The World Health Organisation defines workplace burnout as an “occupational phenomenon”. It is the result of chronic workplace stress and is characterised by:

Energy depletion or exhaustion
Feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
Reduced professional efficacy

Burnout is on the rise with surveys identifying that over 40% of workers impacted in their workplace. Furthermore, the annual healthcare costs associated are between $125-$190 Billion and the impact on corporations concerning productivity and absenteeism continue to rise.

Burnout is associated specifically with the culture of the workplace. Employees who are “burnt out” identify unfair treatment, unmanageable workload, lack of role clarity, absence of support from their leader and unreasonable time pressure as the major issues.

Workplace burnout is preventable if an organisation is serious about maximising the potential of their human capital. Taking an individualised approach to optimising performance that includes daily monitoring of the physiological and psychological state of employees will make a positive difference.

Prevention is always superior to cure, and by monitoring employees daily, we can work with individuals to enhance critical variables such as sleep, physical activity, nutrition and stress management which may offer protection from burnout.