New year, new challenge | Will burnout continue to rise this year?

Whilst many fatigued workers will currently be looking at the festive break as a chance to recharge and reset after what has been an undeniably turbulent year, it’s important for HR to remember that seeing the end of the year as an end goal is not only misguided, but also dangerous to health and wellbeing.

Unfortunately, burnout looks to be a staple of the HR agenda for 2022, as the coronavirus throws up new headaches, workloads grow and the blurring between work and home life continues.

In fact, the latest statistics from Ceridian’s annual Pulse of Talent report, which surveyed 1,156 workers in companies with at least 100 employees, found that the vast majority of workers surveyed in the UK have struggled with burnout over the past year. 79% of UK workers have experienced burnout in some form, whilst a shocking 35% of respondents reported high or extreme levels.

But what about the causes of this negative trend? How can we do our best to ensure that workers are avoiding the elements of current working life that are liable to cause burnout? Ceridian’s research found that the top three catalysts for burnout among respondents are increased workloads at 49%, mental health challenges at 34%, and pressure to meet deadlines at 32%.