A study by Instant Offices has revealed that a third of workers across Asia including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore have felt burnt-out over the past two years as a growing number of workers struggled to find work-life balance whilst working from home. According to the World Health Organisation, workplace burnout results from chronic workplace stress that has not been managed which results in employees feeling exhausted, disengaged and unable to manage their workloads.
The study highlighted that 58% of workers in the jurisdictions are planning to look for new jobs in 2022 with the most burnt-out countries being Singapore and India where 37% and 29% of respondents respectively indicated they felt exhausted. Last year, online searches for “burnout symptoms” increased by 61% in Singapore and Australia—an additional 150,000 searches compared to the year before.
Young Talent at Risk
Employers are at an increased risk of losing younger generations of talent. 65% of respondents in the Asia Pacific region aged 18-24 and 61% of 25-34-year-olds indicated that they intend to resign from their positions with the majority citing lack of growth opportunities as the cause. Employees who are experiencing burnout are almost two-thirds more likely to take a sick day and feel less confident in their performance at work.
The report notes that companies looking to retain staff and to ward off the Great Resignation, they should take proactive steps to create a healthy workplace including:
- Making physical and mental health a cornerstone of their organisation
- Ensuring managers receive proper training on how to prevent, recognise and manage workplace burnout, both in themselves and their teams.
- Providing a safe and hygienic work environment that allows workers to protect themselves and others
- Encouraging employees to set stricter boundaries by switching off their work devices at the end of the workday.
- Looking for ways to bridge the gap between physical and digital spaces.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
