EDMONTON — Burnout can leave employees feeling exhausted, cynical and unproductive at work, and can also have serious mental health consequences at home, says a University of Alberta occupational medicine expert.
As many workers continue to deal with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic — here’s what Quentin Durand-Moreau, has to say about the often hidden workplace hazard, what’s behind it and who bears the responsibility for preventing it.
What is burnout? According to Durand-Moreau, it’s a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress. In fact, he says research indicates that burnout and depression overlap. “In other words, most cases of burnout meet the diagnostic criteria for depression.”
What causes burnout? Durand-Moreau says research indicates that excessive work hours are the number one killer when it comes to occupational health. Long work hours can also cause people to increase their alcohol consumption.
Burnout is not normal, and it can be serious. Durand-Moreau points out that if a heavy workload is causing a worker to regularly miss personal obligations, it can lead to family problems and even divorce. It’s important to also be assessed for suicidal ideas.
It’s not up to workers to fix the problem. “I’m going to be crystal clear: This is unethical, because in occupational health ethics, it’s the work that needs to be adjusted to the worker, not the opposite,” he says.
COVID is making the problem worse. “Patients with long COVID present with a number of symptoms — usually brain fog, trouble concentrating on their tasks, fatigue, chronic pain, muscular pain and shortness of breath,” notes Durand-Moreau.
The jury is still out on working from home. “Some studies say working from home is very bad, and some say it is very good,” he says. The blurring of home and work life can also be stressful — especially when living spaces are doing double duty as makeshift offices.
Regulations are key to curbing burnout. Durand-Moreau says he’s encouraged by increasing attention to psychosocial risk prevention in workplaces globally. “The only way to keep the health of workers maintained and looked at down the road is through mandatory regulation.”
The full article can be seen here. To speak with Quentin Durand-Moreau , please contact:
Debra Clark
University of Alberta communications associate
debra.clark@ualberta.ca