Pandemic causing a ‘hidden resignation’ era of burned-out employees

Even at the start of the pandemic in 2019, WHO had already addressed burnout and hidden resignation caused by remote work as an occupational disease. While Sweden is the only country to recognize burnout as a disease, research shows it’s more serious than just work fatigue.

For example, big businesses like Bumble and Nike have taken time to give extra days off to their employees, an excellent way of looking after their mental health. Preventing employee burnout, hidden resignation, and how to deal with it is a challenge for most businesses now.

With the ongoing trend of remote work, cases of stress and hidden resignation have doubled compared with working on-site, where each employee can get immediate help in the case.

As the author of the new book “The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It” said, “The future of work is here, and that means we need to test some new rules out.” Remote work is the new workplace, and we have no choice but to deal with it. Whereas. Hidden resignation is also unavoidable.

Burnout Stage

Most businesses overlook that their turnover problem isn’t only due to employees finding new opportunities but also how remote work is affecting their employees,  resulting in lower productivity.

Moreover, hidden resignations are highest in the technology and healthcare industries.

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Workers in higher positions who don’t have to live with day-to-day paychecks are the ones mostly moving on with this work crisis brought about by the pandemic. However, remote work still poses a high risk of hidden resignations.

Balance is Key

As Moss said in her book, understanding the employee’s desire to connect with work better and their values should be considered a part of the employee retention analysis. Remote work lessens each employee’s capability to connect personally. Bosses and leaders should learn how to direct their employees to the resources to avoid hidden resignations.

On a side note, not all employees are undergoing this burn-out remote work stage. Some are enjoying their chance to stay at home while working remotely. One of their perks is their flexibility to maintain a work-life balance.