Running a business is time-consuming and often demanding, but with employee burnout becoming an increasing problem for business owners, how can they strike the right balance between mental health and profitable productivity? 

Money business loans experts surveyed 2,000 UK employees to explore the different generations’ attitudes to work and burnout coping mechanisms.

Trending on TikTok: Almost two in three employees (63%) manage stress with Bare Minimum Mondays

Bare minimum Mondays is a TikTok trend whereby you do the bare minimum required at work on a Monday to avoid ‘Sunday Scaries’ (experienced by 7 in 10 (63%) workers) and ease yourself into the week. 

Bare minimum Mondays are the UK’s second most popular approach to avoiding burnout, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of workers admitting to doing the bare minimum required on a Monday. Sunday Scaries have Young Millennials adopting Bare Minimum Mondays the most (67%) to avoid stress.

Breaking the data down by age group, the business loans experts at money found that the number of people participating in Bare Minimum Mondays dramatically declines in the oldest age group.

With burnout becoming a hot topic in recent years, younger generations seem more aware of coping mechanisms and techniques to avoid it.

• Quiet Quitting’ sees half (54%) of workers cutting workloads
• Quiet Quitting’ means completing one’s minimum work requirements without going above and beyond or bringing work home after hours. 

The new data from Money reveals that quiet quitting sees more than half (54%) of staff working to rule on average.

Older workers are most likely to work the hardest, but even so, half of them admit to Quiet Quitting

Just over three in five (61%) employees surveyed aged 25–34 said they currently partake in the TikTok trend Quiet Quitting, followed by over half (52%) of those aged 35–44 and 18–24 (51%), half (50%) of those aged 45–54 and over 2 in 5 (42%) of those aged 55+ who said the same. This is a trend that is popular across all generations.

Forget four-day weeks in all but name, and Brits already cut workloads with Freedom Fridays

• Freedom Fridays is a trend whereby employees take on a lighter workload and more relaxed schedule on a Friday. 
• Freedom Fridays are the UK’s most popular TikTok work trend, with over two-thirds (65%) of all workers taking on a lighter ‘Freedom Friday’ workload to finish the week earlier.
• Freedom Fridays are most popular with millennials, as almost three-quarters (72%) regularly finish up early.

How to keep employees healthy, happy, and motivated

On motivating your workforce, supporting their mental health and thus keeping burnout at bay, James Andrews, money business loans expert, said: “Government figures show that sickness absence and lost productivity through worklessness contribute towards an estimated £100bn annual cost to businesses.”

“Our research shows that putting the right workplace perks in place will motivate a third (35%) of your workforce to be more engaged at work, and yet they remain an underrated way for business owners to keep their workforce happy and thriving.”

“Focusing on perks that are beneficial to mental health, like exercise and eating well, can be cost-effective for business owners to drive motivation and productivity while reducing absenteeism and poor engagement.”

“As such, subsidised gym classes and memberships, offering a free healthy breakfast in the office and virtual mental health counselling could boost your bottom line and prove popular with staff.”

The Mental Health Foundation’s employer checklist for creating mentally healthy workplaces states that: Value mental health and well-being as core assets of your organisation

• Commit to developing an approach to mental health at work that protects and improves mental health for everyone whilst supporting those who experience distress.
• Designate board champions, and ensure senior leaders and middle managers are responsible for implementing mental health programmes.
• Commit to reviewing how you do business to ensure your everyday working culture is as mentally healthy as possible. Make evidence-based mental health promotion tools like mindfulness and exercise available to all staff.
• Regular staff surveys and other research to build data about staff mental health, using findings to plan, deliver action, and inform workplace policies. Recognise and celebrate the impact of existing employee benefits and corporate social responsibility activities on staff’s mental health and well-being.

Support the development of compassionate and effective line management relationships

• Provide opportunities for managers to attend relevant training to support staff living with mental health problems and the well-being of all staff more widely.
• Provide proactive support for staff line-managing people with mental health problems, including access to HR and, where necessary, occupational health services.
• Recognise that line managers with personal lived experience of mental health problems are a unique asset to a company.

Address discrimination

• Ensure that discrimination on mental health status is seen as unacceptable as discrimination about other protected characteristics such as race, gender or sexual orientation.
• Encourage staff to report any discrimination or harassment and blow the whistle on the discrimination they witness.
• Support national and local anti-stigma initiatives such as Time to Change, Time to Change Cymru, See Me and Mental Health Awareness Week.

Value the diversity and transferable skills that lived experience of mental health problems bring and support disclosure

• Include mental health in diversity and inclusion strategies, and recognise the mental health component of wider equality initiatives.
• Ensure your business creates opportunities to link with employability providers to enable people with mental health problems to join your workforce.
• Give people positive reasons to disclose by establishing a culture that values authenticity and openness – this should be led from the top of the organisation.
• Explore setting up peer support and mentoring programmes for staff with lived experience of mental health problems.