Research indicates UK employees at risk of burning out

Workers in the UK are at real risk of burning out due to an inability to switch off when at home, according to a recently published study.

What this study clearly reveals is that the line between home and working life is blurred for many people. 80% of the workers that took part in it stated that they had not been able to find a better balance between the two during the last five years. Examples of that problem cited in the study included having to reply to work emails when they were ill and logging onto work systems while on holiday.

The study was conducted by BHN Extras, a platform for employee benefits and engagement. It was intended to find out how happy and positive employees in the UK feel about their work situations. In response, almost half said that they were dealing with work emails while on leave, and 39% said that they did so when unwell.

Ryan Tahmassebi from the Workbuzz engagement platform told HR Magazine that:

“It’s a dangerous myth that HR should own work/life balance in isolation; this is a cultural issue, not a standalone initiative.”

Making the necessary cultural changes can be a difficult process for companies though. One option they have is to bring in a company culture consultancy from outside to help with it.

Tahmassebi went on to say that the process needs to begin at management level. Managers have to show what a strong work/life balance looks like and then implement it throughout their companies.