Are you looking for the latest statistics on manager burnout?
We know how frustrating it can be to find relevant statistics on this topic. There are so many out there and they all seem to contradict each other. That’s why we decided to compile a list of manager burnout statistics and put them all in one place so that you don’t have to waste time sifting through the good, bad, and ugly.
You don’t have to spend hours searching for these—they’re all available right here. We’ll be updating this list as more statistics become available, so make sure you check back regularly!
As you read through our list, think about what these statistics mean for your life and business. Is it time for you to make some changes? Are there any stats that resonate with you? What will your next steps be?
We hope these statistics help you better understand how important it is to take care of yourself as a manager—and how much it impacts your team when you don’t do that!
Current State of Manager Burnout Statistics
1. 30% of managers struggle with burnout or other stress-related mental health issues.
If we specifically look at Millenial and Generation Z managers, that percentage is noticeably higher at 36%. Furthermore, 29% of managers report that they have difficulties spotting the signs of such mental issues.
Similarly, the share of managers from the aforementioned two generations is slightly larger than the overall share at 34%.
(Met Life)
2. 60% of managers feel “used up” at the end of every workday.
44% of these managers believe that they have to change their companies in order to advance their careers, while 26% of them plan on leaving their companies in the next year.
In contrast, only 24% of the managers who don’t feel used up at the end of their workday believe they need to find a new job in order to advance their career, and just 6% of them plan to leave their work in the next year.
(DDI World)
3. 86% of employees with aspirations and potential to become managers are also feeling used up.
The percentage of high-performance employees who feel burned out has increased by 27% compared to the year before. 37% of them say they could leave their companies to reach a managerial position elsewhere in the near future.
On the other hand, only 17% of high-performance employees who don’t feel used up consider a change of companies in the next year.
(DDI World)
4. 24% of managers describe their position as extremely stressful.
The majority (or 62%) of managers rate their role as moderately stressful, while only 13% consider it to be slightly stressful.
Moreover, the number of employees they manage has a close correlation to their stress.
Only 16% of managers that supervise small teams between one and five members reported being extremely stressed out. However, the share of managers who manage teams of six to ten members is 18%, and 26% when it comes to teams with 11 to 30 employees.
Finally, 44% of managers with teams of over 30 members report severe stress.
(Zenbusiness)
5. 84% of managers believe it is important to hide their emotions and stress from their subordinates.
Interestingly, hiding emotions is more important to female managers than their male counterparts.
The importance of hiding stress was acknowledged by 89% of the female managers, while 79% of the men responded the same way.
(Zenbusiness)
6. Close to a third (32%) of managers say they are often unable to meet the expectations of their higher management and their subordinates.
Caught in the middle, 42% of managers believe that their superiors don’t understand how much time it takes to manage a team, while 41% agree that their teams don’t realize just how hard it is to manage them.
(Met Life)
7. 46% of managers believe they are not adequately rewarded for their efforts.
44% of managers also agree that the efforts they put into the extra responsibilities that come with the role are not appreciated.
The responses from the surveyed individual contributors seem to back this statement up, as only 34% of the employees believe that their managers now are struggling more than during the Covid-19 pandemic.
(Met Life)
8. 44% of managers think that the initiatives for the well-being of employees overlook the challenges of people management.
38% of them also believe that their employers do not provide enough resources to support their mental health. However, the percentage of individual contributors that agree with this statement is noticeably lower, at 31%.
(Met Life)
9. The likelihood of managers working outside their work hours is 59%.
For employees with no managerial responsibilities, the likelihood is 20% lower, at 39%. Additionally, 32% of managers feel overwhelmed more than half the time they are at work.
The share of individual contributors that feel this way is markedly lower at 26%.
(Met Life)
10. Only 58% of managers rate their mental health at 8,9, or 10.
In comparison, 82% of executive leaders evaluated their mental health with the top three grades.
(Yahoo Inc)
Statistics on What Is Causing Manager Burnout
10. Personal issues are the leading cause of burnout, according to 41% of managers.
Workplace anxiety is a close second, with 40% of managers pointing it out. The long hours of work are a cause of burnout for 39% of managers, while 34% get burned out from personal pressure. 30% of managers also face career burnout, caused by working for many years.
(Yahoo Inc)
11. 37% of managers say that they were stressed out for a considerable amount of time on their most recent day at work.
Most managers are exposed to two of the top five burnout predictors; i.e. unreasonable time expectations and workloads that are impossible to manage.
In addition to burnout, this stress can cause a negative effect on their professional performance, but also on their health and even their personal relationships.
For example, 34% of managers say their job interferes with their family life.
(Gallup)
12. 42% of managers struggle with multiple competing priorities.
Managers are more likely to deal with this issue than employees with no management responsibilities.
Only 27% of individual contributors pointed out competing priorities as a problem, and 40% of them agree they have a clear job description. The share of managers who understand what is expected of them is 36%.
Finally, only 41% of managers strongly agree that their job description is aligned with the work they are actually asked to do at their workplace.
(Gallup)
13. 45% of managers say that maintaining a balance between work and life is the most stressful area of their jobs.
