Andrada Popescu, Kinstellar: “67 percent of Romanian employees have either experienced burnout or have been very close to burnout”

“Statistics show that 59 percent of employees intend to resign due to the imbalance between private and professional life. This percentage is even higher in the IT sector. 33 percent of employees say that the balance between personal and professional life is an essential criterion for them and sometimes it is even more important than financial benefits. Therefore, work-life balance is currently an essential criterion in the decision to leave a job or to apply for a job at a certain company, but also measures such as remote work, additional free time, wellness programs, etc. are crucial especially for young people from generations Z and Y in their decision to choose one job or another.

Although we have a legislative framework to ensure such measures, there are certain states that have already taken a step forward, for example through the 4-day work week, through the right of employees to disconnect, etc., things that show a very high interest in work-life balance,” Andrada Popescu, Senior Associate, Kinstellar said during People Empowering Business Forum organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

“Remote work is a topic that emerged in 2018; in Romania we have not yet reached the moment to talk about the right of employees to disconnect.

There is a European study that shows that 67 percent of Romanian employees have either experienced burnout or have been very close to burnout, which places Romania in the top spots in Europe. Although the World Health Organization established that burnout is an occupational disease in 2019, a legislative project was only recently introduced in Romania to regulate burnout as an occupational disease, to establish a clear definition for burnout, to grant the possibility of sick leave for employees who end up in this situation, as well as obligations for employers to provide training and to conduct periodic medical check-ups. Even in the absence of a legislative framework, there are legal consequences for employers who do not take burnout into account, from simple employee complaints about unsafe working conditions to workplace accidents that are caused by employee exhaustion and expose employers to litigation or sanctions from the authorities.

In my opinion, employers need to have a proactive attitude regarding work-life balance and wellbeing. Ideally, they would ask their employees, do an analysis and see what they can specifically offer their employees, and then implement policies to provide different benefits or prevent burnout in the workplace.”