The second objective of this second phase was to make recommendations to prevent and treat burnout.

The focus was initially on primary prevention, in order to anticipate when burnout might arise. Several avenues were explored. Management issues are perhaps the most important, as workers most often complain of a lack of respect, support, and recognition. In order to prevent burnout, management must be trained, and a more decentralised management structure must be reinstated. Workers need attentive managers, yet they are too often outside of the office or in meetings, and are no longer present alongside their team.

Another level of prevention is to provde support for people suffering from burnout. In difficult situations, support groups can help employees put things in perspective, learn new adaptive strategies, and realise that they are not alone. The literature shows that support groups for employees with problems at work can be very useful. Such groups do exist in Belgium, but they are still few and far between. And other than independent psychologists who are trained to support and treat people experiencing burnout, there are only a few organisations in existence that address burnout, such as the CITES Stress and Work Clinic or the Brugmann University Hospital in Brussels.

The ValoRH team identified all the available treatment options, which highlighted the lack of services to help people suffering from burnout and their poor visibility. "We noticed that people who were on sick leave because of burnout didn't know where to turn for treatment. This is why monitoring must take place within the company, and external organisations with a certain amount of visibility must be created. A progressive return to part-time work rather than an immediate return to full-time work should also be considered in many cases. Indeed, if an employee is absent for more than 6 months, it's extremely unlikely that they'll ever return to work," explains Julie De Cia.

Some avenues for further exploration 

The multidisciplinary team is currently working to inform physicians, and particularly GPs, about their detection tool. The researchers hope that health professionals will eventually use it to better detect cases of burnout.

The study has already alerted the Federal Public Service for Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue about the lack of treatment options for burnout. In contrast to harassment, for which a law already exist, there are no laws concerning burnout. There is therefore a grey area regarding treatment of employees experiencing burnout: which health professionals should care for them? What is the best treatment approach? What prevention methods should be implemented in the workplace? How can a return to work be prioritised and supported? etc. 

The study also raises the issue of primary interventions. Companies are still lacking in information about how to prevent burnout and improve working conditions. When companies make the effort to evaluate working conditions and define at-risk groups, they need support in establishing action plans and more specifically in determining the kinds of actions to take depending on the results of their risk analysis. 

Raising awareness among managers and health professionals, developing support structures, or even defining an appropriate legal framework - these are some of the many challenges that must be overcome to ensure that burnout doesn't destroy the health of our workforce.