· Over 1 in 4
(27%) of staff report burnout due to chronic work stress
· Is hybrid
hiding the problem? 1 in 3 staff can’t tell if remote colleagues are suffering
· Quiet quitters:
staff say poor management (23%) and tech overload (14%) is causing them to
disengage from work
· New Barco
ClickShare survey finds that 72% of workers have had a negative hybrid working
experience
As hybrid work
becomes a permanent fixture within the modern workforce and employees continue
to take advantage of flexible working policies, a hidden mental health crisis
could be on the horizon, as excessive device usage and poor management lead to
severe challenges for staff engagement across the hybrid environment.
As a new Barco
ClickShare survey reveals today, 1 in 3 workers (33%) who mostly work in the
office found it easier to tell when a colleague is overworked or stressed when
seeing them face to face, leaving remote workers at risk of struggling under
the radar of management teams. This comes as over 1 in 4 (27%) of staff report
experiencing burnout over chronic work-related stress that has not been managed
successfully.
Overall, 7 in
10 (72%) workers reported holding some negative views towards hybrid working,
with over a quarter (28%) pointing to tech overload – when excessive use of
devices reduces their capacity to accomplish their work, as a major cause for concern.
The same number also reported an inability to “switch off” from their devices
in their own personal time, due to work commitments. A further quarter (25%) of
workers report feeling stressed out by all the meeting technology they are
expected to use and just under 1 in 5 (19%) state that hybrid working has had a
negative influence on their collaboration with colleagues, with over a third
(35%) of remote staff stating they miss in-person interactions with co-workers.
The Barco Meeting Barometer is an
annual index charting worker’s satisfaction with their hybrid meeting
environments. Looking at a sample of 5,000 workers spread across Europe and the
U.S, the latest index found that worker satisfaction came to -25%. While a
recorded rise in satisfaction of 13% can be garnered when compared to a
November 2021 study by Barco, the overall sentiment towards hybrid meeting
experience would benefit from significant improvement.
Following
almost 3 years of familiarity with remote and hybrid work, the survey found
that 65% of workers are either back in the office full time or spend more time
in the office than remote – but almost a third (31%) wish they could work from
home more often. That said, quiet quitting has begun to take hold, as almost a
quarter (23%) of workers explicitly reporting disengagement from work due to
poor management and tech overload (14%).
Recent research
suggests that quiet quitting is a growing phenomenon in the hybrid workplace
and one which employers will have to keep a firm grip on in order to manage
staff wellbeing and productivity levels. According to a June 2022 study by
global analytics firm Gallup, 50% of the U.S workforce is made up of ‘quiet quitters’, while
only 14% of European employees are
engaged at work.
The research
findings suggest that there could be a cohort of people whose stress levels and
workload pressures are going unnoticed by their colleagues and managers – which
could create a ticking mental health time bomb.
“While it is
clear that the hybrid model is here to stay and enjoys great popularity with
workers due to the flexibility it can offer, businesses must be careful to
ensure that it does not become a double-edged sword,” said Yannic Laleeuwe,
Segment Marketing Director Workplace at Barco. “As hybrid has become a
professional mainstay, remote colleagues may feel less able to communicate the
pressures they are facing, masking work-related stress and overwhelm that may
build into a larger disengagement issue if left unaddressed.”
Laleeuwe
continued: “With many employees reporting disengagement from their work, or
“quiet quitting” due to poor management and overwhelm caused by the various tech
tools they’re being told to use, it is clear that the learnings from the last
three years of hybrid work need a more concerted effort to be implemented
correctly, to the benefit of all. If businesses expect to get the best out of
their teams, they must provide them with the tools they need to feel supported
and heard, wherever they are remote or in-office.”
Dr Audrey Tang,
chartered psychologist and author of The Leader’s Guide to Resilience proposes:
“Work is good for mental health, providing many of us an opportunity to escape
some of the pressures of our daily lives, and to be recognised for our skills.
But even for organizations who have focused on improving wellbeing, the hybrid
model can become an obstacle. Without day-to-day contact, it is difficult to
notice changes in someone’s behaviour if they feel muted and starting
conversations about wellbeing on online work platforms can be challenging.”
“However, if
new tools and practices can be brought in to make wellbeing an active part of
someone’s daily agenda, then the hybrid world can make taking specific action
more impactful,” posits Dr Tang. “Leaders must remain mindful that a transition
to the ‘new normal’ is not a return to the ‘old’ way of working. It is time for
them to actively listen to their workforce, to take the time to spot the
social, biological, practical and verbal indicators of workplace stress and
create an atmosphere of compassion.”
