Want to prevent burnout? Invest in AI benefits and more robust PTO

The workforce is still having a hard time establishing a work-life balance — but healthier habits around tech, and the right policies to support a change, can help. 

Ninety-three percent of Gen Z and young millennial managers say it's appropriate to contact colleagues who are out of the office or on vacation, according to a recent survey from workplace insights platform Tech.co. Additionally, 89% feel obliged to respond to work queries when taking time off. 

Despite a shift back to hybrid or in-person workplace set-ups post-pandemic, the reliance on remote work technology and workplace tools remains. Platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams have made it so that employees can be reached any time and any place. At the time, it made the communication between distributed workforces possible. Now, however, it has made it difficult for employees to disconnect completely.

Read more: RTO mandates and surveillance software won't keep employees productive

"It makes sense that  younger employees would be the ones perpetuating this kind of culture," says Conor Cawley, lead writer at Tech.co. "For as long as they've been in the workplace, that has been not only the standard, but the absolute demand from a from their leadership."

Utilizing AI may seem like even more technology to learn and navigate, but it can streamline and offload menial tasks to after-hours, enabling employees to sign off — and stay offline, too. 

"Usually the kind of requests people are fielding are things like 'Can you save this PDF?' or 'Can you send me that document?'" Cawley says. "They're things chat bots could probably handle, especially in off hours. Generative AI technology can reach the point where it can be used to promote work-life balance." 

Read more: 5 strategies to help RTO mandates stick

In addition to revisiting AI plans and policies, HR leaders should also take a look at their  PTO policies. More PTO could encourage employees to take the time off they need instead of hoarding it. It should also be made clear to both those taking time off and the teams they work in that contact should be limited to emergencies and their next point of contact should be established.     

"It is really the employers that should be making the effort to establish and make people understand the importance of a work-life balance," Cawley says. "Rested employees are better employees."