![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/brittany-schmaling.png\")
<\/p>\nFive years out from the onset of the pandemic, the residual effects are still creating an unprecedented impact on the workplace \u2014 leading to everything from the retention crisis to employee health issues.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five percent of people who have sought help for burnout after Covid emerged still haven\u2019t recovered, something that\u2019s now killing more Americans annually than Alzheimer\u2019s. And contrary to every assumption about their resilience, it\u2019s increasingly hitting the youngest workers hardest, before their careers have even begun.<\/p>\n
At its annual conference in Las Vegas last week, HR tech company Dayforce spotlighted research that challenges nearly every conventional assumption about employee well-being, from who\u2019s most at risk to what actually helps \u2014 and why the traditional playbook is failing.<\/p>\n
When it comes to burnout, Brittany Schmaling, principal data analyst at Dayforce, presented a sobering statistic: globally, more than 740,000 people die annually from heart disease and stroke linked to long working hours. Workplace stress is now the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., ahead of both Alzheimer\u2019s and kidney disease.<\/p>\n
The toll extends beyond employee well-being. Employers lose some $5 million per 1,000 workers annually due to burnout-related healthcare costs, while 42% of voluntary turnover is directly caused by burnout.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurnout is not about being a little bit tired,\u201d Schmaling said. \u201cIt\u2019s a chronic response to workplace stressors that can fundamentally reshape how people experience their jobs and their lives.\u201d According to the World Health Organization, burnout consists of three components: high exhaustion, high cynicism and low efficacy.<\/p>\n
\n “People need help now. You have to have more proactive types of benefits that help people with their mental health.” <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Brittany Schmaling, <\/p>\n
\n principal data analyst, Dayforce <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a cost standpoint alone, this should be getting everyone\u2019s attention,\u201d added Jason Rahlan, Dayforce\u2019s global head of sustainability and social impact. \u201cThe reality is, the health of tens of millions of people in America rests in the hands of HR leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
In practice, burnout manifests as significant emotional blunting. \u201cPeople stop feeling anything, and when they do have an emotional response, it\u2019s too intense for what the scenario required, and they can\u2019t let it go,\u201d Schmaling said. What distinguishes true burnout from simple fatigue is its intensity and duration \u2014 it\u2019s not something that can be remedied by a two-week vacation.<\/p>\n
The Gen Z surge<\/p>\n
Schmaling\u2019s vast research reveals a concerning U-shaped trend. Burnout spiked dramatically during the pandemic, then declined, but has been ticking back up over the past two years. RTO mandates have played a role, eliminating the cognitive relief remote work provided.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople only have so much energy every day,\u201d Schmaling said. \u201cYou have 24 hours in a day. If you have eight hours of sleep and at least eight hours of work, you really only have eight hours left for family, friends, relationships, working out \u2014 and generally, we don\u2019t have enough hours.\u201d When people were working from home, they didn\u2019t have to think about whether their hair was perfect or struggle through 90-minute commutes. \u201cYou get people back their spoons to fill that time with other things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Significantly, burnout is surging among workers under 30. When Schmaling first spotted that trend, she thought something must be wrong with her model. Then she sat down with a young journalist who explained the crushing reality: \u201cWe\u2019re being told to go to school, get good grades, do extracurriculars, volunteer. If you\u2019re lucky, you\u2019ll get into college you can\u2019t afford. Then there are no jobs. You can\u2019t retire because of student loans. You can\u2019t buy a house. You can\u2019t afford daycare. There is no good news for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n “From a cost standpoint alone, this should be getting everyone’s attention.” <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/jason-rahlan.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n Jason Rahlan, <\/p>\n
\n global head of sustainability and social Impact. Dayforce <\/p>\n
The generational shift is forcing organizations to rethink what constitutes basic expectations versus perks. \u201cIf you\u2019re not doing the things that the next generation perceives as table stakes, you\u2019re going to lose out on attracting and retaining that talent,\u201d Rahlan said. His team\u2019s research revealed that Gen Z is actually saving earlier than previous generations, particularly when employers offer student loan repayment programs within 401(k) plans. Research has found significant mental health improvements among Gen Z workers who had access to such programs.<\/p>\n
Rethinking the fundamentals<\/p>\n
While organizations fixate on the latest tech solutions, Rahlan suggests they may be overlooking fundamental structural changes that serve to boost employee well-being and head off burnout. His team\u2019s survey found that while 77% of workers are paid biweekly, for example, many would benefit from more frequent pay schedules.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople deserve greater agency and choice in how they get paid,\u201d Rahlan said. His research revealed that if employees get paid more frequently \u2014 say, every week instead of every two weeks \u2014 it creates significant improvements in financial health, mental health, the ability to pay bills, and reduced stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n
His team found that many employees would trade working-from-home days for additional paid leave, with seven extra days off matching the value of a typical pay increase. \u201cFrom a cost standpoint, it could be much more economical to offer paid leave for the folks who need it,\u201d Rahlan said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of folks in the sandwich generation caring for both children and aging parents. Leave can go a longer way than a 5% pay increase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmaling reinforced the point about accessibility, emphasizing that benefits must be genuinely usable. \u201cPeople need help now,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to have more proactive types of benefits that help people with their mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n “HR leaders are expected to be the compassion zone.” <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/amy-wolf.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, <\/p>\n
\n chief people officer, Dayforce <\/p>\n
The business case<\/p>\n
Both Rahlan and Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, Dayforce\u2019s chief people officer, emphasized that demonstrating the ROI of employee well-being requires moving beyond anecdotes to systematic measurement, but that individual employee stories remain key for gaining executive buy-in as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a storytelling culture as a society,\u201d Rahlan said. \u201cWhen you hear those stories of how HR leaders can make investments in people that will transform their lives \u2014 other than your family, you don\u2019t have a stronger connection with any entity in the world than your employer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cappellanti-Wolf stressed the importance of systematic organizational effectiveness. \u201cVery rarely do we prioritize the work and then figure out the right workforce plan,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s usually cut the workforce but don\u2019t worry about what that means for employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmaling is developing new dashboards to help organizations measure burnout systematically. \u201cPay attention to your employee listening activities,\u201d she said. \u201cYour employees are not Mr. Potato Head. Everything going on in the outside world is coming in with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For HR leaders themselves at risk of burnout, Cappellanti-Wolf emphasized the importance of setting boundaries. \u201cHR leaders are expected to be the compassion zone,\u201d she said. \u201cThey need to understand compassion fatigue and that not every problem is theirs to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s clear is that those employers succeeding in workforce well-being will be those taking a holistic, data-driven approach \u2014 measuring what matters, telling compelling stories and fundamentally reimagining how work can better serve human needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five years out from the onset of the pandemic, the residual effects are still creating an unprecedented impact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-214521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}