The report’s alarming results: One in five employees in Poland feels tired even before starting work
Employees in Poland are tired and declare less involvement in professional duties, a negative attitude to their work, lack of interest in professional matters or ineffective presence at work called presenteeism. According to the latest report by Benefit Systems, more and more of them also show signs of occupational burnout.
The high pace of work and time pressure make more and more employees unable to cope with the workload. The long-term effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation and stress compounded by the number of negative messages in the public space also do not help in maintaining the good mental condition of employees in Poland, and thus the appropriate level of commitment and motivation to work.
According to the Benefit Systems report entitled “Tired, indifferent, uninvolved. Post-pandemic needs of employees”, one in three employees (35%) reports feeling tired and being exhausted after work even several times a week, of which one in ten working respondents (9%) experiences this every day. The feeling of frustration and fatigue at work affects one in five adult Poles (22%), while one in ten employees (12%) admits to being less engaged in work duties several times a week.
According to Dr. Elżbieta Lisowska, an expert in organisational stress and occupational burnout associated with the SWPS University, occupational burnout is not ordinary fatigue but long-term mental and physical exhaustion, and above all, a loss of meaning.
– The beginning of the burnout syndrome is disappointment caused by a large gap between our notions and reality, which often results from unrealistic expectations related to our role at work, relationships, or achievements. Initially, we increase our efforts to meet high expectations but after some time we feel drained and achieve no effects. Frustration and anger are manifested by treating co-workers objectively and even aggressively while the situation is aggravated by the feeling that the results at work are far from our expectations – comments Dr. Elżbieta Lisowska.
As the expert mentions, there are many symptoms related to less commitment to work. These include difficulties with work organisation or impairment of cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking or mindfulness, which negatively affects concentration or creativity. There is uncertainty when making decisions, even those that were not a problem for the employee before. According to Dr. Lisowska, the results of the Benefit Systems report bring further information to the discourse on the scale of burnout in Poland. – Considering my 20 years of research into the syndrome, I can say even more: these results are alarming. Only 18-20% of employees do not show any symptoms of burnout, 15-18% are in the acute phase, but the rest, i.e.: 60-70%, are already in the process at various stages – she adds.
First, regeneration
One of the reasons that brings employees closer to burnout is the post-pandemic acceleration. After the lockdowns and a period of great uncertainty, many companies have started intensive recovery. Employees are more often forced to work in accordance with the “as much as possible, as quickly as possible” principle, so they operate under permanent stress. Prolonged stress and tension negatively affect the already damaged mental condition. In 2021 alone, mental and behavioural disorders were the reason for over 25 million days of sickness absence. According to experts, the key for companies to regain lost productivity today is the regeneration of employees.
Recent years can be compared to a long-distance run when we do not have time to take a break and regenerate. During the pandemic, many industries and enterprises struggled to survive and then to quickly rebuild their financial condition which significantly burdened many employees mentally and physically. The effects of the changes we have experienced in recent years can be seen in the results of the Benefit Systems survey. One in five working people in our country feels tired even before starting work and one in ten is involved in work to a lesser extent. – Drawing from foreign data, we see that employees’ fatigue has real costs. It is estimated that the exhaustion of American employees costs the US economy 411 billion dollars annually as almost 75% of them declare fatigue before starting work – comments Małgorzata Frankowska, HR Director at Benefit Systems.
Activity to the rescue of the stressed
Excessive levels of stress often contribute to burnout. According to the report, the most popular way to relieve stress among Poles is physical activity, which is chosen by 41% of working people. Interestingly, a clear impact of exercise on mental condition, motivation and commitment is declared by sports card holders who, thanks to their employers, can regularly engage in such activity.
Physical activity enlarges the hippocampus and improves blood supply to the frontal lobes. These two areas of the brain are the best brake for the amygdalae, which are responsible for “detecting” potential threats and triggering the stress response. Large and efficient hippocampus as well as prefrontal cortices are the parts of the brain that are most needed by people who want to better manage their own reaction in stressful situations. Nothing will support them like regular exercise – says Dr. Iwona Piątkowska, physical culture sciences doctor specialising in the field of biomedical sciences, dietitian and expert in the “Health Full Time” wellbeing programme.
The Benefit Systems survey also shows that four in five MultiSport card holders (nearly 900,000 people in Poland) admit that they feel better thanks to physical activity with the card. To a large extent, they also feel the positive impact of regular exercise on commitment and efficiency at work.
The benefits of regular exercise, which the MultiSport programme users emphasise, also include improved sleep quality, better efficiency at work and better concentration. The impact of regular training on stress reduction is also invaluable. The MultiSport programme users admit that systematic workouts and the right dose of endorphins reduce the level of stress arising at work. In addition, as many as 94% of them admit that physical activity with the card translates into greater energy, motivation and commitment at work. – This result is a good omen for employers who, through sports cards, supporting company teams or other activities promoting sports in the workplace, invest in the health of employees but also in their efficiency and level of commitment – comments Emilia Rogalewicz, Management Board Member at Benefit Systems.
The entire report can be found in the attachments below or in the REPORTS tab.
Sandra Dobrowolska
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Benefit Systems działa na polskim rynku od ponad dwóch dekad i należy do liderów w dostarczaniu benefitów pozapłacowych, które wspierają dobrostan pracowników. Spółka jest twórcą Programu MultiSport, który umożliwia podejmowanie aktywności fizycznej w obiektach sportowych w całym kraju. W portfolio Benefit Systems jest także platforma kafeteryjna MyBenefit oraz program wellbeingowy MultiLife. Od kilku lat oferta sportowa Spółki jest rozwijana na rynkach zagranicznych, m.in. w Czechach, na Słowacji, w Bułgarii czy Chorwacji. Grupa Benefit Systems jest także operatorem ponad 190 klubów fitness na czterech rynkach (w Polsce odpowiada za sieci Zdrofit, Fitness Academy, My Fitness Place, Fabryka Formy, StepONE, S4 Fitness, FitFabric oraz Total Fitness). Ważnym obszarem działań Benefit Systems jest promowanie aktywnego stylu życia na każdym jego etapie, dlatego Spółka realizuje inicjatywy wspierające aktywność fizyczną dzieci, dorosłych oraz seniorów. Od 2018 roku Benefit Systems jest częścią globalnej inicjatywy B Corp, zrzeszającej spółki działające i angażujące się w rozwiązywanie najważniejszych problemów społecznych. Więcej informacji o firmie można znaleźć na www.benefitsystems.pl.
