It’s no secret that employees are experiencing burnout. In 2021, nearly 48 million workers voluntarily quit their jobs. While it is easy to blame the pandemic, research suggests that COVID-19 merely exacerbated an issue many Americans were already facing — working longer hours than they need to, having unnecessary and unproductive meetings, and replying to work emails after hours. And when remote work soon became the norm, worker fatigue and burnout was heightened. For instance, in the early days of the pandemic, one analysis found that the average workday increased 8.2% — not to mention employees sent 5.2% more emails each day.
Two years into the pandemic, HR benefit leaders are now grappling with not only how to hire and retain employees, but how to make employee health — both mental and physical wellness — a priority. Questions that cross both of our minds are: How can I work with my HR and benefits team to get rid of the looming Zoom fatigue? How do we create a supportive culture so that our employees feel engaged, empowered, and not burnout? These questions and decisions we have to make are causing us to push other concerns that used to be top of mind to the back burner. Such concerns include: What is the best healthcare coverage for my workforce? What kinds of benefits do my employees need or could benefit from?
