How to recognise the signs of burnout

Burnout symptoms can begin when workplace stress affects employees' quality of life and well-being. Some stress can be healthy, motivating your staff to achieve their goals or meet work deadlines. However, this should be manageable and short-term. If constant pressure and stress become the norm, it can lead to emotional exhaustion, behavioural changes and physical health issues.

When evaluating levels of workplace stress, consider whether your staff regularly work late, forgo breaks, or take on heavy workloads, or whether these are temporary measures required to hit a financial target, complete a project, or prepare a vital pitch. If they're part of everyday life, your team may be experiencing chronic stress and be at risk of workplace burnout.

Job burnout can affect an employee's mental health to the extent that they are unable to perform at their previous level and may consider leaving their role, or the workplace, altogether. Burnout can cause ongoing mental health issues and emotional exhaustion that have long-term effects.

Burnout can result in a lengthy sickness absence or may lead to resignation or early retirement. This can be stressful for an employee, both personally and financially and further affect their mental health. From a business perspective, you'll lose a valued employee, either temporarily or permanently. Hiring temporary support can be costly. If you ask the rest of your team to cover their absent colleague's work, that can increase their stress levels.

If an employee resigns or takes medical retirement, you'll need to invest in recruiting and training their replacement.

The symptoms of burnout are wide-ranging, and you may not automatically associate them with mental health issues or prolonged stress. The symptoms of occupational burnout can be physical, emotional and behavioural. Some might be difficult to spot unless an employee feels able to confide in a colleague or manager. There's also a risk that an employee puts their symptoms down to stress or another mental health problem like depression or anxiety, and doesn't realise that they're tipping into chronic stress and burnout.

Here are a few symptoms of burnout so you can spot the signs and help your employees identify them themselves.

Physical symptoms

Physical and mental health issues can co-exist, and one may cause the other, meaning it can be challenging to identify the underlying cause of any particular symptom. While an employee might see their NHS GP about some issues, you likely won't know anything about them unless they choose to tell you. For example, high blood pressure can be a sign of burnout, but it may have a purely physical cause.

Here are a few common physical signs of burnout, along with ways you might spot them in your employees.

Tiredness and exhaustion

Mental health issues and burnout can cause extreme tiredness and exhaustion, and can be associated with regular insomnia or sleep disruption. A lack of quality sleep can impair performance, mood and concentration in itself, but it can also be a sign of prolonged stress and burnout. It's a good idea to look for changes, so if an employee starts arriving at work looking tired or worn out when they'd normally be well rested, it could be a sign of burnout.

Of course, there could be other reasons for tiredness, such as a lifestyle change or other health issues. Creating an environment where staff feel able to share any changes in circumstances that may impact their sleep and overall performance helps your managers offer the right support.

Physical ailments

Burnout symptoms can include other physical complaints that might not be immediately obvious. However, you might notice if someone starts to struggle with their movement or breathing, or if there is a change in appetite.

Understanding the symptoms of burnout can help you identify potential issues, but sharing information with your team enables them to monitor their mental health and identify links to physical symptoms.

Some common physical symptoms can include:

• Reoccuring headaches
• Pain in joints and muscles
• Digestive issues, including a loss of appetite or nausea
• Frequent minor ailments due to a reduced immune system
• High blood pressure
• Difficulty breathing

Of course, these symptoms may have any number of potential causes, so it's always worth encouraging staff to seek medical advice if you're concerned about their health.

Emotional symptoms

Emotional exhaustion is a common symptom of burnout, but emotional symptoms can be challenging for an observer to identify. They're not obviously visible unless they cause behavioural changes. Emotional symptoms are typically internalised and often associated with mental health issues. Your staff may be reluctant to speak openly for fear of being stigmatised. It's important to include emotional health in mental health training sessions so that employees can identify the symptoms of poor mental health and seek support. Next, we'll examine how behavioural and emotional symptoms can be linked.

Here are some common emotional symptoms that can arise from stress and burnout.

• Feelings of helplessness or being overwhelmed
• Self-doubt or low self-esteem
• Feeling detached from their friends and colleagues
• Decreased motivation or increased negativity
• A loss of interest and enjoyment in their work or other activities they previously enjoyed
• A reduced sense of satisfaction or pride in their work or other activities
• Persistent and intrusive worry or feelings of anxiety

Behavioural symptoms

As we've mentioned, behavioural changes can often be symptoms of poor mental health caused by job burnout or other issues. Changes can be sudden or a gradual process, but they're often the only outward sign that something is wrong. There are various symptoms that can indicate burnout or another mental health issue. Let's look at some of the main categories.

Issues with concentration and focus

Stress and burnout syndrome can cause problems with an employee's concentration, focus and motivation. They may find that work they previously enjoyed and found satisfying no longer interests them. While the feelings themselves may not be visible, outward behavioural changes can help managers and colleagues identify a problem and offer support if the employee doesn't seek it out.

Changes in behaviour related to concentration and motivation are exactly the types of issues that managers must address during a routine performance review. You might notice that an employee's output or productivity has dropped compared to their previous performance or to their targets. It's usually easy to identify whether workers are office-based or home-based.

