It has been established that people who have a documented record of burnout tend to be overlooked when applying for jobs. Research from Ghent University explores whether similar discrimination occurs when people apply for roles internally.
In the study, 405 British and American managers were asked if they would promote fictional employees based on 1,620 assessed candidates. Some had gaps in their work history, due to reasons like burnout, parental leave, or sick leave from an accident.
Harming career prospects
Employees with a history of burnout had the lowest chances for promotion, while those with no employment interruptions had the best prospects. Ex-burnout patients scored 34 percentage points lower in promotion propensity compared to the latter group.
“Moreover, our data suggest that a history of burnout had the largest impact of all information provided on our promotion candidates. For instance, in their ratings of candidates, managers assigned a higher weight to a history of burnout than employees’ performance records or tenure,” the researchers explain.
Managers assessed their candidates on 10 factors, besides overall promotion ratings, that previous research indicated may explain burnout discrimination. The results showed multiple stigmatizing perceptions about burnout syndrome, particularly that managers believe ex-burnout employees are less stress-resistant, have weaker leadership skills, and set a poor example.
Stigma attached
“However, we found that other stigma could explain additional parts of the puzzle. For instance, the employees with a burnout experience received significantly lower scores for motivation and current health from the managers,” the authors continue.
The authors hope the research findings will encourage employers to consider ex-burnout employees fairly in promotions and adopt a more diverse policy. The study shows unequal treatment continues within organizations, contradicting the idea that it only occurs during the hiring stage.
“Furthermore, our findings argue against the implementation of labor market reintegration policies and interventions with an exclusively short-term focus, which approach return-to-work as a dichotomous variable. Clearly, burnout syndrome’s negative career impact remains a threat in the longer-term,” they conclude.
