Remote Work Burnout Grips Silicon Valley Pros: TeamBlind

Employee burnout is real and is taking its toll on professionals. TeamBlind found that 68% of Silicon Valley professionals feel more burnt out than they did before the pandemic. Let’s dig into the data from TeamBlind.

It seems remote work truly is losing its sheen, according to data collated from over 3000 Silicon Valley professionals by TeamBlind, an anonymous forum and community site for professionals. TeamBlind found that burnout levels of employees from major Silicon Valley-based tech companies have risen approximately seven percentage points between February and October 2020 against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Remote Work: Promises vs. Reality  

Some of the key findings from the study are: 

1. Of the 3,023 employees surveyed, 60% said they are working more hours now than they would in office. 23% are working more or less the same hours while 17% of employees are working less. 
2. Additionally, 49% of employees said their managers/employers lack an understanding of mental health needs during WFH. This is a crucial factor that can make or break employees’ morale in remote and in-office environments. 
3. Regardless of whether an employee is working more (or less), employees’ most common complaints are that it is highly untenable to maintain an appropriate work-life balance, with work creeping into their personal lives. 

As one Twitter user points out: 

Yes we are not only working from home, we are living at work – where is the boundary?

— Dr Julie Abayomi RD (@julie_abayomi) October 20, 2020Opens a new window

See Also: Post-Pandemic Telework Is More Than Just ‘Unbound Offices’

A Microsoft employee posted on TeamBlindOpens a new window , “I have been working day and night for the last year now. I have reached a point where I am unable to finish simple tasks because I keep procrastinating. I did this hard work for a promotion and just got one. To my surprise, the extra money is no longer making me happy. I cannot take OOFs because the product I’m working on right now is at its crucial stages. I have no time and energy to spend with my spouse. This is the first time I am experiencing something like this. What should I do?”

A deeper, organizational-level drill-down of the data showed a direct correlation between burnout levels and a lack of mental wellness support in virtual workplaces.  

Consider PayPal, which has an astounding 90% burnout rate among employees, the highest among all companies surveyed. It also has the second-highest (80%) number of employees working more, while only 35% (third-lowest) said their manager/employer understands their mental health needs. On the other hand, Wayfair’s employees (33%) reported a lower burnout rate (42%) among all companies surveyed.  

See Also: Inside Dropbox’s Virtual-First Strategy

Top five companies with highest burnout levels and the corresponding causes:

Company	Burnout Level	Working More	Of the Opinion that the Manager Doesn’t Care
IBM	80%	43%	29%
Facebook	81%	50%	50%
Walmart	82%	81%	59%
eBay	83%	71%	56%
PayPal	90%	80%	65%

 

Top five companies where managers/employers support mental health needs during WFH: 

Company	Burnout Level	Working More?	Of the Opinion that the Manager Does Care
Wayfair	42%	33%	67%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	47%	73%	31%
Indeed.com	50%	21%	83%
SAP	56%	50%	40%
Adobe	65%	73%	50%

 

Even though JPMC employees reported working longer than their peers during WFH, the burnout rate isn’t as staggering compared to Adobe and SAP. Other factors that may contribute to employee burnout are video fatigue, lack of communication channels and even a lack of commute time that allows employees to unwind and mentally prepare for the day. 

How Can Employees Avoid Burnout?

With no end in sight to the pandemic and remote and hybrid work environments becoming a persistent pattern, excessive work can take a toll on mental health. TeamBlind asked respondents whether they are taking vacation/paid time off (PTO) days, dining out, exercising, and are involved in hobbies to avoid burnout. 42% said they are doing a combination versus 28% that aren’t participating in any stress-relief activities.  

See Also: How Companies Are Preparing as Remote Work Increasingly Becomes a Norm

Employees of other companies responded with the following: 

Companies	Vacation/PTO days	Dining Out	Exercising	Hobbies	Combination of the Above	None of the Above
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	0%	8%	8%	8%	46%	31%
Indeed.com	21%	4%	13%	4%	42%	17%
SAP	6%	0%	0%	6%	69%	19%
Facebook	7%	2%	18%	6%	41%	26%
Walmart	11%	4%	11%	4%	22%	48%
eBay	25%	0%	19%	0%	19%	38%

Now that business leaders have realized that remote work benefits are an exaggeration and remote-only is not just impractical but also counterproductive, they should prioritize employee wellness programs to counter the negative effects of WFH. 

In response to the burnt-out Microsoft employee, a Google employee said: “Jump ship for a new work environment.”

The onus is now on organizations to acknowledge this and facilitate alternatives.

Let us know if you liked this news on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!