YOUR BURNED-OUT IT DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES DESERVE A BREAK!

World Health Organization Classifies Workplace Burnout As An Occupational Phenomenon

The World Health Organization (WHO) has finally classified workplace burnout as an occupational phenomenon. This strategic move highlights the importance of managing employee burnout in companies’ IT departments.

What you need to know about this WHO classification

In the latest revision of its International Classification of Diseases, WHO states that “burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Burnout refers specifically to phenomenon in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

WHO refuses to label “burnout” as a medical condition; however, as a syndrome, it is classified based on three unique factors:

• Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job;
• And reduced professional efficacy.

How employees of companies’ IT departments can know if they are suffering from burnout

It is equally important for employees of companies’ IT departments to know exactly when they are experiencing burnout. Highlighted below are some guidelines for detecting burnout epidemic in an employer’s IT department:

• Have the employees become cynical or critical of their work?
• Have they lost interest in their jobs to the extent that they will have to drag themselves to work?
• Do they often become irritable or impatient with colleagues, clients, or customers?
• Have they lost the energy to be consistently productive?
• Are they finding it hard to focus or concentrate on their assigned duties?
• Do they show apparent lack of satisfaction in their current occupational achievements?
• Do they often feel disillusioned about their jobs?
• Are they using drugs or other stimulants to feel better or not to feel at all while carrying out their professional duties?
• Have their sleep habits changed for worse?
• Are they affected by some inexplicable physical pains, headaches, stomach or bowel problems?

If majority of the employees answer “YES” to most of the questions posed above, that shows that the employees at that concerned IT department are going through intense burnout.

Financial losses attributed to unmanaged burnout in employers’ IT departments

When unmanaged or poorly managed, a significant level of employee burnout may spark mental health issues that can render any companies’ IT departments ineffective or unproductive. The financial losses attributed to unmitigated occupational burnout is largely unimaginable. It is believed that companies spent anywhere between $125 and $190 billion on health expenses relating to workplace stress. In addition, a total of 120,000 deaths are recorded every single year. When employees are not motivated about their work, they tend to quit in droves, causing headaches for HR managers because of the resulting low attrition rate. This low retention rate of qualified professionals has made some companies’ IT departments weak and inefficient.

Using an IT Consultancy Agency: The best approach for managing employee burnout

It is now clear that many companies’ IT departments have failed woefully in their efforts to manage their employees’ occupational burnout. The traditional methods of motivating, training, rewarding, or promoting employees have yielded little or no positive outcomes. It is time to explore a better option for managing burnout.

Some studies have demonstrated that burnout employees of companies’ IT departments tend to recuperate after staying off work for some time. However, the absence of knowledgeable resources can create talent shortage in those IT departments. Not having enough qualified professionals onboard will be a dire nightmare for HR managers. So, what should be the best approach to deal with this common problem? Hiring an IT Consultancy Agency.

An IT Consultancy Agency is able to timely provide the following services:

• Supplying qualified workers to employers’ IT departments to provide the necessary services their burnout employees couldn’t offer.
• Monitoring the performance of the dispatched replacement employees to see that their working habits fit the cultures of the companies they are working for
• Measuring their contributions to the companies’ overall performance using both internal and external metrics
• Coordinating with your companies’ HR manager to further provide good working conditions that will enhance the dispatched workers’ performances

References

CNN Philippines (2019, June 3). WHO: Burnout an occupational phenomenon. YouTube.   

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrCH8XCdgP8

Lee, B.Y (2019, May 19). How to tell if you have work burnout, now a WHO syndrome. Forbes. Retrieved from  https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2019/05/29/how-to-tell-if-you-have-work-burnout-its-now-a-who-syndrome/#54bb19641da8

Turner, A. (2019, May 28). The World Health Organization officially recognizes workplace

 “burnout” as an occupational phenomenon. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/who-recognizes-workplace-burnout-as-an-occupational-phenomenon.html

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