What Does Employee Burnout Look Like, and How Can You Support Your Workforce?

Workplace burnout affects organisations across all sectors, leading to lower productivity levels and an unhappy working environment. People who experience burnout may feel they have no choice but to leave their roles and seek other work to reduce stress. However, the challenges of job hunting can further compound the effects of burnout, as people are placed in new roles before they’ve had a chance to recover.

This guide will help managers, employers and recruiters understand what burnout is, how to spot it and provide strategies to reduce burnout in the workforce.

What is burnout at work?

Burnout at work refers to mental, emotional and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged workplace stress and can manifest in various ways.

It’s common to experience stress at work, but it’s often temporary. Normal stressors include competing deadlines, an upcoming performance review or difficulties managing work-life balance. These challenges usually have an end date or can be addressed with a few minor adjustments.

Burnout is more significant and has a more severe and long-term impact on mental health. For charities and other organisations, high levels of burnout can lead to employee dissatisfaction and increased exit rates. Reduced vacancies and growing candidate numbers mean burnout is on the rise, also driven by a lack of resources and individuals taking on heavier workloads and emotional labour.

Nonprofits, in particular, face complex pressures that can put charity workers at higher risk of burnout. While people who work in charities do so because they love it, there’s no denying it can be hard, both emotionally and physically. 

The charity sector also struggles with resource constraints that can lead individuals to take on multiple roles. Additionally, research shows that women are more at risk of burnout. With the nonprofit sector workforce consisting primarily of women, this means charities have several unique factors to consider when identifying and preventing burnout.

Recognising employee burnout early is key to addressing stress before it becomes debilitating. However, spotting burnout isn’t always easy, as it can manifest differently. 

Symptoms can present as mental, physical and behavioural, and tend to be consistent. For example, someone who is tired due to a sickness bug will likely feel better after a good night’s rest, whereas someone experiencing burnout will be consistently exhausted for a prolonged period.

Seven signs of burnout

Burnout can be difficult to identify if you don’t know what to look for. We’ve outlined seven common signs of burnout to look out for in employees and candidates; a person may exhibit one or more of these.

 1. Chronic exhaustion and low energy

A person could look physically tired, with dark circles under the eyes, sluggish movements or persistent yawning. More subtle signs of reduced energy could be taking steps to counteract it, such as drinking more coffee than usual.

2. Reduced productivity and disengagement

Workload could be affected because someone is struggling to keep up with the level of work they’d previously been able to manage. Perhaps they used to put their hand up to volunteer for extra tasks or take part in team activities, but no longer want to get involved.

3. Unusual absenteeism or presenteeism

Burnt-out individuals may have been a lively part of the team, but now they are noticeably absent and keep to themselves. For some people, the opposite occurs. A person may overcompensate at their own expense when they feel guilty for what they perceive as ‘not doing enough’.

4. Emotional detachment or cynicism

Emotional regulation can be challenging for those experiencing burnout. Look out for out-of-character remarks, sarcasm or a glazed-over look in their eyes. These could indicate an attempt to protect their emotions or cover up feelings of instability.

5. Difficulty concentrating or decision-making

Extra support might be needed, even if help isn’t requested. It may be obvious to managers and colleagues that someone is struggling to make decisions and get things done, which may require others to step in.

6. Physical manifestations of stress

The physical signs of burnout can be harder to notice, as people may take steps to hide them. Many people with burnout experience sleep issues, which you wouldn’t notice at work unless it presented as extreme tiredness. Others may experience persistent headaches, pushing through them with painkillers or taking time off if they become unbearable.

 7. Withdrawal from colleagues or team culture

People struggling with burnout are sometimes perceived as behaving antisocially. They may avoid team socials, sit alone at lunch or refrain from contributing to discussions. These behaviours are not acts of defiance, but rather a complete lack of energy that prevents them from engaging in non-essential activities.

How to manage employee burnout

When dealing with burnout, employers should offer immediate support and realistic solutions to prevent burnout in the future.

Short-term support strategies

Short-term solutions should be practical and effective, rather than quick fixes that provide temporary relief while ignoring the root causes of burnout.

