How Employee Burnout Can Harm Your Business: Key Insights and Prevention Tips

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According to Emplify, about 95% of HR practitioners in the US admit that employee burnout is a real issue that disrupts overall workforce performance. Sadly, some employers misunderstand employee burnout. They tend to equate it to laziness and a ploy to remain unproductive. However, it’s a combination of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion which can reduce an individual's sense of accomplishment. Thankfully, since 2019, employee burnout has become a medically recognized diagnosis. Are you interested in knowing how it can affect your business? Please read about it here.

It affects employee mental health

Your employees are the main drivers of your business empire. Something that bothers them enough to affect their performance may spell doom for your establishment. Employees showing signs of burnout will most likely be absent from work frequently. On the other hand, those who report to work usually feel no obligation to perform their daily duties as required. Others who can’t deal with it will likely jump ship to work elsewhere as an alternative.

When this happens over a long period, your business suffers because people who are supposed to be productive have no interest in doing so. People's mental well-being tends to be overlooked in many instances. That explains the need for more employers to accept employee mental health as a crucial issue capable of making or breaking a business. More so, the World Health Organization added its voice to this global problem by renaming it an 'occupational phenomenon.'

It negatively impacts business finances 

According to Forbes, unresolved employee burnout costs US companies between $80 and $100 billion annually. As unbelievable as this may sound, it’s an indisputable truth facing the American economy. Besides, what makes it even more terrifying is that 1 in every 5 American adults suffers employee burnout, leading to mental illness. Indeed, the financial impact on business is glaring, and the sooner you deal with it, the better it will be in the long run.

Unfortunately, there’s a belief that companies that spend more on addressing employee burnout lose out on profits. However, a study that our founder, Michael Levitt, did with McLean & Company proves otherwise. Viewing employee burnout as a corporate issue can be the key to unraveling unexplored profit potential. For example, if the poor organizational structure is the major underlying cause of high burnout, setting it right motivates workers to perform better. If not, your bottom line will suffer the most, which wouldn't augur well for business finances.

Burnout flows over to the customer


Especially because employees are front liners dealing with customers, their burnout will inadvertently affect customer service. No, that’s not something you want to happen when your revenue source depends on client patronage.

The chances of an unhappy or exhausted employee treating a customer unsatisfactorily are high. Consciously or unconsciously, the employee will sabotage all attempts to create a positive customer experience. When that happens, the customer forms negative perceptions about your entire company, and at this point, you’ll begin to lose loyalty.

Although employee burnout is an individual issue, you should focus on your company's working conditions as they affect the overall business. Something you're not doing right could be making your workers feel overwhelmed and undervalued.