With employees devoting almost two-thirds of their time on the job, workplace burnouts are on the rise. What would it take for businesses, teams, and people to succeed in the coming year?

A never-ending to-do list

COVID-19 has affected all 1.35 billion knowledge workers on this planet. The way in which we work has also changed drastically with this pandemic. One of which being, despite working for longer hours (213 more than in 2019 on average), the number of missed deadlines are also growing. Staff all over the world are burning out in greater numbers than ever before, fueled by the ever-growing to-do lists. This is likely to get worse, with the majority of employees not planning to take the necessary time off to recharge.

Your mental health suffers in the long-run

In 2019, the World Health Organization classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress.

In 2020, the number of workers assessing their mental health as poor, or very poor, rose from 5% to 18%, with 42% rating their stress levels as high or very high.

According to a survey conducted by Asana, 7 in 10 (71%) experienced burnout at least once in the past year. With experts suggesting that the long term mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will outlast the physical health effects , organizations must understand, address and eliminate the root causes of burnout. Nearly half (46%) of respondents cite being overworked as a key factor contributing to burnout, with one in three (29%) feeling overworked from a lack of clarity on tasks and roles. 

The way forward

As teams search for balance, their number one request to the C-Suite is greater flexibility on where and when they work. But these issues can’t be resolved without meaningful changes to how we work. Businesses must take action to become nimble and agile moving ahead. 

Source: Anatomy of Work Index 2021 

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