February 2026 Volume 8

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

COMBATING BURN-OUT IN THE FORGING INDUSTRY By Katie Dzierwa

P roductive employees provide the best hope for growth for forging companies, both big and small. This is the reason industry groups, professional organizations, and even news media constantly provide information and training on workforce development. Even with these efforts, burn-out is a phenomenon that has increased its effect on an industry that has been known for generations as one that’s filled with a culture of hard work, dedication and camaraderie. Burn-out Definition and Symptoms According to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), burn-out currently is classified as an “occupational phenomenon” rather than a medical condition. The ICD-11 defines burn-out as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” The definition goes on to characterize burn-out as “feeling energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feeling of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.” 1 Burn-out can result in mental, physical and emotional exhaustion. It can cause individuals to feel unmotivated and have lower productivity. People who experience burn-out sometimes isolate themselves, become irritable or get easily frustrated. 2 In 2024, a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) survey of full-time workers in companies that have at least 100 employees found that 52% of personnel reported feeling symptoms of burn-out in the previous year because of their job. Thirty-seven percent reported such high levels of overwhelm that they felt that they couldn’t successfully do their job. 3 Another survey, completed by another organization in 2025, found that 66% of respondents experience burn-out. 4 In this survey, younger generations reported higher levels of burn-out. Eighty-one percent of employees age

18–24 years old reported symptoms of burn-out. Eighty-three percent of 25–34 year olds reported similarly. On the other hand, the survey found that 49% of employees age 55 years old and older reported experiencing burn-out. 5 Increasing Burn-out Rates One factor that contributes to the increased reports of burn-out is the changing perspective and expectations of being a professional. Newer generations in the workforce are bringing their knowledge and values into the forging industry. The roots of their understanding come from not only their family upbringing, as was the main source of information gathering for previous generations, but also from their own unique and expanding experiences from environments, such as school, and through different extracurriculars. Additionally, news outlets, social media, and various reading development content shape current perspectives regarding topics such as work-life balance and life goals. Working people today have more information about various standards of living, ways to promote healthier minds and bodies, and ways to find happiness and connection. Sometimes, newer values and goals can clash with workplace structures and expectations, which often still are based on values and principles that were constructed in the 1930s/1940s, when the “9-to-5” became a standardized part of many people’s lives. Financial stressors also are significantly different compared to those of the past. Whereas a manufacturing job provided a family with the means to afford a home (potentially on one income), health care, education and more back when the Baby Boomer generation was entering the workforce, this is not necessarily the case now. Parents, and particularly mothers, often carry an additional load of balancing the rising costs of childcare with the ever-expanding demands of raising children in today’s world. Younger generations find that their incomes do not guarantee the same standard of living that similar positions provided for in the past. Within the past decade, many company policies shifted to a “lean” structure. Companies try to work with a “more with less” mentality, as various factors have caused the slimming of company employee numbers. Cross-functional jobs and teams can help with communication and innovation, but the toll is that more job duties and responsibilities can increase workload and communication time. 2 Some people might find that they are covering tasks that once were handled by multiple people. Although technology has offered opportunities to streamline processes, sometimes there is a lack of checks in place to ensure that employees have not been overloaded more than they are reasonably able to handle. Today’s employees are accessible and reachable at all times of the day. Phones can be found connected at the hip of many people, with workplace emails and texts often lighting up the phone deep into off-hours. This ability to be reachable at all times of the day is, of course, beneficial in the forging industry environment, but without intentionally having time to disconnect, people can remain in a state of stress for significant periods of time.

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