Employee burnout tops risk manager concerns for 2024

The majority of global risk managers (80%) name burnout as the leading risk set to impact their employees in 2024, according to research from health and security consultancy International SOS.

Publishing its annual Risk Outlook Report for 2024, International SOS said the poll of 675 senior risk professionals across the world finds that only 41% believe their business is prepared to deal with the impact of staff burnout.

International SOS said the risk of burnout to businesses has been driven by the constant string of global crises, or perma-crisis, affecting employees’ wellbeing.

“With these ongoing stressors accumulating without respite, the risk of employee burnout is becoming increasingly tangible,” International SOS said. It finds that businesses have recorded a surge in stress-related absences, while 65% of surveyed risk managers expect global risks to continue to increase in 2024.

Sally Llewellyn, global security director at International SOS, said: “Organisations will have many risks to address in 2024, as instability continues to be a key theme of the global security environment. The near-continuous pace of crises makes it even more challenging for organisations to navigate. Crisis management teams have been running consistently since Covid, creating a real risk of burnout in this critical function.”

The survey also predicts continued geopolitical disruption and instability in 2024. Seventy-five percent of risk managers expect their business to be impacted by geopolitical events in the year ahead. Civil and social unrest rank as the third-highest security concerns for risk professionals in 2024

Climate change will remain a threat to businesses, as well as the health and security of their staff, International SOS predicts. Its survey found that 25% of risk managers report their operations have already been affected by climate-related events. However, the poll also reveals only half of respondents have factored climate change into their health and security plans.

Dr Irene Lai, global medical director at International SOS, said: “Many of the extreme weather events we witnessed in 2023 may become commonplace in the year ahead, potentially driving climate anxiety amongst a growing number of employees. Extreme heat in Europe, for example, could become a regular occurrence, with potentially more named heatwaves, following the first – Cerberus – this year.”