SINGAPORE: A recent study of 30 cities around the world where burnout sentiment is the highest has shown that Singapore is in third place, followed by London and Melbourne.
The study from Instant Offices, a workspace solutions provider, says that for this year, online searches for ‘burnout signs and symptoms’ have gone up by 50 per cent globally.
The study shows how burnout has taken a toll on Singapore’s workers, with 47 per cent saying they feel mentally and/or physically exhausted at the end of their working day.
Moreover, over two in five employees expressed that they find it more and more difficult to feel motivated to do their work.
Instant Offices took a look into the Google searches at a city level for the following criteria: burnout symptoms, how to cope with burnout, am I burnt out?, and signs of burnout at work.
Among the 30 cities studied, London had the highest number of burnout-related searches, a whopping 2240. Melbourne followed with around half of this number (1040), and Singapore ranked third with 950 searches.
The top three cities, along with New York (880), Sydney (870), Toronto (710), Montreal (540), and Amsterdam (520), are considered as cities with high burnout sentiment.
Half of the cities in the study (15) are deemed to have medium burnout sentiment (between 150 and 499 searches), and 8 are considered to have low burnout sentiment (under 150 searches).
Shanghai and Shenzhen were are the bottom of the list, with only 40 burnout-related searches.
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According to the company, these are among the top symptoms of burnout: difficulty concentrating, a decreased sense of pride in work, losing sight of one’s goals, a loss of motivation, frustration, irritability, unexplained headaches or muscle tension, fatigue, and changes in appetite or sleep habits.
Instant Offices also offered tips for people who may be experiencing burnout, which include taking care of themselves—including making sure they get enough rest and healthy food, talking about feeling overworked with their manager and seeing solutions to lessen their workload, talking to friends, family or even a counselor, unplugging from tech devices and doing something you enjoy, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day, and practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation or yoga.
/TISG
Read also: Over 60% of Singapore workers are experiencing burnout, according to new survey