According to a recent study over 1/3 of UK companies suffer from employee burnout. Recruitment firm Robert Half questioned over 200 UK HR directors, 30% of them revealed that employee burnout is a common problem within their organisation, that figure increased to 35% in the South East suggesting that companies in the capital put more pressure on their staff.

The results from the study suggested that the biggest factor in staff burnout was workload, 67% of directors said that work place absences were as a result of this. The results also revealed that the larger the company the worse the problem.  73% of public sector companies had employee absences that were attributed to ‘burnout’. The strain of budget cuts may have caused this issue as staff try and pick up the slack.

How to resolve the problem?

Phil Sheridan (director at Robert Half) says companies can help to resolve ‘burnout’ complaints by bringing in temporary staff to help employees with their heavy workloads. This type of workforce management could help take the pressure off the current staff.

Flexible working could be another way to take pressure off employees. Implementing flexible working could improve employees' moral and give them the opportunity to complete their work at more appropriate times, helping them with their work-life balance.

Time and attendance software can help companies keep track of their employees and analyse shift patterns, working hours and employee breaks. This would help pinpoint anyone who is at risk of suffering burnout and ultimately help reduce unexpected absences.