The announcement that dating app Bumble will close its offices for a week to allow its employees to recover from “collective burnout” has brought worker stress to the forefront. Following a busy year that saw the firm go public on the New York Stock Exchange, Bumble advised its 700 global employees to focus on themselves. However, the Covid epidemic has left many employees frustrated and fatigued over the last 15 months due to the work disruption and uncertainty it has brought.
The barriers between work and leisure have blurred, uprooting daily life. So, how have employees dealt with burnout when they’ve been overworked?
Stay Away From Work When It Is Off-Time
“Burnout is something that comes with the job since it’s so fast-paced,” explains Amy Hanson, an IT helpdesk assistant at JMW Solicitors in Manchester. Amy is back at work full-time, but she claims she has “become exhausted with low energy and sort of forgotten how to talk to people” as a result of the pandemic. “I have a lot of stress issues, so I try to keep work and personal time separate.”
To cope with overwhelming feelings, Amy switches off her phone after work and attempts to complete “each task one by one.” Amy has sought treatment from the NHS and her workplace provides an online counselling service for employees. Amy has taken up the pastime of repairing gaming devices as a stress reliever, which she finds “quite peaceful.”
The Importance Of Outside Activity
Sarah Windrum is the owner of the Emerald Group, a Warwickshire-based IT support company with 20 employees. Sarah has tried to encourage her colleagues to communicate about their concerns and challenges since the outbreak began.
“We can’t give vacation like Bumble,” she continues, “but we do strive to have an open and honest communication with staff and make sure that everyone is taken care of.” “We recently had one member of staff who required additional time off to care for an elderly parent, so the rest of us picked up the burden, and I try to encourage everyone to assist each other out like this.”
This pressure was also felt by Sarah. She observed that she was always returning to her laptop after supper or after putting the kids to bed. “I was aware of my actions, but I just lacked the energy to change them. I needed to be aware of the demands “she explains.
Sarah realized she “needed some time away” from work and began strolling around the Warwickshire canals. “I knew I needed to be outside in some proper area because the walks are so revitalizing.”
How To Deal With Burnout
Control, according to experts, is the key to coping with burnout. “Not everyone has the choice of quitting their job,” says Siobhan Murray, author of The Burnout Solution. “But it’s about doing what you can with the areas you can manage.”
“It’s important that individuals take control of their environment to manage the hours they work and ensure that they’re socially connected,” says Cary Cooper, president of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and professor of organizational psychology and health at the University of Manchester.
