Employee Burnout: Causes And Symptoms In The Workplace

The Three Syndromes Of Staff Burnout

Describe about the Employee Burnout for Employee to Employee.

Burnout is a situation that many employees experience during their work life, and the rate varies from employee to employee. It is a feeling of being low and un-psyched and it results from a number of reasons. This essay will focus on burnout in employees in their workplaces, and the effects it has on their wellbeing. As explained by Lambert, et al, (2010) burnout as mostly described is a perception that has three aspects: emotional exhaustion, lack of empathy/depersonalization, and lack of accomplishments or a reduction of them at work place. Whatever the industry that an employee is based, the exhaustion can be experienced, and the consequences are negative, and thus it should be checked for regularly and avoided.

An employee works under a contract of employment, whether written or oral, and has rights and duties. Thus, an employee reports to and is supervised by a higher power. The relationship between the two parties is crucial when it comes to employee burnout. Personal matters of the employee might also play a role in an employee’s fatigue. The connection, like passion and know-how that a worker has with the work they do can determine their level of exhaustion in the work (Alarcon, Eschleman and Bowling 2009). Many factors can come to play when delving into the issue of employee fatigue, and this paper will look into them.

The Three Syndromes Of Staff Burnout

These syndromes are one, emotional exhaustion; it is a keystone of staff burnout, and it implies energy discharge of emotional resources. Two, depersonalization and it refers to people behaving impersonally i.e. with an attitude that is indifferent. Three, reduced personal accomplishment whereby the workers tend to devalue their work leading to a negative self-assessment (Piko, 2006).  These three aspects have causes, and some of them are as discussed below.

Causes Of Work Burnout

Acording to Dunford et.al (2012), work burnout is an aftermath of perceived imbalance between the job’s demands and the resources (emotional and material) available to an employee. Unusually high demands in a workplace make it increasingly impossible for employees to cope with the stress associated with those working conditions. The daily transactions that stem from the deliberating physical and emotional overload that arises from stress on the job are a cause of the worker exhaustion. Work burnout is a phenomenon and occupational hazard induced by distress (Balch, Freischlag and Shanafelt, 2009).

Causes Of Work Burnout

The burnout is categorized by one, some level of emotional and physical exhaustion.  Two is, socially dysfunctional behavior and in particular an insulation and distancing from fellow workmates. Three is psychological impairment, and it includes strong and negative feelings towards oneself. Four is organizational inefficiency, and it is through poor morale and decreased output. The following is a list of the main causes of burnout as noted by most research findings:

Inability to control one’s destiny

When an organization experiences growth, it becomes impersonal and the frequency at which employees are involved in decision making reduces. For example, a simple task that a worker is supposed to do can get delayed due to administrative policies, legal dictates, and lack of funds that come with the growth. When employees participate in decision making, it promotes greater motivation and positive job attitudes which in turn it boosts effective performance (Khazaei, Khazaee and Sharifzadeh, 2006). The employees can thus feel as if they are being used as objects of labor rather than the human resource that benefit the employer.

Employees desire to know the expectations of their employers, and their work targets. It is important for the workers understand what behaviors will be successful in satisfying job requirements. Also, to know the job’s security, as well as the psychological dangers that might exist. Feedback is also important as it helps develop aspirations, job values, accomplishments, and objectives. Clear, consistent information can go a long way in avoiding job distress. Management should not react to open communication only on a crisis basis as it fortifies negative communication.

Contact overload

When an employee is required to make frequent encounters with other people, so as to carry out a certain job function, such undesired encounters result to contact overload. Workers who spend much time of their work interacting with people are vulnerable to unpleasant encounters that are distressful (Khazaei, 2006). That is because the people they get to interact with might be in various states of distress themselves and that negatively affects the employee. A high rate of contact overload affects a worker’s job satisfaction and control over their work. It also leads to little energy for communication and support from other employees and hence it becomes difficult to seek professional and personal growth opportunities.

Overwork or underwork

Recent findings by Ilies, Dimotakis, and De Pater (2010) have shown a strong correlation between excessive workloads and high levels of stress in employees, and this leads to burn out. Too many responsibilities, unpredictable or long hours, working at too rapid pace, too many interactions, supervising too many people, and unrealistic deadlines are but some characteristics of work overload.  Some jobs are also boring and tedious while others do not have a variety, and such can also lead to distress. It is, thus, good for an employer to look at the conditions under which the employees are working, and try preventing burnout as much as possible.

