New Survey Reveals Decrease in U.S. Employee Burnout, Yet Levels Still Concerningly High

New Survey Reveals Decrease in U.S. Employee Burnout: According to new research by Eagle Hill Consulting, the rate of employee fatigue in the U.S. workforce remains high (45%), but is decreasing.

The rate of burnout has decreased over the past year (49% in August 2022) and significantly since the beginning of the pandemic (58% in August 2020). 52% of younger employees and 48% of female workers continue to report the highest levels of burnout.

New Survey Reveals Decrease in U.S. Employee Burnout

Workers who experience burnout cite their burden (51%), staff shortages (45%), and balancing personal and professional life (42%) as the leading causes of burnout. Sixty-seven percent of employees believe a four-day work week would reduce stress, followed by a reduction in workload and increased flexibility (both at 65 percent) and working from home (56 percent).

When queried about Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), the majority of workers (62%) do not anticipate that the emerging technology will have an impact on their stress levels at work. Nonetheless, a growing body of research indicates that, when deployed appropriately, AI can enhance worker efficiency and output. Millennials (30%) and male employees (27%) are the most likely to believe that AI can reduce workplace tension.

Ipsos administered the 2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Workforce Burnout Survey between August 3 and August 8, 2023. The survey received 1,347 responses from a random sample of U.S. employees.

Since the high stress days of the pandemic, worker burnout levels have been consistently declining, according to Melissa Jezior, president and chief executive officer of Eagle Hill Consulting. “However, employers should not be complacent when it comes to reducing employee fatigue. As more employees are required to return to in-person employment, the rate of burnout could increase incrementally. While employees value in-person work, they have expressed concerns about work-life balance and commuting periods.

“And for the first time, we polled workers about the potential impact of AI on their stress levels,” Jezior explained. As more businesses adopt Generative AI, this will be a crucial issue to monitor. AI has the potential to help employees complete more tasks in less time, thereby increasing the value of their organisations. However, if managed improperly, it could increase rather than reduce employee stress.”

Additional survey results include the following:

Eighty-four percent of those who experience burnout as a result of staffing shortages said the impact is covering the burden for unfilled positions. 39% stated that the impact is assisting others learn their job, 36% stated that it is training new hires, and 22% stated that it is recruiting and interviewing new hires.

Employees who report burnout are less comfortable informing their manager or employer that they feel burned out than they were six months ago, with 57% of employees indicating they are open to the conversation, a decrease of 5% since August 2022.

Sixty-seven percent of employees responded that a four-day work week would help reduce burnout. Other solutions included increased flexibility (65%), decreased workload (65%), improved health and wellness advantages (60%) working from home (56%), reduced administrative burdens (53%), additional on-site amenities (50%) and the ability to relocate or work from multiple locations (39%).

32% of the workforce intends to quit their current position within the next 12 months.