Alternatively, it may take workers longer than usual to complete tasks. If you're based in an office, you might notice that they spend more time chatting or completing non-essential tasks as a form of procrastination. This can be challenging to manage, but if a reliable employee shows a drop in productivity, they may be experiencing burnout.

Social withdrawal

Burnout can make an employee feel overwhelmed or alone, leading them to withdraw from social interactions with colleagues or to reject new responsibilities or job requirements. The way symptoms present will vary between employees. Some may reject opportunities that previously interested them, while others may withdraw from social interactions, such as lunches with colleagues or drinks after work. Other employees may naturally be more reserved, but will still be friendly and professional when discussing work projects. Changes could include increased irritability, leading to verbal outbursts or reduced patience with colleagues.

Other behavioural symptoms

Various other behavioural changes can indicate high or extreme levels of stress and potential burnout. Employees experiencing mental health challenges can turn to unhealthy habits as coping strategies. For example, they may use food as a source of comfort, or turn to drugs or alcohol to self-medicate. It would clearly be a serious matter if they arrived at work intoxicated, but they may put clear boundaries in place to avoid this. However, you may notice if they regularly snack at their desk or if there are other changes in their eating habits. Drug and alcohol use can cause other symptoms, which may also be signs of burnout. Clearly, these issues require careful and sensitive management.

Burnout can also lead to avoidance. If an employee associates their workplace with stress and pressure, they may seek to avoid it by regularly arriving late or calling in sick. Monitoring this behaviour can help you identify patterns and potential causes.

When it comes to mental health, prevention is better than cure. Providing employees with mental health support and resources to empower them to care for their mental well-being can help prevent burnout before it happens. That said, it's still important to ensure employees know when to seek support and that they can access treatment when needed.

Here are a few ways your business can support employees' mental health, prevent burnout and provide access to treatment.

Positive workplace culture

A positive, supportive workplace culture can foster a happy, productive workforce. Stimulating and satisfying work is a vital piece of the puzzle, as is a positive work-life balance.

In the workplace, regular workload assessments help you identify times when individual employees or teams have heavier-than-usual workloads and introduce measures to ensure it doesn't become the norm. Assessing whether staff are regularly working late without a clear reason may reveal a productivity issue or an unsustainable workload.

There are various ways to encourage employees to create a positive work-life balance. Flexible working hours or location can help staff manage their personal commitments and reduce stress. Managers can lead by example and normalise taking regular breaks, leaving work on time and using their full annual leave allowance to give staff time to relax away from work.

Training

Training on mental health and burnout can increase awareness of potential issues and educate staff on ways to improve their mental well-being. It can also make them aware of the signs and symptoms of stress and burnout so they can identify these in themselves and others.

Management training can include guidance on having difficult conversations around mental health and creating a positive workplace culture. It's also worth considering training mental health first aiders across the business. They're trained to start conversations and offer guidance to employees worried about themselves or a colleague.

Self-help resources

Providing staff with mental health and well-being resources empowers them to engage in self-care and seek out support that meets their needs. Resources can include articles and assessment tools to help them understand and monitor their mental health, along with details of charities and helplines where they can seek support. If you're creating a resource library, ensure you include only information from reliable sources, such as the NHS, other health professionals, and charities.

Some resources can link to training sessions. For example, you might run a class to teach staff how to practice mindfulness and provide access to mindfulness and meditation apps to help them build this into their daily lives.

Access to counselling

Professional counselling lets staff discuss their mental well-being concerns in confidence. This can help to prevent burnout or offer assistance during a crisis. An employee assistance programme (EAP) typically provides 8-10 counselling sessions and access to telephone helplines where staff can seek guidance on any legal or money worries. You can invest in a standalone EAP, or they're typically available with business health insurance.

Most health insurance policies also provide counselling sessions as standard. If you opt for enhanced coverage, employees can access more treatment sessions and a broader range of treatment options, including in-patient and out-patient care from psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals.

Invest in employee health insurance

As we've mentioned, business health insurance can provide your team with access to counselling and a range of treatment options depending on your chosen policy and coverage level. Most business policies also offer EAPs, either as part of their standard coverage or as an optional extra. The coverage available varies depending on the number of employees your business has and your chosen provider, so it's a good idea to speak with a broker to choose the right policy.

Health insurance also includes tools and resources to help you support your employees' mental well-being. Most insurers provide resource libraries that you can access even if you aren't a customer. They're well worth investigating if you want to build a resource library.

Many insurers offer health assessments with support to help employees build healthy habits and improve their lifestyle. These usually include a mental well-being assessment, so staff can seek support at an early stage if needed. Most policies also include a rewards programme with discounts on healthy-living products and services, as well as other perks, such as access to mindfulness apps and discounted gym memberships. Investing in health insurance can be a cost-effective way to provide your team access to a variety of well-being services and support.

Employee health insurance offers resources to support good mental health and quick access to treatment when needed. At Globacare, we help you choose the right health insurance for your needs and budget. Contact us today for tailored advice.