Worker burnout and disconnection are widespread, survey shows

Chicago — A large majority of workers are either burned out or feel ambivalent about their job, results of a recent survey show.

On behalf of The Grossman Group, a leadership and communications consultancy, researchers at The Harris Poll surveyed more than 1,100 employees and nearly 1,000 managers about their attitudes toward work.

Seventy-six percent of the workers said they feel burned out or ambivalent. So did 63% of the managers – yet 89% of them believe their workers are “thriving.”

The top reasons the workers cited for feeling burned out:

• Constant change
• Unnecessary work from senior leadership
• Having to shift focus frequently during the workday

High turnover rates, which can leave more work for “those left behind,” were also cited.

Managers pointed to constant change as a reason for their own burnout or ambivalence. Other reasons: a disconnect between their organization’s “stated values” and the workplace culture, as well as having to frequently work outside standard business hours.

“These findings are a wake-up call,” David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, said in a press release. “Clearly, employees are not OK, and yet that’s often not recognized by senior leadership or the frontline leaders whose job it is to support and engage their teams.

“The new north star for organizations needs to be building a thriving workforce. When burned-out managers get more support, a more reasonable workload and more flexibility, they can be reenergized and move from burned out to thriving.”