Workday recently announced a new report – Addressing Burnout Risk in 2022 – powered by employee engagement solution Workday Peakon Employee Voice which found that of the 10 industries tracked year-over-year, frontline industries such as transportation, healthcare, and government demonstrated increases in the levels of higher burnout risk, with the transportation industry showing the steepest rise of 16% since 2021.
The report measures how burnout risk has evolved since 2021 across different industries and geographies, based on an analysis of de-identified employee survey data from 1.5 million employees, from more than 600 companies globally. Burnout risk is assessed using employee survey scores relating to connectedness, energy levels, and fulfilment, and then categorised as higher, medium, or lower risk.
Burnout Risk by Geography
The report found global variation among the 10 geographies tracked year-over-year, with six seeing either increased or sustained levels of higher burnout risk, and four showing improvements.
French based companies saw a decreasing risk of burnout with a 7% reduction in the proportion of organisations with higher burnout risk than last year, whereas UK headquartered companies currently have the highest proportion of organisations in the higher burnout risk category (41%), following a year-over-year rise of 4%.
Other countries that experienced a higher level of burnout risk included Norway which saw a 9% year-over-year increase to 20% and Denmark which registered the lowest levels of higher burnout risk, but did see a 3% rise year-over-year to 11%. Whereas German based companies saw a 15% reduction in the proportion of organisations with higher burnout risk to 26%.
Burnout Risk by Industry
The study found that most surveyed industries saw greater or sustained levels of higher burnout risk in 2022, compared to 2021. Industries that operated on the front lines of the pandemic, such as transportation, saw the steepest increases with a 16% year-over-year increase. This was followed by the government which saw a 10% increase in the number of companies with higher burnout and healthcare companies which saw a 4% increase.
The issue of employee burnout is increasingly prevalent, however there are key actions employers can take to help mitigate the risk. These include cultivating a more compassionate culture, enabling people leaders to solve problems by encouraging open dialogue and giving employees a shared sense of purpose by clearly articulating the organisation's strategy and how new ideas speak to that vision.