Burnout: The hidden workplace hazard putting safety at risk
Chronic occupational stress leading to burnout poses a significant risk not only to health but also to workplace safety, says Becky Spencer.
At one point or another, most people have felt stressed out by their work. In many cases, once the pressure decreases, say when a deadline has been met or a task finished, the stress eases. But for a growing number of workers, the stress never eases, resulting in them suffering from burnout.
What is burnout?
Burnout happens when workplace stress is not addressed and continues over a period of time. An employee suffering from burnout is in a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Symptoms include feeling tired and exhausted all the time, insomnia, physical aches and pains, loss of interest and enjoyment, and persistent feelings of dread, worry and anxiety.
Burnout severely impacts someone’s ability to function adequately at work. Employees suffering burnout will often feel overwhelmed, have difficulty concentrating, be full of self-doubt about their ability to do their job, have a cynical/negative outlook about their job and decreased performance and productivity. They will often work longer hours and skip breaks and holidays to try and stay on top of their work, which only adds to their exhaustion and feeling of failure.
Burnout is not a medical condition but it is well-known that the chronic work-related stress that causes it can result in many health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart problems, stroke, depression, anxiety, musculoskeletal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Burnout as a safety risk
What is not so widely discussed is the role that burnout can play in accidents and injuries occurring in the workplace. Yet, when you look at the main characteristics of burnout, it is obvious why it can present a significant safety risk.
Physical exhaustion: People suffering from burnout often have problems sleeping, feel completely physically exhausted, suffer aches and pains and generally just feel fatigued. Fatigue slows reaction times, reduces alertness, increases clumsiness and significantly affects concentration and focus, all of which increase the likelihood of errors and unsafe behaviours occurring.
Mental and emotional exhaustion: The emotional and mental toll of burnout can make workers less alert, inconsistent, feel inadequate and suffer self-doubt, which can lead to poor judgement and risk assessment leading to errors.
Most research which has examined burnout as a safety risk focuses on healthcare workers, with many studies directly linking burnout in doctors and nurses to an increased risk of patient safety incidents, such as medication errors. There have also been many reported cases of exhausted healthcare workers being involved in road traffic accidents after working long hours under excessive pressure.
But of course, burnout can present a safety risk in many occupations and is particularly dangerous in safety-critical roles, driving roles, those involving operating machinery, and in high-risk industries such as construction and logistics where lapses of concentration or alertness can quickly lead to serious, even fatal, injuries.
So how prevalent is burnout among UK employees?
A survey of over 3,000 workers found 63 per cent had experienced at least one characteristic of burnout – feeling of exhaustion, mental distance from their job, or decline in performance at work – in the previous 12 months (a 12 per cent increase from the previous survey in 2021). Around a quarter of these workers had experienced two of these characteristics and 12 per cent had experienced all three.
More recently, burnout research from the charity Mental Health UK found one in five workers believe their productivity or performance has been impacted by high levels of pressure or stress (19 per cent of these workers had not disclosed their high levels of pressure or stress to their employer).
Looking at specific sectors, a 2024 survey found 13 per cent of UK construction workers report experiencing burnout (although this is likely to be vastly underreported when you consider the estimated prevalence of mental health issues in the sector), and in the transport and logistics sector, a recent survey of UK commercial truck and van drivers found 88 per cent report that work-related stress negatively impacts their ability to perform their role safely.
Burnout will not go away on its own, the chronic stress that is causing it has to be addressed. It is important to emphasise that burnout is not a problem with an employee’s work ethic; it is a problem caused by stressors in the workplace which have not been successfully managed by their employer. In 2023/24, 776,000 workers in all kinds of jobs reported suffering from work-related stress, depression or anxiety. That’s a lot of people who are potentially on their way to suffering from burnout, if they aren’t already. Employers have the power to prevent this.
What can employers do?
Burnout is often a hidden problem in organisations, one which doesn’t get much attention from employers until a worker is signed-off sick or is involved in an accident. This is surprising really because the causes of chronic stress that lead to burnout are so well-known and preventable – heavy workload, working long hours, lack of control in a job, unreasonable time pressures and lack of support from management and colleagues are just some of them. By focusing on these areas and intervening early if an employee is showing signs of stress, employers can prevent burnout happening in the first place and in doing so reduce the risk of accidents happening.
Actions employers can take to prevent burnout include:
Create a healthy workplace culture. Have conversations about mental health, talk about potential stressors in the workplace, make sure employees know who/where to turn to if they are feeling under excessive pressure at work. Mental health conversations at work help overcome the stigma surrounding workplace stress. Mental Health UK’s burnout report highlighted that a silence about stress in the workplace contributes to employees developing burnout.
Employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. There is a lot of guidance available to help do this. Stress risk assessments should be reviewed regularly.
Train line managers to recognise the signs of stress and to have conversations with their team about potential stressors in the workplace and any challenges they are facing with their work.
Have a strategy, policy or plan for employee mental health that is proactively implemented and regularly reviewed. Adjust policies and practices based on employee feedback and changing work conditions.
Burnout is often misunderstood and stigmatised. This has to change, not only to protect employees’ health and wellbeing but also to prevent accidents and injuries occurring.
RoSPA offers a range of NEBOSH training courses focused on health, safety and risk management. These qualifications equip professionals with the knowledge and skills to identify hazards, conduct effective risk assessments and foster a safer, healthier working environment. Find out more at: www.rospa.com/shop/health-and-safety-courses/nebosh-courses