Jessica O'ConnorTwo thirds of Gen Z workers reported feeling unable to switch off from work in their free time, research from Click Offices has revealed.
Since 2020, attitudes and approaches towards work have shifted, with many more people working from home and flexible working becoming more popular.
While working from home can put more trust in employees to be productive, it can also place pressure on staff to overwork and not know when to switch off.
In light of this, Click Offices analysed data from across the UK to see the impact of burnout on the workforce.
According to Mental Health UK, a 90% of workers in the UK reported feeling stressed in the past year alone.
A further report found that 43% of people from around 100 countries reported experiencing workplace burnout.
The same report found that burnout rose 39% from 2019 to 2020.
In addition, burnout syndrome accounted for 8% of all occupational illness cases across different countries.
The top three causes of employee burnout were reported as increased workload, mental health challenges and pressure to meet deadlines.
When looking at the people most affected by burnout, the youngest generation of workers were the most adversely affected.
Mental Health UK reported 18 to 24 year olds were age group with the highest levels of stress.
35% of workers in this age group reported needing time off work due to health issues, often linked to unpaid overtime (48%) and additional hours due to the cost of living (46%).
Over 55s were the group reporting the lowest levels of burnout, with just 10% taking time off for any health-related reason.
This age group reported feeling more able to manage stress and effectively maintain work-life balance.
In addition, 56% of 25 to 34 year olds reported increased workloads as a root cause of workplace stress and burnout.
Research showed that work-related mental health issues now cost the UK economy £57.4bn each year, nearly doubling in recent years.
For employees, those with mental health problems, such as depression or anxiety, earned on average £8,400 less than people who reported no mental health problems.
Shane Duffy, managing director of Click Offices, said: “There has been a huge shift in working patterns, business strategy and attitudes towards work in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Whilst working from home has its advantages, it can lead to employees working frequent overtime and struggling to have a separation between work and home life.
“This coupled with increasing pressures on employees can lead to burnout.”
Duffy added: “Managers should be scheduling regular check ins with staff to keep an eye on emerging cases of burnout.
“All businesses would benefit from having trained mental health first aiders onsite, who can support managers to support their teams when they may not feel they have the knowledge or skills to support mental health related issues.
“Having a flexible approach, adapting workloads and considering reasonable adjustments can all help employees to avoid burnout and maintain positive work-life balance.”
