Burnout caused by global perma-crisis is viewed as a major medical risk for organisations in the year ahead, according to a report from medical and security services firm International SOS.
Its annual Risk Outlook 2024 report, released today, points to burnout as the predicted leading concern for organisations in 2024, with a 80% of surveyed global senior risk professionals expecting it will have a significant impact on businesses in the next year.
Only 41% of the respondents feel that their organisations are equipped to deal with the issue.
The Risk Outlook 2024 report was based on a survey of 675 global senior risk professionals, conducted by Ipsos MORI, to lay out the biggest predicted concerns for businesses in the coming year.
The higher stress was believed to be caused by the ‘perma-crisis’ hitting much of the globe.
“In recent years, as the disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic began to subside, the emergence of the Ukraine/Russia conflict unleashed new waves of supply chain and service disruptions across various industries,” International SOS said.
“With these ongoing stressors accumulating without respite, the risk of employee burnout is becoming increasingly tangible.
“The report’s findings noted that organisations have experienced a noticeable surge in stress-related absences.
“Surveyed respondents emphasise that the perceived risk level for the next 12 months is the highest ever recorded – 65% believe that global risks will continue to grow in 2024 – compounding their crisis management fatigue beyond pre-pandemic levels.”
Other key findings from the report include the risks and opportunities of AI, with more than 40% of respondents saying they were worried about the effect of medical misinformation and disinformation on their workforces.
Climate change is also identified as a threat to health as well as security. More than 25% of organisations reported that they have already seen their operations affected by climate-related events.
But of higher concern was the continuation of geopolitical disruption and instability, with 75% of respondents believing their organisations will face significant impacts from it in 2024.
Sally Llewellyn, global security director, International SOS, said: “Organisations will have many risks to address in 2024, as instability continues to be a key theme of the global security environment.
“The near-continuous pace of crises makes it even more challenging for organisations to navigate. Crisis management teams have been running consistently since Covid, creating a real risk of burnout in this critical function.
“Being proactive regarding risk management will be key as many surveyed expect the risks companies are facing to increase in 2024.
“Partnering with other organisations or experts can help organisations understand which risks – and their second or third order impacts – they are most likely to face based on geographic reach, industry or travel patterns.
“Forewarning enables organisations to proactively plan for or mitigate likely risks. Building resilience within crisis management functions is also important.
“Expanding pools of leaders able to step in during crises and empowering them through sound training is critical to ensuring perma-crisis does not derail wider business operations.”