Staff Shortages Are A Key Reason For Employee Burnout

As the lawn and landscape industry continues to face challenges in finding employees, staff shortages are a key reason for employee burnout, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting. Employee burnout among the U.S. workforce remains high at 45%, but is trending downward. Burnout dropped slightly during the past ...

September 4, 2023

As the lawn and landscape industry continues to face challenges in finding employees, staff shortages are a key reason for employee burnout, according to new research from Eagle Hill Consulting. Employee burnout among the U.S. workforce remains high at 45%, but is trending downward. Burnout dropped slightly during the past year, from 49% in August 2022, and more substantially since the early months of the pandemic at 58% in August 2020. Younger workers (52%) and women (48%) continue to report the highest levels of burnout.

Top sources of burnout include workload (51%), staff shortages (45%), and juggling personal and professional life (42%). When asked how to reduce burnout, 67% said a four-day work week would help. Other solutions included increased flexibility (65%), decreased workload (65%), better health and wellness benefits (60%), working from home (56%), reduced administrative burdens (53%), more on-site amenities (50%), and the ability to relocate or work from multiple locations (39%).

burnout Among those who experience burnout due to staff shortages, 84% said the impact is covering the workload for unfilled positions. Thirty-nine percent said the impact is helping others learn their job, 36% said it’s training new hires, and 22% said it’s recruiting and interviewing new hires.

Additionally, employees who report burnout signal they are less comfortable telling their manager or employer they feel burnt out as compared to six months ago, with 57% of employees saying they’re open to the conversation, down 5% from August 2022.

The research also found nearly a third of the workforce (32%) plans to leave their job in the next 12 months.

These findings are from the 2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Workforce Burnout Survey conducted by Ipsos from August 3-8, 2023. The survey included 1,347 respondents from a random sample of employees across the U.S.

For more on hiring within the landscape industry, see:

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Need Employees? Check Out The National Collegiate Landscape Competition & Career Fair