Inability to control one’s destiny

Role conflict/doubt

Although the conflict and doubt can occur separately, they both indicate the uncertainty about what one’s role is in the work place. Role conflict can be explained as the concurrent occurrence of two or more opposing pressures such that responding to one of them makes complying with the other impossible (Mauno, Kinnunen and Ruokolainen, 2007). Most often, role conflicts comprise of, one, those between organizational expectations and worker abilities. Two is the conflict between the values of an individual and those of an organization. Three is the conflict between the worker’s personal life and the demands of the work place.

Numerous studies have associated role conflict to frustration, low job satisfaction, decreased trust and respect, morale problems, low or lack of confidence in the organization, and high levels of stress. Role ambiguity refers to a situation whereby a worker lacks clarity about the job.  It thus refers to an inconsistency between what information is available and the one that is required for successful work performance (Khazaei, 2006). Depending on the nature of one’s work, the rate of correlation to job dissatisfaction as a result of role conflict and role ambiguity can vary.

These are individual factors such as marital matters, financial stability; as well as the aspects of one’s personality as over shyness, neuroticism, poor stress management skills, and being inflexible (Moreno-Jiménez, et.al, 2009). All these factors contribute to how a worker’s experiences in their job affect them. The accumulation of occupational and personal stressors is a certain contributor to job burnout. To avoid such occurrences, the management should use quality mechanisms to gauge the level of energy in the employees. The employer should also ensure that energy is continually boosted.

Deficits in training

Job training is important as it prepares the employee on what to expect and how to handle it accordingly (Ng’Eno, 2007). It is thus important to have several different areas of job training to prevent occupational distress. The initial preparation should always be adequate if the employee is to venture into a job with confidence. Training and competencies bolster confidence and also allows an employee to go through each day without unnecessarily depending upon reference materials and on other. Ahola et.al, (2006) recommend that as technology advances, it is necessary to also conduct on-the-job training and not to expect the workers to figure it out themselves as that might only frustrate them.

New workers are the most susceptible to the various forms of distress, and that is why it is important also to train in communication skills. The skills are critical as they facilitate an employee’s ability to relate successfully with fellow workers, supervisors, and other work recipients. Most jobs are lost because of improper/poor communication as compared to any other factor. Stress is almost unavoidable for employees in most cases, and it is hence good that employees learn to cope with the different kinds of stressors faced each day.

Lack of occupational communication and feedback

Secondary factors

Other factors that aggravate stress are such as lifestyle changes, lack of job security, poor working conditions.  Also, a society that changes rapidly forcing individuals to make unanticipated adjustments in their work and way of life is a basis of job burnout. Poor pay is also another factor that leads to work burnout. Employers should always ensure that the employees are well compensated for their services.

Consequences Of Burnout For Employee Wellâ€ÂBeing

An employer owes a duty of care when it comes to the well-being and stress management of the employees. Worker wellbeing is however beyond the employer’s duty of care meaning that the employee as well has a role to play. The implications that wellbeing has on the quality of life is broad- how we choose to live, from a fulfillment and philosophical point of view, and even how long we live (Schaufeli, Taris and Van Rhenen 2008). It also has implications on whether we enjoy happiness and health or whether we suffer anxiety or illness.  Every person in a workplace thus has a duty to nurture and safeguard their wellbeing, especially where there is one available to help. 

An organization highly depends on its worker’s wellbeing because it is a major factor in performance, quality, and productivity and thus business profit and effectiveness (Shirom, 2010). When an employee’s wellbeing reduces, his or her performance and effectiveness typically does so as well. Whenever staff wellbeing is undermined, across a team or entire organization, many primary organizational factors are negatively impacted. Some the consequences on well-being that arise from employee burnout are as follows: one,

Reduced productivity

Burnout affects the good state of a worker which in turn affects his or her productivity. Productivity is the amount of work an employee can do under normal circumstances. When their wellbeing is altered by stress and frustration, and they are not able to overcome it, it directly affects their output. That is because their willingness to work is altered and without desire, people underwork.

Burnout affects the wellness of an employee to the point that when they keep making mistakes in their work. The reason being that their concentration is not in the work they are doing rather it is in the cause of their stress which is the source of the frustration. Burnout affects the mental capability of a person, and that leads them to continually make mistakes (Halbesleben, 2010). With the proper mental connection to the work a staff member is doing, making mistakes in the work they do is highly unlikely.

Contact overload

Sickness and absenteeism

When an employee’s wellbeing is affected, it can be all round. In most cases burnout is witnessed physically, mentally, and psychologically (Rössler, 2012). An employee who goes through physical burnout lacks in physical strength and wit. A recent research (Schaufeli, Bakker and Van Rhenen, 2009) showed that many cases have been reported of diseases such as high blood pressure, disabilities and so on resulting from excessive work activates. Such illness may lead to absenteeism and even wok turnover which is not good for the business.

