In recent years, the word "burnout" has become more prevalent within our society and vocabulary. People feel burned out from work, stress, and life. The World Health Organization (WHO) has characterized burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic, unmanageable workplace stress. In 2019 the WHO also recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon.
Now, how many of you are still experiencing exhaustion within today's workforce? A new study out of The University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management showcases how receiving help at work will mitigate exhaustion levels. The research titled, "Receiving help at work mitigates the negative consequences of performance pressure: implications for depletion and citizenship behavior" was recently published in the Journal of Social Psychology. UNM Associate Professor Andrea Hetrick is lead author, and UNM Professor Ryan Jacobson is co-author.
The research was conducted as a critical incident study of employees across all different industries within the United States. The study was limited to full-time workers, with 51.5% in managerial roles and the rest in non-managerial positions.
A total of 268 participants were asked to recall a time when they received help, or didn't, at work. They were also asked to what extent they felt under pressure at work. For example, they responded as to whether they felt "tremendous pressure to produce results." They were later asked about their exhaustion—an example item being "I feel drained."
"We found that those who received help were less exhausted than employees who didn't. When under a lot of pressure at work, exhaustion was exacerbated, and receiving help was more beneficial in those situations," explained Hetrick.
The study also showed that when workers in the field experienced exhaustion, they seemed to self-isolate by not helping their coworkers. They indicated that they would be less likely to "try to help a coworker." This research showcased that it was consistent with theory.
"If there isn't a lot of help going on at work and people are overwhelmed, then that leads to employees becoming more and more exhausted. This leads to a downward spiral type of phenomenon," Hetrick said. "We see where you're not getting help and you get overwhelmed and you don't help others, and then maybe they're also unable to help because they're not receiving help and are drained too."
This creates a domino effect in the workplace, leading to fewer employees receiving help and increasing the burden of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and burned out. It fosters an environment where everyone is overwhelmed and working individually.
"This research points to the importance of us working together. Being able to find unique and creative ways to still foster those relationships, even virtually, is extremely important," Hetrick said.
Hetrick offers some advice to companies and employees who may be experiencing this situation. She recommends that they focus on creating a more collaborative environment where employees are encouraged to work together.
"Anything you can do to foster those collaborations is going to be helpful. Interacting with colleagues can create those opportunities for collaboration and teamwork. That can really help people out that are really feeling like they're overwhelmed at work," she explained.
Hetrick also recommends mindfulness techniques which refer to anything that can bring you back to the present moment. She touched on physical activity, meditation, yoga, and self-care as potential examples of mindfulness techniques.
"All of these things have been shown through research to mitigate burnout and exhaustion," she said.
Managers may not realize their employees are overwhelmed, and if those employees are isolated from coworkers who could help by sharing some of the workload, it can prevent the team from functioning effectively. Hetrick suggests speaking up to your supervisor if you are feeling overwhelmed.
"If you are in a supportive environment, it could also be helpful to speak up and let your boss know, because they may not know that you have too much on your plate," she explained.
While the pandemic introduced a sense of remote and hybrid work environments, Hetrick strongly encourages workforces to utilize tools such as Zoom and Teams to foster closer relationships and collaboration within the workforce.
"We can uniquely use the situation of Zoom and other virtual avenues to foster those relationships, even virtually. Trying to have those tools that you're using to connect people even when they're apart is really key to think about as a manager," concluded Hetrick.
