In South Africa, burnout among professionals is a pressing reality, with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) revealing in a recent report that 52% of employees surveyed have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, 13% of which had been diagnosed with burnout specifically.
Finance professionals are particularly vulnerable, given the demanding nature of their roles that are often riddled with tight deadlines, complex regulations and high expectations, which often leads to elevated stress levels. In fact, a study by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) shared that, in the US, 89% of workers have experienced burnout within the past year, adding that “while there aren’t similar statistics available for South African workplaces yet, the anecdotal evidence – in workplaces, in everyday life, and across social media − clearly shows that South Africans are taking tremendous strain”.
The financial services sector in particular is a hotspot for burnout, and the consequences of this go beyond individual well-being: decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and higher turnover rates all create significant operational and financial risks for organisations.
Structural drivers of stress
The stress in finance roles is often embedded in the way work is structured in day to day processes. Complex reporting requirements, for instance, with frequent reconciliations and the need to consolidate multiple data streams create a high-pressure environment where accuracy is non-negotiable. Every missed line item or delayed report can have cascading effects on leadership decisions, investor confidence and regulatory compliance.
Manual processes using spreadsheets, email chains and repetitive reconciliation tasks further compound the problem, absorbing time that could be spent on analysis or strategic insights and keeping skilled professionals in a constant cycle of reactive work. Over time, this sustained pressure contributes to fatigue, disengagement and even a downward spiral of mental and physical well-being.
Alwyn Pretorius, General Manager at Infinitus Reporting Solutions, providers of Finnivo®, explains that from his experience in finance, the rigorous nature of the work that finance professionals engage in as well as long hours and high expectations all add up. “The reality is that month-end and year-end cycles demand long hours and meticulous attention to detail. Even small errors can have significant operational and financial consequences, so the pressure on teams is constant and cumulative.
“And to get more specific, when finance teams are tied up in repetitive tasks, productivity does suffer, but more than that strategic decisions are delayed, and the human cost is real. Exhausted teams, late nights and the stress that follows through audit and reporting cycles are just some of the issues faced in finance teams,” he continues.
Pretorius suggests that addressing burnout requires rethinking how work is done. Streamlining operational processes, introducing better integration of systems and automating repetitive tasks can reduce the pressure on finance teams. Automation tools are an example: by taking on manual consolidation and reporting, these free up skilled professionals to focus on analysis and value-added work rather than transactional tasks.
“Automation doesn’t replace the human expertise in finance, but instead enhances it by reducing the mundane and giving teams space to think strategically, make faster decisions and reduce the stress that comes from constant deadlines and manual checks,” he says.
While technology alone isn’t a cure for burnout, it is a positive first step and a strategic lever that organisations can use to improve workflow, protect their talent and mitigate operational risk, all of which have tangible business benefits beyond individual well-being.