Conflict with employees

Whether one is a supervisor or a subordinate staff when their wellbeing is affected they are likely to get into conflicts with other employees. Burn out has a tendency to make an employee feel inferior to others (Kuoppala, et al., 2008). This feeling of inferiority makes them develop defense mechanisms that only lead to more harm as an employee tends to get into more quarrels while defending his or her undesired behavior or actions. When a work place has a large number of such employees experiencing burnout, chaos are inevitable.

Poor employer reputation among customers, staff, and potential new recruits

When employees’ wellbeing is poor, their first target when they throw stones is the employer. That is because the workers often blame the employer for their burnout, especially when the staff is not involved in decision-making processes. Such employees, therefore, have the tendency of staining the employer’s reputation to get the others acquire their viewpoints. It is hence important for an employer to be careful in observing the behaviors of all the workers and deal with burnout whenever it arises.

Aside from all the consequences mentioned above, wellbeing at work has a close link to heath in general. Without health wellbeing, people become sick physically and mentally. The pressure at work that involves deadlines, task complexity, responsibilities, supervision, challenge, relationships, etc., can all have serious effects on one’s wellbeing (Yu Lin and Hsu, 2009). It is paramount that employees recognize and deal with the risks involved. 

Meyer and Maltin (2010) have in their study explained that if the culture of a workplace encourages much competition and challenge among staff and managers, there can be an acceptance and a tolerance of stress. At times there is a feeling of pride in being able to handle the most stress, where pressure is taken to be motivational and thrilling. In such a situation, it is good to draw a line between healthy motivation and unhealthy stress to avoid burnout and lack of wellbeing. According to Skakon et. al (2010) it is becoming an increasingly important responsibility for the modern employer to be able to understand the risks to workers about stress and wellbeing.

Overwork or underwork

Staff burnout is a huge problem not only to the employees but also to the employer’s business. Because of its complexity, researchers (Swider, and Zimmerman 2010) have suggested different approaches to solving this problem. Problem-focused coping is one such approach, and it is a way that involves altering the elements of the problem or changing the sources of the stressors. The approach is also referred to as active coping as it aims to directly manage the actual problem. The coping approach entails discussing issues with others, seeking advice, and putting increased emphasize on time management (Lambie, 2006).

The second approach is referred to as emotional-focused coping; it does not focus on managing the emotional response to a problem, rather than solving the problem itself. This coping method has many components such as talking to therapists, avoidance of self-blame, reflection, and escapism. The third approach is called relationship-focused coping. It is an approach whose goal is managing, regulating and preserving relationships during stressful periods. Under the approach, the staff focuses on building and solidifying the relationship among them first due.  Employees believe that healthy relationships reduce conflict, helps in understanding differing viewpoints, and solving problems (Lambie, 2006).

The fourth approach is lifestyle-coping as many researchers have put emphasis on the relationship between lifestyles and burnout. A healthy lifestyle improves well-being, which results to the mitigation of burnout (Shanafelt and Dyrbye, 2012). The healthy lifestyles are such as exercise, diet, refreshing oneself, and relaxation using methods that would work on an individual basis. As an employer, engaging trainers of healthy lifestyles to train the employees is important (Williams, 2011). The knowledge will help them with their well-being, and positive energy will subsequently get felt in the work place.

Conclusion And Summary

Employee burnout is a serious thing that puts both the worker and the employee at a risk considering their goals and aim of entering into an employment contract. Whatever the industry an employee is based, their wellbeing should always become a forefront priority because the burnout that can be experienced lead to negative consequences. This essay has established that burnout is the exhaustion that has three syndromes: emotional exhaustion, lack of empathy/depersonalization, and lack of accomplishments or a reduction of them at the work place. It has also looked into the following causes of burnout: Inability to control one’s destiny, lack of occupational communication and feedback, contact overload, overwork or underwork, role conflict/doubt, Deficits in training, personal factors, as well as other secondary factors.

Role conflict/doubt

The paper has also covered the consequences of burnout for employee wellâ€Âbeing. It has covered the following consequences: reduced productivity, increased mistakes and errors, sickness and absenteeism, conflict with employees, and poor employer reputation among staff, customers, and potential new recruits. As discussed in the paper there are also ways of combating burnout that the employers can use to do away with burnout should an employee undergo the experience. Prevention is always better that cure and thus burnout should be prevented, and when it occurs detected and dealt with earlier. That way the adverse consequences it brings forth would not have to be experienced.

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