Table of content
Ready to upskill your people and
transform your business today?

We offer a scalable employee training solution. It lets you continuously upskill your people and expand their capabilities.

Plan a meeting

The article has been co-edited by Anouk de Jong, Power Skill Owner & Trainer – Resilience

Feelings of structural stress and burnout are some of the most pressing organizational problems of our time. The effects on employees are profound, both on an emotional, mental, and physical level – and it’s a massive problem for your company’s bottom line too. Not only is it costly on many levels, but it also leads to skyrocketing resignation rates, lower productivity, and a loss of motivation. In other words, dealing with employee burnout requires HR leaders to take action. In this article, we’ll discuss how creating a culture of learning prevents burnout, and helps build team resilience and a growth mindset within teams, which leads to a healthier work-life balance.

Content

  1. Intro: On the Road to Burnout
  2. What is Burnout Exactly?
  3. Stress at Work: The Numbers Speak for Themselves
  4. Preventing Burnout with Training, Learning & Development
  5. Innovative Solutions for Burnout Prevention

1. Intro: On the Road to Burnout

Everybody can have a bad day at work sometimes, and there’s nothing wrong with a certain amount of positive stress every now and then – it can enhance somebody’s problem-solving skills, sharpen their focus, boost creativity, and encourage them to think outside the box, which in turn can lead to innovative solutions and ideas.

But when your employees structurally feel unmotivated, exhausted, and disconnected, and don’t allow themselves to recharge from stressful situations at work, they might be on the road to burnout. It happens more often than you think: the modern workplace and the world we live in are undeniably complex, high-demanding, and fast-paced, which is a source of stress for many people. And when this stress accumulates, the likelihood of burnout significantly increases.

As a result of burnout, 68% of employees are less likely to stay at their organizations

Piers Hudson, HR Research Leader at Gartner

A modern workplace phenomenon?

For a long time, burnout was a somewhat blurry concept. Scientists and health experts just couldn’t agree on a clear consensus. Was it a medical condition? Or just a modern workplace phenomenon? Making it even worse, quite a number of business leaders had some deeply held misconceptions about burnout in the past: if their employees were overwhelmed, they probably just weren’t fit for the job or industry they worked in. As a result, many people suffering from burnout felt their employers did not take them seriously. They felt like they were blamed for not being able to cope with stress, unfit for the position they were holding, or just having a fragile personality. The solutions offered weren’t great either: overworked employees were told to take some days off, embark on a mindfulness course, or do some meditation – and off they went, left to their own devices. This a classic example of symptom control, instead of getting to the root cause of the problem.  

Burnout can affect anyone

Luckily, things have changed. Burnout is now recognized as a serious problem that can affect anyone, regardless of their occupation, industry, character, or personal situation at home. It’s, in fact, one of the most widely discussed mental health risks in today’s society and workplace. That’s because the effects of burnout are potentially devastating for those who have to cope with it, and the impact on an organization’s daily operations is also profound. It has been linked to lower productivity levels, increased absenteeism and turnover, a loss of morale and job satisfaction, and a higher risk of mistakes. This can ultimately harm a company’s bottom line by reducing profits, customer satisfaction, and competitive advantage.

Due to employee burnout, the global costs of turnover and lost productivity are estimated over $322 billion USD

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report

2. What is Burnout Exactly?

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified burnout as a legitimate medical diagnosis. It’s defined as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” In everyday language: it’s a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and intense stress, often related to work. People who have experienced it say it feels like your battery is completely drained: you no longer have energy for anything, can’t handle much physically, feel down, cynical, and alienated from your surroundings and co-workers. Other symptoms include irritability, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbances.

3. Stress at Work: The Numbers Speak for Themselves

Unfortunately, burnout is a growing problem. Recent workplace trends such as the Great Resignation, the pandemic-induced surge in turnover rates, and the phenomenon of quiet quitting all suggest a common pattern: employees are experiencing high-stress levels, are reevaluating their relationship with work, and are reassessing their priorities in life.  

In a study on stress at work published by Lepaya in 2021, in which we surveyed 1.322 European workers, we found that:

  • As many as 66% of employees in Europe suffer from unhealthy levels of stress at work
  • 56% of the Dutch state that they experience too much stress
  • 67% of Belgian employees experience high levels of stress
  • 70% of employees from the United Kingdom experience high levels of anxiety
  • German employees are the least fortunate, with as many as 71% saying they experience an unhealthy amount of stress

According to research from Gartner, 2022 was the worst year on record for global employee stress. Their study found that out of 3.500 workers surveyed, 58% are stressed and 48% are worried about work. Because the implications are so profound, CHROs increasingly focus on understanding, resolving, and preventing employee burnout.

