect a business. Decreased productivity across the organization, increased absenteeism, and high job turnover can all indicate an increase in burnout across an organization.

Boosting engagement at work with training and development

At this point, you’re probably wondering how learning can fight burnout and disengagement. If team members are stressed about factors beyond their control like finances and workload, how can L&D fix that problem?

There’s some very good news here: research shows a link between employee development and employee engagement. To see evidence of this, we can look at the criteria used by Gallup to determine employee engagement.

What makes an engaged employee?

Gallup asks a series of 12 questions to determine how engaged an employee is at work. The questions focus on the quality of an employee’s work life. Three of these questions — a quarter of the questionnaire — focus on learning and development:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development. 
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress. 
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow. 

Employees thrive when they feel they’re learning and advancing in their career. They also do well when they feel someone at work cares about them and their goals. Training and coaching helps managers and team members thrive. For example:

• Training reduces anxiety about new tasks.
• When employees learn skills that advance their careers, they take ownership of their growth.
• Clearly-defined career pathways reduce the feeling of being stuck in a rut
• Connection is important for engagement, and collaborative learning builds community.
• Aligning training with employee goals builds a purposeful connection to work.

It’s telling that Gallup’s three suggestions to improve workforce engagement worldwide are centered on learning and development:

1. Improve manager engagement by training all managers
2. Teach effective coaching techniques to engage teams
3. Invest in ongoing development for managers

So how can your organization use training to fight burnout?

L&D strategies to increase motivation

Because the stresses that cause burnout are the result of several factors, it’s important to note that L&D can’t solve all burnout issues on its own. What learning can do is increase motivation at work by offering development, building relationships, and clarifying expectations for learners.

1. Make sure everyone is onboarded: Engaged employees know what their organization expects of them. By building a clear and useful onboarding program, L&D can make sure that each learner knows what they are supposed to do, how it should be done, and who will be checking in with them at regular intervals to review their progress.
2. Offer microlearning: For overworked team members, learning can seem like just another item on their already-packed to-do list. Create microlearning — short, digestible training sessions that don’t overwhelm them.
3. Invest in leadership training: Managers play a key role in preventing burnout, but they themselves are often overwhelmed. No one is a born leader; make sure managers get all the training they need to be successful.
4. Promote career development programs: When learners feel like they are stagnating, they can burn out and start looking for opportunities elsewhere. By helping them achieve their career goals and providing personalized learning paths, you can show your learners that you care about them and their ambitions.
5. Foster connections: Learners tend to thrive when they have a meaningful connection with another person. Coaching, mentoring, and collective learning are all ways to foster connections between team members while encouraging development.

Your team can fight burnout

Burnout is complex, and no single program can erase the pressures employees face inside and outside of work. But L&D has a unique role to play when it comes to preventing burnout.

Learning equips people to succeed, connects them to meaningful goals, and helps them see a future within the organization. When employers invest in onboarding, leadership development, microlearning, and career growth, they’re not just preventing burnout, they’re building an engaged, resilient workforce. In a time when exhaustion and disengagement are costing billions in lost productivity, that investment isn’t optional; it’s essential.

Ready to boost motivation and reduce burnout in your organization? Download our Motivational Design Checklist to create engaging learning experiences that drive employee development and combat burnout effectively. Get your free instant download today!