FRANKFURT — The number of European Central Bank staff suffering burnout symptoms has risen sharply since 2021, with the proportion of employees harboring suicidal thoughts up by 50 percent over four years, an independent survey commissioned by its staff committee showed.
The survey suggests that the broader rise in mental health problems across Europe since the pandemic hasn't spared the central bank. It is also consistent with the findings of an earlier
survey conducted by the staff union in December last year, which showed the extraordinary circumstances of the last four years had taken a significant toll on staff morale.
The ECB said it took the well-being of staff “very seriously,” and has taken measures to address problems and will continue to do so. Staff representatives nonetheless accuse the ECB of ignoring warning signs and exposing policymaking to the risk of error caused by burned-out staff.
“We cannot watch the significant surge in suicidality over the last four years without questioning the responsibility of the leadership in charge,” said staff committee chair Carlos Bowles. “Burnout is known to induce poor decision-making and this is not what we want for the ECB where millions of European citizens could be negatively impacted by an error in data analysis, macroeconomics forecasting or simply poor judgment as regards the reality of the economic situation.”
Using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory diagnostic tool, a diagnostic tool designed to measure physical and cognitive aspects of burnout, the independent provider Psy@work said that 38.9 percent of survey participants qualified for its burnout category, complaining of exhaustion and disengagement. That was up 5 percentage points from the last such survey conducted in 2021. The share of people who had thought they would be better off dead in the two weeks prior to taking the survey rose to 9.1 percent from 6.1 percent in 2021.
The survey was conducted between April 11 and May 8 with 1,602 out of roughly 4,600 eligible staff members
choosing to complete the test.
Favoritism drives burnout
The source of stress reported by those suffering from burnout symptoms mostly related to perceptions of unfair treatment.
Almost all burnout respondents complained about power games at the Bank. Meanwhile, almost nine in 10 complained about perceived favoritism and nearly as many said that opportunities to get ahead were not based on merit. Even among respondents outside the burnout group, more than 60 percent made the same complaint about favoritism and only half trusted the appeals procedure for regulating disputes.
“It’s not all about workload,” said Bowles. “For years we have faced widespread complaints of rigged recruitment and promotions, with the inevitable consequence that many hard-working colleagues developed psychosomatic symptoms and suffered mental harm.”
Even so, a heavy workload and subpar management style were also cited by the vast majority of those in the burnout category as a cause of stress.
Seven out of 10 of those staff members reported that they regularly work extra hours. Among those who did not fall into the burnout category, one in six said they are regularly working late. Meanwhile, only around a third of respondents said their manager makes people feel enthusiastic or inspires them to get the best out of them.
The survey also saw a resurfacing of allegations of some extreme behavior at the Bank, a problem that has
featured in a previous staff survey. Over 40 respondents reported that they had experienced serious physical or verbal threats while 12 said they had experienced physical violence, either from a colleague, a superior or a client. Another 15 staff members reported that somebody at work used a position of authority to pressure them into unwanted sexual activity.
ECB staff are not alone in experiencing a rise in work-related stress levels. Surveys among the broader population, such as
one from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, have shown that work stress increased during the coronavirus pandemic. A lack of comparable data makes it hard to draw firm conclusions on the current level and trend of burnout and suicidal thinking in all of Europe, although available research
indicates that, in 2021, the suicidal thought rate among the broader population was 2 percentage points lower than at the ECB.
Follow-up failure
Bowles has no doubt where responsibility for that lies.
“The president and the executive board have handled ECB psychosocial risks with an utter lack of care which border on gross negligence,” he said. “The autocratic leadership style of the executive board and their refusal to take action explains why we have so many colleagues in a situation of burnout today."
According to Bowles, management failed to respond to an alarming well-being survey back in 2021, and took only half-hearted measures after its own survey in April 2023 produced similarly disconcerting evidence.
Beyond launching workshops to encourage colleagues to identify and react to inappropriate behavior, the ECB launched a task force with staff representatives reviewing the disciplinary framework and its internal reporting and investigations processes. So far this has not resulted in any concrete measures, Bowles said.
After learning of the staff committee’s survey results on May 16, CSO Myriam Moufakkir and HR chief Eva Murciano reached out to staff to assure them they take “the results very seriously.”
However, staff members' skepticism has only increased since the executive board postponed a meeting with the staff committee at the last minute the evening before it was due to take place on May 28, claiming they needed to reschedule to allow for a longer meeting.
“What message does HR and the president send with the cancellation? It's not that bad? Who cares?” one staff member wrote on the anonymous ECB staff union chat on the issues. The meeting eventually took place on June 25.
ECB is taking measures
On the evening of June 25, Moufakkir sent out an email to all staff listing a slew of measures aimed at addressing concerns. This included recommendations to revise the processes the Bank uses to report and investigate inappropriate behavior and to ensure they are robust and timely. It also recommended efforts to boost job mobility and learning experiences.
According to the mail, the ECB's human resources department is planning to initiate focus groups to identify possible solutions to address excessive workload, with aims to expand training for managers and strengthen feedback capabilities and tools.
“We take the health and well-being of our staff very seriously, and we will continue to engage with the staff committee and all our colleagues on these topics and their root causes. We have put measures in place to respond to issues which had been identified previously and more measures to address issues such as workload and career opportunities are planned,” an ECB spokesperson told POLITICO.
She added that the ECB provides services to support mental and physical health and stressed there is no institutional tolerance of inappropriate behaviour. “Our 2024 pulse survey shows that 85 percent of respondents are proud to work for the ECB and 90 percent believe in the mission and purpose of the ECB, and we will work to sustain that support,” she said
.
The ECB did not address questions on whether it is concerned that current levels of burnout may harm the Bank's ability to perform its duties in the best possible way.
)...but hey go ahead and keep throwing those virtual stones at me
!
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