4. Preventing Burnout with Training, Learning & Development

If you want to prevent your people from getting sick and leaving your company, you need to act now. The world we live in is already turbulent, the economic climate difficult, and the job market tight, so the last thing you want as a CHRO is an unhappy workforce and talent gaps opening up.

You might also like: The Art of Top Talent Retention: How to Stop Losing A-players

One way organizations can prevent burnout and support the well-being of their employees is by investing in learning and development (L&D) initiatives. By offering leadership training to prevent burnout in the workplace, organizations can ensure that their managers and (first-time) leaders have the tools, skills, and knowledge they need to recognize stress within their teams and themselves. On top of that, building resilience through learning and development effectively reduces feelings of frustration, insecurity, and helplessness that can contribute to burnout. That’s because it helps your people to cope better with challenging situations and setbacks – now and in the future.

Leaders are the driving forces of promoting a healthy workspace, and by role modeling behavior they heavily impact the culture.

And although challenging situations and stressful events are a given, the key is to ensure recovery (or recharging) from them before diving into the next

Anouk de Jong, Power Skill Owner & Trainer – Resilience  at Lepaya

Interested to learn more from experts about talent stress and resilience solutions? Sign up for our webinar here on May 16th

5. Innovative Solutions for Burnout Prevention

At Lepaya, we have created a number of L&D programs that include modules important for burnout prevention. Our Power Skills training and overall vision revolve around some of the following themes:

  • Increasing employee engagement through personal growth
  • Building employee resilience
  • Boosting a growth mindset
  • Interpersonal communication skills
  • Empowering leadership
  • Creating a continuous learning culture

Personal growth opportunities for preventing burnout

Research has shown that people who feel that their employers value their growth and development within the company show higher levels of engagement and work happiness. When you offer training options that align with your employees’ interests and professional goals, you show your teams that you’re invested in their future careers. Whether training skills for first-time leaders or offering emotional intelligence training for employees, personal growth opportunities can play a critical role in preventing employee burnout.

At Lepaya, we are highly invested in new L&D technologies, such as AI-powered personalized leadership training and scalable learning solutions. These innovative solutions provide your employees with development opportunities that enhance their performance and enable internal mobility, leading to expanded career options within the company. By embedding talent development programs in the company’s culture, these solutions can promote employee retention and contribute to overall employee happiness in an empowering and constructive way.

Resilience building training

Your people will always face periods of stress, it’s inevitable. How they cope with that stress not only influences their personal well-being but also has an impact on the business outcomes of your organization. Being able to recover from setbacks (like a missed promotion), bounce back from difficult situations (like resolving conflicts between team members), and adapt to new challenges (like transitioning to a new role) all boils down to one skill – resilience development.

Developing employee resilience is critical in this day and age because the modern workplace is constantly changing and can be stressful, challenging, and unpredictable. Employees who are resilient are better equipped to manage the pressures and demands of their jobs, maintain their mental health and well-being, and stay engaged and productive.

On top of that, resilient employees are more likely to persevere through obstacles, find creative solutions to problems, and contribute to building a positive workplace culture. By training employee resilience, organizations can also promote a culture of innovation, agility, and adaptability.

At Lepaya, we train your people to develop resilience with the following modules:

  • Working with stress

Teach employees to make stress a friend by employing the stress response cycle: our natural reaction to stress. It’s broken into three stages: the beginning (perceiving the threat), the middle (cortisol begins to pump through our bodies and we get ready to fight or take flight) and the end (releasing the stress from our bodies). Learning how to deal with these stages helps to break free of the cycle

  • Managing your energy

Encourage employees to make a conscious effort to manage their own energy, which consists of four different sources: physical, mental, emotional, and purpose

  • Managing stress & energy in your team

Encourage your team to work with optimal stress and energy levels for their well-being

  • Finding your focus

Create sharp focus by identifying when people are distracted during their day-to-day work with our time management training to prevent workplace burnout

Boosting a growth mindset

Some people believe their success or failure in life is primarily determined by their innate talents and abilities rather than their effort or hard work. As a result, they avoid challenges and risks because they fear failure or negative feedback that may challenge their sense of identity and self-worth. This so-called fixed mindset suppresses professional growth, which can affect personal happiness down the line. When you cultivate a growth mindset, you’ll create a safe environment where it’s ok to make mistakes, not something negative. People will feel comfortable sharing and receiving criticism, find lessons and inspiration in the success of others, instead of feeling intimidated and stressed out that they’re ‘not good enough.’ The growth mindset module is part of our Intentional Learning Power Skill.

