The Burnout Syndrome, which has increased in the United States and Europe, and the resulting resignation rates have become a concern not only for organizations but also for countries, especially with the COVID–19 pandemic.
Offering several options such as remote work options, flexible working hours etc. did not reduce the rates of burnout and job dropouts. The fact that Belgium had put into effect the Right to disconnect as of April showed us that the countries started to take their own measures. According to new Disconnect Law, civil servants and private companies with more than a certain number of employees must include the "right to disconnect out of work hours" in their contractual regulations. Employees and employers should determine "emergency" topics among themselves, and employees have the right to cut off all connections and not respond unless there is a situation that covers these topics outside of working hours. Based on this, in this blog post, we tried to address how the Burnout Syndrome and Job Dropout developed with the pandemic.
When we look at it from a broad perspective, it attracted our attention that the topic of burnout and quitting work showed in a picture that started with an awareness and gradually increased.
- We have seen that it is possible to work remotely during the pandemic period. It was difficult for the employees to return to the office five days a week again, and this situation became a demotivational factor. On the other hand, organizations have chosen to create a new and hybrid order by integrating remote working and flexible working hours into their organizational culture.
- Digitalization has increased during the pandemic period. With digitalization, business life has become running not only by sitting at home, but also by e-mails, meetings and telephones wherever you are. At first, this situation seemed as attractive and comfortable for the employees who were tired from going to the workplace and working with the working hours of 09.00 - 17.00, but it also started a never-ending business life in the background.
- Work and life balance became intertwined. In addition, the increasing stress due to the pandemic, the adaptation to the new normal, and the fact that social life is not lived with the focus of "here and now" reduced the impact of the psychological resources of the employees and thus started to deplete psychological resources.
- At the same time, new and additional income opportunities have increased with digitalization. The cost and difficulty of people starting and running their own businesses have decreased. For almost everyone, starting a business and being their own boss has become something "doable". Employees who have low or no sense of belonging and commitment to the organization they work for preferred to be their own boss.
- As the employees who do not want to start their own business, who have an inclusive culture in the organization they work for, and who have a high level of belonging and commitment, started to experience burnout syndrome, the attention has turned to Burn-Out Syndrome and quitting job, Therefore, we have realize that the Burnout Syndrome and the current trend of quitting work have different dimensions than they seem. This has now turned into a topic that is not only in the interest of mental health professionals, but also researched and wondered by senior managers of the business world and ministers of countries.
- As the result of all these, the World Health Organization recognized Burnout Syndrome as a Mental Disorder in the revision of the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). In 2022, it was officially included in ICD-11 in print. As with other mental illnesses, Burnout Syndrome has been accepted as a condition not only related to the person who experiences it, but also to his living conditions and social environment.
Organizations started to allocate budgets for well-being at work in order not to lose their workforce and productivity and to support their employees, but; efforts were not enough to prevent quitting work due to burnout syndrome. As a result, countries decided to take their own measures and started to act, realizing measures that could contribute to the psychological well-being of employees and reduce work stress.
When we look at this picture from afar, noticing the "stress factor" that is overlooked in the flow of daily life shows us how important the commitment, belonging, values, workplace culture and the work culture of the countries occupy in the mental state of people.
In our opinion, with the awareness that the person's general "well-being" is not a situation that only concerns of person's own, the legal enactment of the Right to Disconnect carries the value of a responsible attitude in terms of well-being and the sustainability of the country's economic power.
We look forward to the enactment of such a law in Turkey. If you want to take your place among the leading organizations that want to take quick action in this process, as RNA Change Management, we provide services to support the psychological well-being of organizations and employees by transforming your culture and embed wellbeing into the culture. We can help you with our expert psychotherapists, coaches and mentors. You can contact us for detailed information.