Israeli study challenges work-from-home myth as burnout stays high

"If someone close to you at work or at home seems emotionally and physically drained, shut down and chronically unmotivated, showing little engagement with what is going on and unable to find drive or enjoyment in almost any situation, and often firing off poisoned arrows of cynicism at workers, customers and colleagues, chances are they are suffering from severe professional burnout at work without realizing that is what they are experiencing."

"They may also complain of aches throughout the body, fatigue despite adequate sleep, headaches and difficulty concentrating. Burnout at work has become a very common phenomenon. That worries researchers and psychologists as well as the World Health Organization, which for the first time in its history created a medical code for measuring workplace burnout and, unlike in the past, places responsibility for solutions first and foremost on employers."

"The study surveyed 5,504 workers across sectors including high tech, education and the public sector. It paints a clear and troubling picture: nearly every second employee in the country experiences high burnout. According to the data, 48.6% of participants are at a high to extreme level of burnout. Of those, 32.9% report high burnout, 12.8% very high burnout and 2.8% extreme burnout."

Emotional and physical exhaustion, shutdown, chronic lack of motivation, disengagement, and cynical hostility toward colleagues and customers characterize severe workplace burnout. Affected individuals often report body aches, persistent fatigue despite adequate sleep, headaches and impaired concentration. The World Health Organization established a medical code for workplace burnout and emphasizes employer responsibility for solutions. In Israel, after prolonged national stressors, a national survey of 5,504 workers across high tech, education and the public sector found 48.6% at high to extreme burnout: 32.9% high, 12.8% very high and 2.8% extreme. Working from home frequently heightens burnout due to blurred boundaries and an incessant workday.

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