Three-quarters of UK white-collar workers are reported to be considering quitting their jobs or changing their careers due to ‘burnout’, a lack of ‘work-life balance’ and ‘toxic’ workplace environments.

A nation-wide survey conducted by Censuswide, surveying both those working from home as well as people in the office, found that 57 per cent of all staff are suffering from low morale. Nearly a fifth believe their workplace environment is ‘toxic’ and around 18 per cent think their bosses don’t care about their mental wellbeing.

Bertrand Stern-Gillet is CEO at Health Assured, he says: “With work intruding on employees’ homelives more than ever with huge numbers working from home, possibly for the first time, it is little surprise that there are increased incidences of burnout. This has been driven not only by the response to the pandemic and the stress it has placed on us all, but also because of an increasing consensus that we should not be ‘living to work’ but also taking time to be with family, friends and taking part in non-work-related activities. For this to happen, a better work-life balance is a must.”

With the traditional January increase in people quitting their jobs almost on us, what can employers do to retain staff, support their employees, and show that they care?

Stern-Gillet says: “It’s important for employers to look closely at what they can do to retain their staff. More money is an obvious choice, but as we’ve heard over the last 18 months and these figures confirm, money is not everything these days. Simply increasing wages is not going to be the end of it. When it comes to reasons why people leave their jobs, having comprehensive benefits, such as health and childcare, and a better workplace culture are also driving forces for many.

“Therefore, employers need to take steps to tackle these concerns. Introducing new benefits and improving the culture of the organisation from the top down will go a long way towards helping employees feel valued, increasing retention levels and stopping the talent drain that happens when employees move on.”