Burnout is hitting the workforce harder—and earlier—than ever. While previous generations often confronted the most difficult challenges in their careers and personal lives in their 40s, younger generations are now facing workplace exhaustion earlier than ever.
One in four Americans report hitting peak burnout before turning 30, and over half of American workers across age ranges say they are currently experiencing at least moderate levels of burnout. The state of modern workplace stress is accelerating, and it can create mental health concerns for employees—as well as high turnover, low productivity, and worse business outcomes for employers.
What’s fueling it? Increasingly, experts point to “pseudowork.” Pseudowork is busy work: the constant churn of e-mails, meetings, and low-impact tasks that leave employees drained and unfulfilled.
When a workday is filled with seemingly endless busy work, it may be a natural reaction to get home and ask yourself, “What did I actually accomplish today?” Simultaneously exhausting and demoralizing, pseudowork may be a key contributor to the burnout increasingly felt by younger generations.
If pseudowork is a key contributor to employee burnout, then the solution may be the opposite: opportunities for real learning and development in the workplace. Almost a third of employees report that high-quality training at work left them feeling “truly enlightened and invigorated.” They also felt “highly valued and empowered” by their employers, recognizing the continuous investment in their development. In addition to the obvious benefit of creating a more highly-skilled workforce, learning opportunities help employees feel a sense of achievement, excitement, and empowerment—breaking up the pattern of pseudowork and combatting burnout in the process.
This kind of meaningful learning can be unlocked through SAP Learning Hub, which allows people from the entire SAP ecosystem to access a wide range of SAP Certifications to enjoy while taking a break from answering yet another e-mail. Structured SAP Learning Journeys can allow workers to dive in at their own pace according to their unique needs and goals. They can be seamlessly integrated into daily work routines to allow employees to forge their own continuous learning path. As an SAP learner said herself, “SAP Certification boosts my confidence and adaptability. Continuous learning not only enriches my knowledge base but also ensures that the solutions I provide are cutting-edge and in sync with the evolving tech landscape.”
By integrating continuous learning into daily routines, organizations can do more than build skills—they can reinvigorate their teams and begin to truly counter the effects of pseudowork.
Sabine Benz is head of Enablement and Engagement at SAP.
SAP Learning Hub: Everything you need to boost business success with continuous learning
