The Problem of Emotional Burnout Among Junior Staff is on the Rise in Professional Services
The Finance Times recently reported on the growing problem of emotional exhaustion among junior personnel in professional services businesses (consulting, law, and financial firms) as a result of the pandemic's extended isolation. Emotional burnout is not a new problem for workers in the field of professional services, as professional services are characterized by greater rates of burnout than other forms of activity, which is produced by a huge workload and short terms.
As work hours have increased and personal social interactions have been reduced as a result of the epidemic, difficulties with the psychological well-being of professional service workers, particularly at the junior level, have increased.
So, how does the entire cause-and-effect chain look? According to specialists at Consulting.us, the pandemic-related crisis has resulted in an increase in the demand for restructuring services, followed by a growth in mergers and acquisitions and private equity, which has resulted in an increase in the activity of consultants, financiers, and lawyers. In 2020, there were a total of 8,000 private investment transactions, setting a new high, and the number of bankruptcy filings with liabilities over $10 million increased by 16.9%. (consulting.us).
According to Consulting.us, a group of rookie investment analysts at Goldman Sachs told management in March 2021 that they work 95 hours a week, causing concern and insomnia, and employees at one law firm in the United States told the Financial Times that they worked 150 percent longer than planned in 2021.
Throughout the context of the pandemic's remote work model, the fast pace of work and excessive workload of professional services employees cannot be adjusted by personal social connections, holiday vacations, and other activities, and many consultants' houses have become perpetual working offices. As a result, many professional services organizations interviewed by the Financial Times reported issues with junior worker retention. In instance, Kevin Ellis, the head of PwC in the UK, told the Financial Times that he was concerned about staff retention, despite the fact that the company plans to hire 3,000 new remote workers by 2020.
Despite the fact that consulting companies are making some attempts to fight the emotional burnout of their staff, the underlying causes of emotional burnout, like heavy workload and social isolation, are not completely eliminated in the short term, because one of the factors is caused by the specifics of the business, and the second - by the pandemic.