The Type Of Employee Most Likely To Burn Out At Work, According To Survey
Managers have it rough right now.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A | Shutterstock As people become more dissatisfied and disillusioned with their work, it is only natural that burnout rates will increase. It could certainly be said that this is a trend seen across occupational fields and positions.
However, one group of employees is even more likely to face burnout at work, and it’s a group we typically consider okay. According to a recent survey, managers, the mid-level employees who are often tasked with inspiring productivity and keeping morale high are secretly suffering — just like everyone else.
Managers are the type of employees most likely to burn out at work.
A survey from Gallup found that a group of employees that we usually depend on and expect to be fine is actually not doing well. Manager burnout, they say, is at an all-time high.
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The Gallup survey recorded employee burnout from the beginning of the pandemic through 2021.
According to the survey, “While the percentage of managers who report being burned out ‘very often’ or ‘always’ was slightly higher than that of individual contributors in 2020, the gap widened considerably in 2021."
A graph accompanying the study showed that 27% of individual contributors reported feeling burned out in 2021. Meanwhile, project managers came in at 33% and people managers at 35%.
“Managers report more stress and burnout and worse physical well-being and work-life balance than people they manage,” according to Gallup.
While it’s never a good thing to have burned-out managers (or any burned-out employees, for that matter), Gallup pointed out that this is especially bad in the current workplace climate.
“Amid the current massive labor market changes, an organization’s culture and employment brand matters more than ever in attracting star employees,” they said.
Gallup also reported that 48% of American workers are “either actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.” As they pointed out, during a time like this, when the labor market is so precarious, and companies want to attract new employees, it’s important to have top-notch managers. Burnout could hinder their performance and ability to recruit.
There are many reasons managers could find themselves burned out.
There is definitely no one easy answer to solving burnout among managers or to why that burnout exists in the first place. TikTok content creator Phillip M. Holmes addressed some of the reasons middle managers may find themselves burned out.
The first issue Holmes brought up for middle managers was that “their opinions are constantly ignored and dismissed.” Holmes noted that these managers are some of the most knowledgeable about the organization they work for, but superiors are slow to listen to them.
Another problem is that middle managers are “promoted without any leadership training.” Holmes argued that no one actually teaches middle managers how to manage, so they are left to figure it out themselves. This can lead to obvious problems for an organization and its employees.
The third and final problem Holmes addressed was that of managers being “underappreciated and overworked.” “Middle managers are the first to be blamed when things go wrong and the last ones to be credited when things go right,” he said.
Managers are far from the only employees experiencing burnout.
While it is interesting to note that managers face the highest risk of burnout among employees, this does not mean that other workers are immune. In fact, burnout in the workplace is a growing problem for everyone, per the American Psychological Association.
“According to APA’s 2021 Work and Well-being survey of 1,501 U.S. adult workers, 79% of employees had experienced work-related stress in the month before the survey,” they said. “Nearly three in five employees reported negative impacts of work-related stress, including lack of interest, motivation or energy (26%) and lack of effort at work (19%).”
Clearly, burnout is a universal problem for all employees that is disproportionately affecting managers. Addressing this is important, as ignoring it would likely lead to even more resignations than we are already seeing in the workforce.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer who covers workplace issues, psychology news and human interest topics.