Ensuring line managers regularly review employees’ workload, introducing engagement surveys and reviewing their occupational health provision are just some of the ways employers can guard against employee burnout.
Health & Protection kicked off the week by reporting on research which drew a link between working excessive hours and increased chances of having a stroke or developing heart disease.
A further separate survey revealed sectors where workers said they worked too hard.
Blurring lines between work and home life
It appears workers have been guilty of blurring the lines between their work and home life during lockdown and Claire Ginnelly, managing director at Premier Choice Group, notes she has seen the problem first hand in her own email inbox.
“I get emails from many people, including service teams at insurers, very early in the morning or later in the evening and they are clearly outside of normal working hours,” she says.
“Although home working has brought many benefits which I hope will stay with us, there are downsides too which need addressing.
“For many people now there is no distinction between home life and work, especially if they do not have a dedicated office space at home.”
Dr Julie Denning, managing director at Working to Wellbeing, told Health & Protection her organisation has heard from workers, particularly during lockdown, where there is no other outlet of activity.
And she has found numerous instances where people are working during hours gained from not commuting into the office.
“So for example continuing until 6.30pm because that would have been the time they would have arrived home previously,” she says.
“Across the week an employee could easily be working 5-10 hours extra just as a result of non-commuting working.
“This again sets unrealistic expectations for when returning to the office and the commute starts again, but also begs the question, why do they feel compelled to work during this time anyway?”
To effectively monitor and deal with the problem, Denning suggests employers discuss an employee’s workload and job demands regularly to ensure they are being listened to, that their experience is taken seriously and to make adjustments accordingly.
Managers’ working practices
Debra Clark, head of specialist consulting at Towergate Health & Protection, suggests employers run engagement or pulse surveys and ask about their employees’ hours of work so they can identify if people are overworking.
“It’s also a good idea to include a question about whether managers follow company guidelines on working hours etc. This will give you a base line reading as to the extent of the issue in your business.”
This is echoed by Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII) executive chairman Dave Middleton.
He emphasises that managers have a key part to play in ensuring their direct reports have a good work-life balance and should be in constant contact to ensure this.
He adds that downtime and peer support are also vital as well as regular catch-up with colleagues.
For Christine Husbands, managing director at RedArc Nurses, employers need to proactively encourage a more healthy work-life balance and ensure good quality support services are in place to enable those struggling to cope get the right professional help and support.
“The increase in mental ill health means that a short course of counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy will not be enough for many and a more holistic approach addressing the underlying elements of wellbeing is needed to be effective.”
Reviewing occupational health provision
There may also be a need to review occupational health provision and take a more pro-active rather than traditional reactive approach.
“Historically, OH has been used as a reaction to an episode, but we believe a structured service should be in place to monitor health and wellbeing,” says Steve Ellis, head of employee benefit consulting at Prosperis.
“For employees who work online at home, employers may consider monitoring the hours that e-mail accounts are available and disable them once a certain daily threshold is reached.
“The hidden issue of employees who have more than one job will be harder to monitor. This makes it vital that line managers and employers are aware of the warning signs of working excessive hours.
“Communication between employer and employee remains vital to ensure that expectation of working hours is clear.”
Ultimately, Steve Herbert, head of benefits strategy at Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing, says employers really need to recognise that asking their workers to “go the extra mile” can potentially have a significant health and wellbeing impact which must not be ignored.
“This is further evidence of the need to provide employees – wherever they are based – with access to the full range of employee benefits and associated wellbeing tools that all good employers will already be offering.
“It’s also worth noting that, contrary to popular belief, the damaging impact of stress – such as that which might be associated with a long-hours culture – often falls disproportionately on more junior employees rather than senior grades.
“It follows that employers who are currently operating a long-hours culture need to ensure that all their employee benefits and wellbeing tools are available to workers of all grades and at all times to minimise the impact of any extra stress from long-hours worked, or indeed the other usual pressures of life and work.”