• Encourage open, empathetic conversations to improve psychological safety. This will help people feel comfortable sharing their worries and stresses, which can then be addressed.
• Adjust workload or deadlines to ease pressure and reassure people that they can push back if they have too many competing demands.
• Encourage people to take regular time off to recharge and enjoy life outside of work. Check they’re taking proper breaks throughout the workday, whether it’s stepping outside or sitting quietly to enjoy a hot drink.
• Provide immediate access to support, such as talking therapies or other mental health resources.

 Long-term burnout prevention strategies

When it’s clear that burnout is a persistent challenge, it’s time to implement real changes that have a long-term positive impact on the workforce, both for existing employees and new hires.

• Review workload and role responsibilities, especially for those experiencing the multi-role strain often seen in charities.
• Build a culture of psychological safety to reassure employees they can speak up about concerns without negative repercussions.
• Train managers and recruiters to spot and handle burnout.
• Set realistic expectations and boundaries that allow people to feel better levels of control.
• Offer flexible working arrangements, where possible, such as work-from-home days or part-time hours.
• Encourage employees to set boundaries at work to protect their well-being.
• Set up regular check-ins and encourage feedback loops.

Lowering employee stress in the workplace

As stress is the primary cause of workplace burnout, employers, HR and recruiters can implement several practices to mitigate it.

• Set clear role expectations.
• Ensure a fair workload distribution and review and adjust as needed.
• Set up processes for employee recognition and celebration.
• Reward employees by creating opportunities to have fun and take a break from the difficulties their roles create.
• Outline clear development opportunities, including training and job pathways, to help employees envision a long-term career.
• Set a standard of strong internal communication to provide clarity.

Burnout in the charity sector: Why it’s different

The charity sector faces unique pressures that can lead to higher rates of burnout in employees. Charities often have limited funding and resources, which can lead to employees fulfilling multiple roles that would otherwise be covered by several people in organisations with larger budgets and more tools at their disposal. 

The nature of charity work itself can have a significant impact on employees, who often take on additional emotional labour from the people they help, and grapple with systemic problems, leading to compassion fatigue. Hours are often long, with employees facing physically demanding tasks and mentally taxing challenges with every shift.

To help employees cope, many charities provide ‘resilience training’. While this training is well-intentioned, it often implies that it’s each employee’s responsibility to become more resilient, which doesn’t solve the factors that lead to stress and burnout. Providing employees with tools to look after themselves is important, but charities should adopt tailored burnout-prevention strategies to improve retention and mitigate burnout among their valuable workforce.

At CharityJob, we’ve been hearing more about burnout from recruiters, who recognise a heightened risk when cuts and redundancies lead to candidates covering multiple roles. Burnout shouldn’t be an issue from day one, or even before a candidate is hired. Rather, nonprofits should look inward at the stress-inducing factors and create realistic solutions to ensure that new and existing employees have as few stressors as possible, which could include limiting workloads, flexible working arrangements or improved mental health support.

Employee burnout FAQs

Can burnout be prevented?

Unfortunately, employee burnout can’t be 100% prevented. However, implementing the practices and strategies outlined in this guide can help mitigate its impact and equip employers with tools to manage burnout when it occurs.

How long does it take to recover from burnout?

Burnout recovery time varies by individual, depending on the factors that led to extreme stress and its severity. Some people feel better after just a few weeks, while others can take months. As an employer, it’s important to show employees you value their personal well-being as well as their output at work.

Support your workforce with CharityJob

Recruiting for a nonprofit is made more challenging when you’re seeing an increased number of candidates coming from a place of burnout or entering a workforce that is under pressure. CharityJob gives you the tools to find the right talent for your vacancies, reduce strain and the risk of burnout in your team.

Post a job with CharityJob Apply and get free access to our end-to-end Applicant Tracking System (ATS) tools designed to improve applicant diversity. Our ATS allows you to filter CVs with keyword searches, communicate with candidates, and evaluate applicants for the best cultural fit.

We offer four job ad packages to suit your needs and budget. Choosing the right package is important because it determines the pool size, type and quality of candidates your ad will reach.

If you’re not sure which is right for your non-profit organisation, contact us for personalised advice. Give us a call on 020 8939 8430, or email us at info@charityjob.co.uk