Interpersonal communication skills training

When disgruntled employees are uncomfortable expressing their emotions and thoughts freely to their manager, chances are they will discuss it with their colleagues. This can result in a culture of resistance, poor performance, and even gossip and exclusion. That’s why as a leader, you should always show your teams you genuinely care about their concerns and worries. Train your communication skills and learn how to listen actively. It helps you build trust and allows you to identify potential problems before they negatively affect your team’s well-being. Learn more about burnout prevention through communication skills training in our Collaboration & Influence Power Skill training.

Empowering leadership

The leadership of the future means not just leading your employees but empowering them to become the best versions of their professional selves. With our Power Skill training aimed at first-time leaders, your A-players learn how to build a happy and effective team by promoting psychological safety and are given the best tools to make their team members flourish. And when people can thrive, you immediately create a burnout-proof environment based on trust and mutual respect.

Continuous learning culture for burnout prevention

Finally, our L&D programs help to create a culture of ongoing learning and development that can act as a buffer against burnout. By promoting and emphasizing the importance of continuous learning, you will create a framework for employee development and innovation, which in turn contributes to higher levels of work satisfaction and burnout prevention.

For more info on this topic, make sure to sign up for our resilience and stress management webinar on May 16th.

At Lepaya, we help teams and future leaders develop their skills by offering innovative learning experiences and Power Skills training. Our talent development programs, also effective for burnout prevention, include intentional learning, empowering leadership, resilience and collaboration & influence.

TELL ME MORE

About Lepaya

Lepaya is a provider of Power Skills training that combines online and offline learning. Founded by René Janssen and Peter Kuperus in 2018 with the perspective that the right training, at the right time, focused on the right skill, makes organizations more productive. Lepaya has trained thousands of employees.

Read more

Leadership Style Quiz

You’re in a Zoom meeting with new team members. How do you present yourself?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
1/11
Next
Leadership Style Quiz
 You must confront a team member because they missed an important deadline. How do you approach that person?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
You’re planning the business strategy for the new year. Will you:

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
You’re asked to organize the next team event. What’s on the program?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
How do you tackle a problem at work?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
What type of company or industry do you feel most at home?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
 What describes your leadership style best?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Leadership Style Quiz
What quote relates to you the most?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
What makes you a great leader?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
What is your weak spot?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Leadership Style Quiz
Which personality traits do you think are the most effective for a leader?

(Make sure to tick only one response per question)

Please choose an answer

Question Image
Monkey
A MONKEY

Your leadership style is: Democratic

DESCRIPTION: Monkeys have fascinating, complex social structures and hierarchies that involve decision-making, communication, and conflict resolution. Macaques, for instance, are known for their ‘majority first’ approach when deciding where to forage for food. They come up with different suggestions, reach a consensus, and then follow the monkey with the most followers: regardless of its age or status. This is exemplary of a democratic leadership style. Democratic leaders allow everybody’s voice to be heard. They consider the ideas and insights of their team members, giving them the chance to show their strengths and share their knowledge. This leadership style drives participation, teamwork, and personal accountability, leading to higher levels of employee engagement, retention, and workplace satisfaction, as people feel empowered and valued.

STRENGHTS: You are Creative, Stimulating, Innovative, Empowering, Collaborative, and Energetic.

CHALLENGES: When you’re a democratic leader, you might be faced with a risk of inefficiency as it takes longer to come to a mutual consensus. Also, this popular leadership style slightly suffers from the new, hybrid workplace because of the lack of spontaneous encounters at the office.

WORKS WELL IN: Startups, Scale-ups, the Creative Industry & Knowledge-based Industries

RECOMMENDATION: Lepaya training to develop your leadership skills: Collaboration & Influence, Storytelling, Analytical Thinking

Do you want to upskill your team? Request a FREE TEAM SCAN!

Horse
A HORSE

Your leadership style is: Coaching

DESCRIPTION: When you look at horses in the wild, you’ll see that the lead mare will guide the others in a certain direction and sets the pace. If a younger horse compromises the safety of the herd or wanders off, it will be gently and patiently corrected by the mature horses, and taught what type of behavior is preferable. Providing guidance, sharing constructive feedback, helping others learn from their mistakes and improve their skills: these are all typical traits of a coaching leader. Coaching leaders believe in identifying and nurturing the individual strengths of employees, so they can develop and achieve their true potential and contribute to the success and unity of the team. These leaders are all about mutual respect, long-term individual growth, compassion, and two-way communication.

STRENGHTS: You are Supportive, Patient, Loyal, Authentic, Compassionate, Reliable, Inclusive.

