By Contributor,David Morel
Copyright forbes
It may not seem obvious right now, but your employees and potential recruits are feeling the impact of global economic turbulence. Whether it’s the knock-on effect of tariffs on your business, political instability or higher taxes, these external factors are seeping into their work and personal lives at a worrying rate. And they’re still expected to hit or even exceed their targets, probably for the same or not much more reward, leaving staff feeling more burnt out and disengaged than ever.
Shot of a young businesswoman using her laptop and phone at work
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Tiger Recruitment recently conducted a survey of more than 3,000 professionals and this was a consistent theme. One in eight (15%) UK respondents cited exhaustion or burnout as their primary reason for leaving a job, and a further 8% resigned due to unsustainable workloads. One of the most prominent factors in this was the amount of overtime taken on by employees – 84% of desk-based staff worked more than their contracted hours, and more than two-thirds (68%) are working weekends. And because they’re taking so much on, they’re seeking jobs with a better work-life balance or asking their managers for more wellbeing support or flexibility.
These results may be from the UK, but the impact of burnout is being felt globally. Leaders are managing divisions that are struggling to hit the same goals with fewer resources. Perhaps a key team member has left and has not been replaced, there are more demands on employees to return to the office full-time, or salary increases are not keeping up with inflation so the cost of living just keeps going up. Many businesses witnessed a bounce back after the pandemic and salaries rebounded as they fought over the best talent. But since then, the market has contracted globally with no let-up in employment costs, leading to redundancies or recruitment freezes and – unsurprisingly – a huge drop in morale.
When it comes to dealing with burnout, businesses need to get more creative about how they incentivise employees and candidates. Whereas the traditional go-to incentive might have been raising salaries, this is not a luxury available to every business in this climate, nor is it necessarily the most effective. Listen to the extra pressures your workforce are experiencing – if the hours are too long, are there ways the work can be achieved in a smarter way? If hitting deadlines is incompatible with someone’s mental health or juggling family life, could offering more flexible arrangements mean they remain productive without compromising their wellbeing?
Tiger’s survey shows that businesses can do better on this, particularly around the impact of strict return-to-office mandates. The proportion of employees enjoying flexible or hybrid arrangements dropped from 17% in 2024 to just 7% in 2025, and satisfaction with flexibility levels fell to 54% of employees. Almost three-quarters believe that employers should offer higher salaries if they require full-time office attendance – and demands like this are only likely to increase.
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Our research shows that work-life balance is about more than allowing employees to buy holiday days or leave early on Fridays, it’s much more holistic. It’s about opening up lines of communication so that if an employee feels uncomfortable with their workload or a task they’ve been given, they can share this with their manager and discuss potential solutions. It’s about leaders acting as role models but also understanding that while they might thrive on long hours and pressure, their colleagues may perform more productively in different ways. This might involve regular conversations to discuss pain points and what can be done about them, and following up on these issues rather than brushing them under the carpet.
Co-creating solutions to beat burnout could end up making the business more productive as a whole. Perhaps there are ways to use AI to accelerate routine tasks and enable some employees to take on more engaging work. Or collecting and analysing data could show that clients respond to particular approaches that the company has not fully adopted, and rolling these out across the business could offer a big impact for less-than-expected cost. If these approaches boost morale and help employees have pride in what they do, they’re less likely to take time off or suffer from sickness in the long term.
Ultimately, creating sustainable business growth in such a tight climate will not be about squeezing your human resources for all they’re worth. If you want to retain the best people in your business and attract skilled talent, it’s time to listen to what workers are saying about burnout. Flexibility and autonomy are high priorities across every generation and should be given equal consideration to salary and other benefits. Talk to your employees, personalize approaches to help them do their best, and this will reap results.
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