Employee Wellbeing at Work: From Burnout to Thriving

There are so many new descriptions for how employees feel about work these days that it’s hard to keep up. Sadly, many workforce experts, polling firms, and other leaders define the current mood as unfavorable.
Burnout, languishing, hopelessness, and quiet quitting have been highlighted, depending on where you look. It’s as if we’ve all agreed that we’re dealing with a collectively checked-out workforce.
What’s driving all the negativity? Some have described it as employees feeling a constant crisis. There are a whole range of issues, including the lingering disruption brought on by a global pandemic, economic pressures, social and political unrest, uncertainty about the world economy, and violence in the Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine. There’s also confusion about the value of all the flexibility created since the pandemic. Some employees, while still appreciating flex time and work-from-home options, still worry about a lack of connection to their team and leaders.
The good news is that many organizations are working hard to reverse the trends – often with an increased focus on employee wellbeing. Many leaders are beginning to recognize that for employees to thrive again, they need to feel heard and supported by managers who are empathetic and invested in their success.
New Research on Employee and Manager Wellbeing Indicates Employees Are Not Okay
New research conducted by The Grossman Group in partnership with The Harris Poll explored the factors that lead to burnout and thriving. The constant pace of change and a variety of new demands are contributing to widespread burnout among employees and managers today.
More than 75% of employees and 63% of managers report feeling burned out or ambivalent in their current position. Yet managers don’t recognize just how overwhelmed their employees feel, with 89% saying their employees are thriving compared to the actual number of 24%. That’s more than a 3-to-1 discrepancy.
The research finds the biggest driver of burnout for both groups is “a great deal of constant change.” Other factors include unnecessary work from senior leadership, employees frequently having to shift focus throughout the day, and high turnover rates that often lead to even more work for those left behind.