A UNSW study reportedly says federal bureaucrats have been battling through COVID-related burnout.

New research says managers have reported “lockdown fatigue” and mental exhaustion in employees working from home at a peak of the COVID-19 Delta wave late last year.

“We found that employees, supervisors and managers experienced 'COVID-fatigue', leading to burnout and stress,” the upcoming report says, according to the Canberra Times. 

Some of the “COVID-fatigue” was linked to the stress of the pandemic, but managers and employees both reported working from home had a clear impact on staff.

“Managers had noticed staff experiencing difficulties with home schooling, and while they provided support, home schooling appears to be a significant factor which negatively impacted on employees' mental health,” the report found.

“This was particularly the case with managers and teams in Melbourne who had experienced the longest periods of lockdown in Australia - and globally - throughout 2021.

“When the pandemic recedes and employees are able to work hybridly, the burnout associated with working from home during a pandemic is also likely to decrease. The positivities associated with this form of working may then be able to be fully realised.”

The report plots a shift from “panic productivity” in the pandemic's early stages during 2020 into “COVID fatigue” by 2021.

“There's a really strong message here for agencies to look after the wellbeing of employees, which I know that they're doing,” UNSW researcher Sue Williamson said.

“Over two in five respondents also stated that if their agency did not allow them to work from home at all, they would consider changing agencies or leaving the public sector,” the report said.