CHALLENGES: Coaching leaders aim for long-term success instead of quick wins. That requires a lot of commitment and energy, and it can take a long time to see results. Another challenge for you as a coaching leader is that you might focus on individual development rather than team goals, and you tend to become too involved in day-to-day tasks and micro-management.

WORKS WELL IN: Consulting, Sales & Marketing, Education 

RECOMMENDATION:Lepaya training to develop your leadership style: Resilience, Analytical Thinking and Taking Ownership 

Do you want to upskill your team? Request a FREE TEAM SCAN!

Eagle
AN EAGLE

Your leadership style is: Transformational

DESCRIPTION: The eagle is known for its ability to soar high above the landscape, its sharp vision, and clear focus that allows it to spot prey from great distances. This powerful bird nurtures its young carefully, teaching them the skills they need before they spread their wings and leave their nest. This imagery is often used to represent the transformational leader's ability to see the big picture and inspire others to work toward the organization's goals. One of the other key aspects of transformational leadership is that it emphasizes the importance of empowering others to be successful in their own right, allowing their teams to perform beyond expectations. They usually create an inspiring and motivational atmosphere, providing individual support and challenging their team to always reach for the sky.

STRENGHTS: You are Confident, Bold, Fearless, Analytical, Inspiring, Visionary.

CHALLENGES: You can be dominant and tend to concentrate on the bigger picture which can lead to a lack of focus on details. Being a high-flier, you set your own standards high. However, you can also be demanding for your team. Be careful not to create a high-pressure work environment, because that can lead to employees feeling like they can't keep up.

WORKS WELL IN: Agile companies that require thinking outside the box and a shared vision, like start-ups, the tech industry, design & media

RECOMMENDATION: Lepaya training to develop your leadership style: Empowering Leadership, Collaboration & Influence, Diversity & Inclusion

Do you want to upskill your team? Request a FREE TEAM SCAN!

Elephant
AN ELEPHANT

Your leadership style is: Servant

DESCRIPTION: Elephants are highly intelligent and social creatures. They live in tight-knit family groups that rely on communication and cooperation. The image of the matriarch leading the herd to find water and food is a great metaphor for managers who like to lead by example without putting their personal ambitions first. This is common to the servant leadership style. Here, your primary role as a leader is to serve your team members by empowering them, supporting their growth and development, and creating a healthy and safe work environment. A servant leader emphasizes collaboration and inclusiveness and seeks to create a culture of trust, empathy, and respect. With their calm and steady demeanor, they focus on building solid relationships with their team, listening to their needs and concerns, and working together in an emotionally intelligent way to achieve shared goals.

STRENGHTS: You are Understanding, Calm, Determined, Responsible, Committed, and like to lead by example.

CHALLENGES: As a servant leader, you’re sometimes so focused on the well-being of others that you tend to lose sight of your own needs and responsibilities. This can ultimately lead to stress and can slow down decision-making processes. Also, you might find it difficult to confront others and hold them accountable for their actions.

WORKS WELL IN: Service industry & non-profit organizations

RECOMMENDATION:  Lepaya training to develop your leadership style: Resilience, Storytelling, Taking Ownership

Do you want to upskill your team? Request a FREE TEAM SCAN!

Dog
A DOG

Your leadership style is: Affiliative

DESCRIPTION: Dogs are known for their loyalty, honesty, and their ability to provide emotional support. They are usually outgoing and full of energy. You’ll find that these characteristics are similar to those of an affiliative leader. The main goal of these types of leaders is to create a company culture that is positive and dynamic. It’s a people-first approach that especially younger generations relate to, as it highly values happiness, purpose, and the sense of belonging to a tribe at work. These leaders celebrate success with their teams and encourage creative thinking. As an affiliative leader, you like to foster a culture of teamwork and inclusiveness. You are open in your communication and aim to create an environment in which everyone feels valued, respected, and supported. You also value personal growth and development, and encourage your team to take ownership of their own career paths.

STRENGHTS: You are Flexible, Calm, Positive, Dynamic, Empathic, Inclusive and Trustworthy.

CHALLENGES: As you highly value a positive and harmonious atmosphere within your team, tackling complex situations can become a problem if you focus too much on avoiding conflicts and negative feedback. This might reduce productivity, lead to underperformance, and losing sight of the organizational goals and objectives. 

WORKS WELL IN: Service-oriented industries like hospitality, healthcare, retail, banks & insurance companies 

RECOMMENDATION:   Lepaya training to develop your leadership style: Taking Ownership, Collaboration & Influence, Resilience 

Do you want to upskill your team? Request a FREE TEAM SCAN!

Retake Quiz
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.