More intense working fuelling burnout

Increasingly intense working days are putting people at greater risk of burnout, according to research by the TUC.

More than half of workers (55%) reported that work had become more intense and demanding, according to polling for the union body published by The Guardian.

The work intensification study blamed part of this trend on technology, as well as a decline in workers’ autonomy over how they spend their time.

Three out of five working people (61%) said they felt exhausted at the end of the working day, the poll of more than 2,000 working people in England and Wales found.

More than a third of those polled said they were spending more time outside contracted hours reading, sending and answering emails than they did a year earlier, in 2021.

TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “No one should be pushed to the brink because of their job. Gruelling hours, pace and expectations at work are growing problems up and down the country. This is a recipe for burnt-out Britain.

“Chronic staff shortages, intrusive surveillance tech and poor enforcement of workers’ rights have all combined to create a perfect storm. It’s little wonder that so many feel exhausted at the end of their working day,” he added.

Women were more likely than men to say they felt exhausted at the end of most working days (67% to 56%) and that work was getting more intense (58% to 53%), according to polling for the TUC by Thinks Insight.