Burnout plaguing one-third of Canadians

“It’s not surprising though – considering we’re once again faced with extreme uncertainty as the pandemic rollercoaster continues. For so many of us, anxiety and exhaustion are at an all-time high,” she says.

Workers in the following industries are reporting levels of burnout higher than the national average, according to a Canada Life report:

health and patient care (53 per cent)
transportation (40 per cent)
finance, legal and insurance (39 per cent)
education and childcare (38 per cent)
first responders (36 per cent)

Nearly half of Canadians (48 per cent) say they are more stressed to start 2022 than during the first lockdowns in 2020, according to another report.

For front-line workers, the level of stress on the job is excepted to rise in 2022, according to a recent report done by Microsoft.

The study pointed to better compensation and vacations as some of the best ways to help manage that stress but the implementation of better technology was also seen as an important tool, even more so than mental health and wellbeing benefits.

Mental health support lacking

Only a third of respondents indicate their organization is committed to a low-stress environment, according to the study conducted by Mental Health Research Canada in December 2021.

“With the pandemic, it’s more important than ever for employers to consider new leadership approaches to help those employees most at risk of burnout. The consequences of not doing so are significant,” says Michael Cooper, vice-president of Mental Health Research Canada.

Asked to rank their organization’s support for mental health on a scale of one to 10, employees give an average rating of 4.4 — an “F” on the corresponding academic grading scale, according to another report.

For managers looking to help their direct reports, more training is needed, according to another study that found more than half of leaders are unaware of how to help and even to recognize signs or burnout.

But there are some behaviours to watch for, says one expert.

“Someone may speak less, somebody may participate less. You may notice that… they’re smiling less, showing less engagement with different projects or tasks. They might be avoiding you,” says Sandra Primiano, vice president of stay-at-work services at Homewood Health in Montreal.

To prevent burnout, there are several steps employers can take, according to Workplace Strategies for Mental Health, which include:

providing clear expectations for all employees
making sure employees have the necessary resources and skills to meet expectations
setting reasonable and realistic expectations.