Running a business is time consuming and often demanding, but with employee burnout becoming an increasing problem for business owners, how can they strike the right balance between mental health and profitable productivity?
Money.co.uk business loans experts surveyed 2,000 UK employees to explore the different generations’ attitudes to work and burnout coping mechanisms.
Trending on TikTok: Almost two in three employees (63%) manage stress with ‘Bare Minimum Mondays’
Bare minimum Mondays is a TikTok trend whereby you do the bare minimum required of you at work on a Monday, so as to avoid ‘Sunday Scaries’ (experienced by 7 in 10 (63%) workers) and ease yourself into the week.
Bare minimum Mondays are the UK’s second most popular approach to avoiding burnout, with nearly two thirds (63%) of workers admitting to doing the bare minimum required of them on a Monday. Sunday Scaries have Young Millennials adopting Bare Minimum Mondays the most (67%) to avoid stress.
Breaking the data down by age group, the business loans experts at money.co.uk found that the number of people participating in Bare Minimum Mondays dramatically declines in the oldest age group.
With burnout becoming a hot-topic in recent years, it seems that younger generations are more aware of coping mechanisms and techniques to avoid it.
‘Quiet Quitting’ sees half (54%) of workers cutting workloads
‘Quiet Quitting’ means completing one’s minimum work requirements without going above and beyond or bringing work home after hours.
The new data from money.co.uk reveals that Quiet Quitting sees on average more than half (54%) of staff working to rule.
Older workers are most likely to work the hardest, but even so, half of them admit to ‘Quiet Quitting’
Just over 3 in 5 (61%) employees surveyed aged 25-34 said they currently partake in the TikTok trend ‘Quiet Quitting’, followed by over half (52%) of those aged 35-44 and 18-24 (51%), half (50%) of those aged 45-54 and over 2 in 5 (42%) of those aged 55+ who said the same. This is a trend that is clearly popular across all generations.
Forget four day weeks in all but name, Brits already cut workloads with ‘Freedom Fridays’
‘Freedom Fridays’ is a trend whereby employees take on a lighter workload and more relaxed schedule on a Friday.
Freedom Fridays are the UKs most popular TikTok work trend, with over two thirds (65%) of all workers taking on a lighter ‘Freedom Friday’ workload to finish the week earlier.
Freedom Fridays are most popular with millennials as almost three quarters (72%) are regularly finishing up early.
How to keep employees healthy, happy and motivated
On motivating your workforce, supporting their mental health and thus keeping burnout at bay, James Andrews, money.co.uk business loans expert, said, “Government figures show that sickness absence and lost productivity through worklessness contribute towards an estimated £100bn annual cost to businesses. Our research shows that putting the right workplace perks in place will motivate a third (35%) of your workforce to be more engaged at work and yet they remain an underrated way for business owners to keep their workforce happy and thriving.
“Focusing on perks known to be beneficial to mental health, like exercise and eating well, can be cost effective for business owners to drive motivation and productivity, at the same time as reducing absenteeism and poor engagement.
“As such, subsidised gym classes and memberships, offering a free healthy breakfast in the office and virtual mental health counselling could end up boosting your bottom line as well as proving popular with staff.”
Leave a Comment