When was the last time you checked on your boss? Chances are that they are in an even worse situation than you. At least that’s what the latest survey commissioned by Slack shows.
Your manager may be even more burned out than you, according to a new Slack survey of mid-level managers. As many as 43% of surveyed managers reported burnout, which is more than any other employee group.
Managers are frustrated with having to enforce orders to come back to work in the office, said labour experts to Bloomberg.
Mid-level managers are at a greater risk of burnout than any other employee group, according to a new Future Forum survey conducted by Slack among more than 10,000 office employees.
Among the surveyed mid-level managers, 43% said they experienced burnout as a result of chronic workplace stress. Employees with no subordinates reported the second highest percentage – 40%, followed by senior managers – 37% and executives – 32%.
Managers who fell into the gap between entry-level employees and management also scored lowest on work-life balance, and reported the highest levels of stress and anxiety.
Employee burnout threatens financial results
As the survey shows, burnout is bad not only for employees, but also for financial results. It causes
a 32% decrease in efficiency and a 60% decrease in concentration.
According to Future Forum, part of the reason why company directors struggle with this issue is that “executives and team leaders face new challenges caused by changing expectations and norms in the workplace.”
For example, enforcing return-to-office initiatives often falls to lower-level managers, putting them in the position of the “bad guy”, even if they themselves disagree with the orders, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Managers think that what’s good for them is good for everyone
There is also the problem of managing staff in a hybrid or virtual work environment as managers struggle to adapt to the new normal, said Sheela Subramanian, Co-Founder of Future Forum.
“I often hear managers say that working outside the office makes it difficult to connect and cooperate, and reflects on the company culture, and about 25% of the managers participating in our survey cited this issue as the top concern”, said Subramanian.
“But it may be the matter of executives believing that what worked for them in the past will work best for everyone. However, the data shows that executives and non-executives have very different experiences.”