While balancing is the most stressful aspect, time management is a close second, with 44% of managers pointing to it as a challenge.
37% of managers also get stressed out from managing increasing workloads and employee conflicts, and another 34% added managing increased responsibilities and disciplining subordinates to the list of stressors.
(Zenbusiness)
14. Upper management is the greatest source of stress for 40% of managers.
Managers get stressed out by their superiors slightly more than they do by their subordinates, as agreed by 37% of them. Other managers at their level are the least likely cause of stress, and only 23% of managers consider them a stressor.
At the same time, other managers are the likeliest source of support for 52% of managers, while 26% say they can find support in upper management and only 22% find their subordinates supportive.
(Zenbusiness)
15. 30% of managers strongly agree that they have a lot of interruptions at work.
The share of individual contributors who agree with this statement is much less considerable at 18%. Moreover, about a fifth, or 21% of managers believe they have too much to do at work.
The number of average work hours per week for managers is 49, while the corresponding figure for employees that don’t have any managerial roles stands at 45.
(Gallup)
16. Only 24% of managers believe their performance reviews are accurate.
Poor performance reviews have a negative effect on managers, which is clearly presented by the fact that only 8% of them are inspired to work harder after their performance is assessed.
Moreover, managers are 11% less likely to agree that they have the chance to do what they can do best at work than individual contributors.
(Gallup)
Statistics on Manager Burnout Caused by Covid-19
17. In 2020, every two out of three managers reported getting burned out.
They ranked burnout as the third most significant mental health challenge during the pandemic, just below stress and depression.
According to 94% of managers, the employees working under them were facing burnout as well.
(Yahoo Inc)
18. During the pandemic, 84% of managers felt somewhat responsible for the burnout of their direct subordinates.
Employee burnout during the pandemic was considerably higher than normal, with 72% of workers saying they could feel it. In addition to managing their own, managers had to deal with its effects across their entire organizations.
On a more positive note, 73% of managers reported that they were provided with enough resources to support their employees. However, only 55% of the employees felt that their managers cared about their well-being.
(Limeade)
19. 87% of managers reported that they or their team experienced mental health challenges in 2020.
Even though burnout was not the top mental difficulty during the pandemic, 25% of managers reported they felt its impact personally, or on their subordinates. Anxiety with 45% and loneliness with 37% were the leading challenges that Covid introduced to the workplace.
30% of managers also reported depression, and 27% said they or their team struggled with stress due to financial strain, all of which are known to instigate burnout.
(Yahoo Inc)
20. 59% of managers worked longer hours during the Covid-19 pandemic.
What’s more, a staggering 72% said they sometimes felt pressure to show up at work when they’re not well, instead of taking a sick day.
The stats further reveal that 60% of male managers felt completely comfortable requesting a day off, while only 25% of female managers felt the same way.
(Limeade)
21. Only 11% of female managers evaluated their well-being as extremely positive during the pandemic.
On the other hand, the share of male managers who felt this way is 42%.
Furthermore, 33% of women managers were worried about losing their job during the pandemic, while this was the case for 26% of men in the same position.
Finally, 73% of female managers felt like they have what it takes to emotionally support their teams, while 94% of the men felt like this.
(Limeade)
22. In 2021, 35% of managers reported feeling burned out at all times or most of the time.
In comparison, the statistics from 2020 show that only 27% of managers experienced the same always or very often.
The biggest increase came from Millennial managers, 42% of which reported burnout. The second-most burned-out generation of managers was Generation Z, with 34% of them reporting this issue.
27% of managers belonging to Generation X and 21% of Baby Boomer managers said they felt the impact of burnout.
(Gallup, Met Life)
23. 68% of HR leaders agree that managers supervising hybrid teams are overwhelmed.
The pandemic-induced hybrid work model is another cause of burnout managers still struggle with.
Even though 89% of HR leaders believe that empathy is the most important trait for managers in this situation, only 14% of them have changed the design of the managerial role, to reduce their responsibilities.
(Gartner)
24. Only 60% of managers say they can manage their workload when working from home.
Contrary to junior and senior employees who believe working from home is more productive, managers are struggling with the new regime.
A recent survey reveals that managers are 91% more likely to have difficulties with remote work than senior executives and individual contributors.
(Fortune)
25.The pandemic has caused 61% of managers in UK to endure burnout at work.
(The HR Director)
That’s according to a recent survey conducted by Benenden Health, which asked hundreds of UK managers about their experiences with burnout and how they’re dealing with it.
The survey also found that almost 20% were planning to quit their jobs because of how much it strains them mentally.
The results of this study indicate that employers need to take steps to address these issues as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Manager burnout is a very real phenomenon that impacts hundreds of thousands of people every year. The statistics show that it is a problem that is only getting worse, with no end in sight.
If you are a manager, or you know someone who is, it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of burnout so that you can take steps to prevent it. With the right knowledge and support, we can all help to reduce the incidence of manager burnout and improve the wellbeing of everyone involved.
And if you are an employee, remember that you can play a role in preventing burnout by supporting your manager and ensuring that their workload is manageable.
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