This morning, News 12's Elizabeth Hashagen was joined by Julia Lamm, the global workforce strategy leader at PWC, and Dr. Michael Leiter, a a world-renowned expert on the psychology of work, to talk about work burnout.

A year of uncertainty and stress, and for many nonstop work, has left many people feeling a state of chronic exhaustion, overwhelming fatigue and loss of motivation.

The issue of burnout existed before the pandemic, and it will exist long after the pandemic passes. But it seems as though COVID-19 exacerbated it.

Burnout is recognized by the World Health Organization as a syndrome. Its symptoms are physical and emotional. They include feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from, and feelings of negativity or cynicism toward one's job; and a reduced ability to do one's work. Leiter talks about the symptoms below.

At its core, burnout is caused by work that demands continuous, long-term physical, cognitive or emotional effort.

During the pandemic, so many work lines have blurred as the workforce went remote.

If you've been feeling burnt out lately, you are not alone. A recent survey of workers in more than 40 countries found that more than 60% reported they felt burned out often or very often during the pandemic. Research shows that workplace burnout poses a serious risk to people's mental health.

Addressing burnout needs to be built into standard operating procedures over the long haul for this reason. Half of workers are feeling burnout, with more than two-thirds saying it has gotten worse over the course of the pandemic, according to a March survey of 1,500 workers conducted by Indeed.

In the below video, Lamm talks about what PWC found when looking at burnout in employees, and what employers are doing:

Sources of burnout can come exclusively from work or from home — where families are facing stressors such as working from home, distance learning and health care for family members — or a combination of the two:

What can companies do to help employees reset, refocus and find their passion again? This is what Leiter and Lamm have to say:

Taking time off from work is crucial for avoiding stress and depression, and their potential consequences. Lamm talks about this strategy below: