Just under two-thirds, or 64%, of Nigerian employees are at an increased risk from burnout according to a survey carried out by WellNewMe, which was conducted over a 4 month period from May 2019 to August 2019 and surveyed 1,323 Nigerian employees.
So, what is burnout, and how does it happen? Burnout is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when an individual feels overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet constant demands.
People suffering from burnout often experience emotional, mental and physical exhaustion, and this can have serious physical and mental health related consequences, from which it can take a long time, and a lot of treatment, to recover.
Some of those consequences include:
- Excessive stress
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Sadness, anger or irritability
- Alcohol or substance misuse
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Type 2 diabetes
- Vulnerability to illnesses i.e. colds, malaria, etc.
Burnout doesn’t just affect an individual – people with burnout can be irritable, unpredictable, isolated, frustrated, confrontational, irrational and very hard to be with. This can have catastrophic consequences for a family, in the workplace, or for friendships.
Studies on burnout among Nigerian employees are very limited, despite the devastating impact it could have on individuals, businesses and the society at large. This was what prompted us at WellNewMe to carry out a survey to find out how much risk were Nigerian employees exposed when it came to workplace burnout.
We carried a survey in 2019, among 1,323 employees across Nigeria between the ages of 20 to 60. The survey was a modified version of The Energy Audit for Organisations developed by The Energy Project which provides a detailed assessment of for determining how much risk an individual has before succumbing to burnout by examining four dimensions that affect our daily energy levels and lead to exhaustion - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The key findings in the survey are shown below.
MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES ARE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF BURNOUT
The survey revealed that 64% of employees have an increased risk of burnout, with women having a slightly higher risk than men. Nearly 2 in 10 employees will require immediate assistance as they were already demonstrating behaviours that indicated that they were at crisis point.
We also saw people in their fifties were less likely to be at risk than their younger colleagues in the workplace, with little difference between the risk levels for those below the age of 50.
EMPLOYEES ARE MOST AT RISK FOR PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION
Physical exhaustion is an extreme state of unrelenting fatigue that leaves you physically drained. Some of the symptoms include chronic tiredness or sleepiness, headaches, dizziness, sore or aching muscles, muscle weakness and slowed reflexes & responses.
Overall, about 6 in 10 employees were at an increased risk from suffering from physical exhaustion with women more likely to be at risk than their male counterparts.
Younger people also seem to have a higher risk of physical exhaustion then their older colleagues. Moreover, across all age groups, more than half of the population in the each sub group had an increased risk for physical exhaustion.
ABOUT HALF OF ALL EMPLOYEES HAVE AN INCREASED RISK FOR EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION
When people experience emotional exhaustion, it can make them feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, and fatigued. Signs and symptoms can vary from person to person, some of which might include anxiety, anger, feelings of hopelessness, lack of motivation and difficulty concentrating. There is also an increased risk from suffering from depression.
Just under half of all the employees survey (49%) were at an increased risk for emotional exhaustion. Women are also slightly more than men to be at risk for emotional exhaustion.
As with physical exhaustion, people above the age of 50 are less at risk for developing emotional exhaustion than their younger colleagues.
LESS THAN A THIRD OF ALL EMPLOYEES ARE AT RISK FOR MENTAL EXHAUSTION
Mental fatigue can make it hard to focus and manage one's moods. Some of the most common symptoms could be emotional (depression, feeling stressed or anxious, irritability with other people, chronic feelings of being overwhelmed and low motivation), physical (feeling physically fatigued, sleep issues, and unexplained aches and pains) or behavioral (increased arguments with loved ones, feeling distracted or on edge, procrastinating and memory difficulties).
3 in 10 of all employees are at an increased risk for mental exhaustion, with no difference between the genders.
However unlike physical and emotional exhaustion, younger people are at an less risk for developing mental exhaustion than their older counterparts.
4 IN 10 EMPLOYEES ARE AT RISK FOR SPIRITUAL EXHAUSTION
Spiritual exhaustion is identified with not just being physical tired or sluggish more like having an interior fatigue, a weariness of soul. Some people sometimes talk about not having a sense of purpose anymore or having lost their sense of direction. When assessed, about 40% of Nigerian employees were found to be an increased risk for spiritual exhaustion, with men having a slightly increased risk than women.
Older people were once again found to have a less increased risk than their younger counterparts, with those aged 50 and above far more adept and dealing with the risks than those in their twenties.
OTHER KEY TAKEAWAYS
More than 60% of all employees feel they do not have time to engage in activities they deeply enjoy as a result of work, with women more likely to be affected than men, as well as younger employees more likely to be affected than their old colleagues.
