Bulgaria Among Top Five Countries at Risk of Workplace Burnout

Bulgaria ranks among the top five countries with the highest risk of occupational burnout, with annual losses exceeding 600 million leva, according to a study by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). The findings were presented on Business.BG by Tomcho Tomov, Director of the National Competence Research Centre at the Chamber.

The survey covered four sectors: healthcare, education, the judiciary and the security services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some 12 billion working days are lost globally each year due to burnout-related absences.

Doctors, journalists, IT specialists, police officers and firefighters are among the professions most affected by burnout. Its main symptoms include emotional exhaustion, reduced personal effectiveness at work and depersonalisation.

Velin Georgiev, psychologist, said:
“The emotional system is the first to become exhausted. It is the first to fail in coping. The initial defensive reaction is to limit communication with the people who generate this stress. But by protecting ourselves in this way, we also limit our ability to be professionally effective. The entire production process is immediately disrupted. Conflicts then arise with colleagues, followed by tensions with management, because things are no longer working. Eventually, the whole organisation begins to suffer.”

The BCCI study shows that only about 20% of employers in Bulgaria recognise the need for measures to preserve and retain their workforce. Meanwhile, the annual economic damage caused by burnout amounts to hundreds of millions of leva.

Tomcho Tomov said:
“The average annual costs for both the state and employers are around 600 million leva. These are increasing due to compensation payments linked to illness. But from the perspective of society and the economy, we must also include compensation related to occupational diseases, which are likewise rooted in stress and burnout.”

According to the World Health Organization, 48% of the global workforce suffers from burnout in the workplace.

Mr Tomov added:
“About 12 billion working days are lost worldwide every year due to sickness absence linked to burnout. This represents around one trillion dollars annually in costs from reduced productivity and compensation payments. That is roughly 1% of global gross domestic product.”

When indirect effects such as demotivation, lateness, low technological discipline, high staff turnover and workplace accidents are included, the total global losses rise by a further 6 to 7 trillion dollars, or around 6% of global GDP.