Job Hunting? Side-Step Burnout By Watching Out For These 3 Red Flags

When most of us are searching for jobs and interviewing our biggest worry is whether or not our potential employers will see us as valuable candidates.

We stress over whether our resume is good enough, if we have the right skills, or if we’d be a good fit on the team. And while all of these anxieties about starting over in a new setting are entirely valid, with employee burnout on the rise, it’s vital that for the sake of your well-being, you ensure your new gig is a good fit for you — and not just the other way around.

Knowing the existing factors in a workplace that lead to increased feelings of exhaustion, stress, and anxiety among its workers can clue you in on what you should look for in your next job. So here are three red flags when job hunting to remember as you navigate the “post-pandemic” workforce below:

3 Red flags for job seekers to know:

Red flag #1: The company is lagging behind on technology.

In the 2022 Future Forum survey on company culture and productivity, it found that employers who were slow adopters of mainstream technology resulted in more feelings of burnout among employees. Ask key questions during your interviews, like what kind of software they use, to get a closer look at how innovative (or not) your future company might be.

Red flag #2: The company doesn’t grant schedule or location flexibility.

If schedule flexibility isn’t on your list of must-haves, move it on up because you know what?

Life happens. And when it does, most employees report that having an employer who grants them flexibility in where and when they work is a whole lot better than one who doesn’t.

Red flag #3: The company doesn’t value a collaborative workplace culture.

After speaking with recruiters and employees at a prospective company and you still don’t get the sense that there are chances for connection and teamwork among its employees, you might want to rethink the offer. According to the Future Forum survey, workers who look forward to having comradery at work report higher feelings of job satisfaction overall.

Job seekers might not be the boss, but you still have control.

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