It’s not only everyone else… recruiters get burned out too!

Exhaustion… Resignation… The great what comes next?

Those responsible for the naming convention of job market trends may need to be a little bit more creative in their thinking. Simply sticking ‘great’ in front of everything is not that, well… great, is it?

The phenomenon of exhausted employees resigning is widely attributed to the anxieties and complexities of living and working during the pandemic. Curiously enough, WFH (work from home), widely credited as being a life-saver for many businesses and workers, has proved to be emotionally challenging.

Where there are no clear boundaries to help separate work from home life, juggling business with domestic stresses has undermined mental and physical wellbeing.

Covid may currently be in the descendancy, but its effects cast a long shadow. One of these is the economic impact caused by the failure to keep up with increased demand. The inability to meet the spike in demand created by the ending of pandemic restrictions has forced prices up.

One of the starkest examples of supply and demand being out of step is the travel industry, where there has been significant disruption to summer holidays across Europe as airports and airlines struggle to replace resources that was let go or that moved on.

The conflict in Ukraine has impacted the supply of energy, grain and sunflower oil, fuelling market volatility and forcing prices up. Controlling this inflationary pressure is forcing central banks to put interest rates up.

The net result is people in all walks of life are experiencing burnout as they reel from a series of successive blows that are undermining mental health and physical wellbeing. This includes recruiters – both those working as HR practitioners within personnel departments as well as those working in agencies to fill permanent, contract and freelance temporary vacancies.

The Great Vacancy…!

In what might be called ‘The Great Job Vacancy Gap’ in Australia and the UK, as well as many other economies, there are currently record numbers of unfilled roles. Although it is too late to help retain those that may have already resigned, addressing burnout is one way to prevent the problem from getting worse.

Identified and defined in the 1970s by US Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger, the key symptoms of burnout are a loss of motivation, emotional depletion and cynicism due to work-related stress.

For agency principles, or those responsible for managing recruitment teams, it is useful to be able to recognise the symptoms of burnout that may be indications of mental and physical health impacts that may lead to increasing levels of absenteeism and, eventually, resignation.

Recognising the signs of burnout

• Exhaustion – recruiters appearing persistently tired, even after resting, and feeling emotionally drained and physically run-down
• Sleep problems – recruiters experiencing disturbed sleep patterns or insomnia may appear listless, worsening exhaustion
• Loss of enthusiasm for work – frustration making agency staff increasingly negative, cynical and resentful about work
• Reduced work performance – recruiters failing to hit targets and deadlines and generally underperforming
• Worry and anxiety – agency staff expressing misgivings about being in the workplace and about their performance
• Physical burnout symptoms – burnout expressing itself through physical symptoms such as head and backache, high blood pressure, respiratory and stomach problems
• Irritability and mood swings – watch out for irritable or moody recruiters because burnout enlarges the area of the brain linked with fear and aggression

Some tactics for heading off recruiter burnout

Recruiters are more aware than most about the underlying issues behind the trends we are seeing in today’s job market. With the talent gap creating pressure on agency recruiters to perform, some might be showing signs of burnout. Some useful ways of helping to prevent burnout include:

• Time off – ‘enforce’ annual leave or give some compassionate time off, if it is justified. Going abroad can be stressful, but staycationing, or just having time off and being at home allows time for R&R.
• No late working – clear out the office on time, or make sure WFH recruiters are logging off on time. Finishing work is a routine that needs to be re-established as the long hours’ work culture is a factor in burnout.
• Team building and social – the value of team building and social events should not be overlooked. Whether it’s an organised business team day out or after-work drinks on end-of-month Friday, foster a team spirit and supportive culture.
• CPD – talking about career matters, re-establishing long-term plans of which recruiters may have lost sight, and generally considering career objectives can help those showing symptoms of burnout to focus on the bigger picture.

Efficiency to help your agency meet recruitment challenges from ETZ

Recruitment agencies face many challenges. However, back office efficiency is not one of them when you partner with ETZ. We make sure that your back office processes are efficient and optimised.

ETZ is the RecTech partner of choice, helping agencies to navigate the pitfalls and obtain excellent value from technology. To find out more, call us on +61 (0) 405 458 821 or book a demo.