In Seattle, the Burnout Is Real

If this is reopened every day – now You don’t feel charged, you are not alone.

Half of the Seattle workers surveyed by global recruitment firm Robert Half feel more burned out than a year ago, when, if you will recall, we were in the middle of a pesky, job-devastating pandemic. That number ranks third among cities in the US, ahead of pressure cookers like New York and DC.

While thousands across the state are still filing recession-level jobless claims, even those who have kept their jobs (or got new ones) have felt the pandemic taking its toll – or more precisely, draining their brains. Burnout is technically not a disease, but it is definitely real: The World Health Organization recognized it in 2019 as a work-related “state of vital exhaustion” caused by “unresolved chronic stress at work”. It can cause cynicism and negativity, distance you from your job, and reduce productivity, according to the health authority.

And Robert Half probably underestimates its prevalence. Only employees from companies with more than 20 employees are included in the company’s study; smaller companies with fewer resources are real stress factories.

Why did Seattle burn out so? Megan Slabinski, a city resident and district president of Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group, says the fast-paced, deadline-driven environments at large tech and aerospace companies have increased the same pressures that weigh on workers in other companies and markets: understaffed teams , longer days and minimal free time.

Slabinski works from home and has experienced burnout himself and sees a “bleeding” between the private and the professional. “There isn’t that natural disruption that occurs when you physically walk into an office,” she says. “I also feel that because I’m at home I need to be available more often. I have no excuse for not answering a call or answering an email. “

Then there’s this other job she has to juggle that she and millions of other parents were suddenly drafted into when Covid was sending children home from classrooms. “I never wanted to be a teacher, but I had to be this year.”

As a remote manager, Slabinski had to work harder to get in touch with her colleagues and take her mental temperature. “They don’t have what I call the occasional collisions over the water cooler, in the elevator, or on the toilet. So I have to be very deliberate [to] keep a mental list of whom I haven’t spoken to in the last or two weeks? “

She also believes it’s important that managers take time off. If a manager hasn’t used their vacation quota, it will be more difficult for other employees to step down.

As activities ceased and fear of travel was created, many workers simply withdrew long hours. According to research by Robert Half, one in four people across the country lost or given up paid time off in 2020. But one in three expects to take at least three weeks’ vacation this year, more than half are looking for a “break” or traveling completely unplugged.

Slightly unusual, Seattle is ready for a screen-time break – at least the work-related kind. Only 23 percent of respondents from the city doubt that they can stay offline during their free time, which puts them in 24th place among the major subways.