How To Address Workplace Burnout

It may surprise you to know that a recent National Alliance of Mental Illness poll reported that more than half of all American employees are experiencing some form of workplace burnout. While burnout is present across all age groups, an overwhelming percentage (81%) of those in the youngest cohort (18-to-25-year-olds) are experiencing the most burnout. What seems to be the reason for workplace burnout? The following may help explain the causes of this occurrence:

• Too much work and too little time to complete it
• Not having the right tools and resources to do a good job
• Economic instability causing stress among employees worried about job security
• Taking on additional responsibility due to inadequate staffing
• Chronic job-related stress that is not addressed by management
• Feelings of not being valued or rewarded by the organization
• Struggling to create work-life balance

Burnout among individual employees may be hard to spot. Depending on the corporate culture, employees may feel uncomfortable discussing being burned out in an environment that does not prioritize mental health. The bottom line is they may fear losing their job. According to the World Health Organization, burnout occurs when job-related stress is no longer manageable by being away from work during weekends and time off.

The key signs

An employee experiencing burnout may appear exhausted, become distant from their colleagues, harbor negative feelings about their work or express feelings of inadequacy. This can lead to absenteeism, tardiness, poor job performance or presenteeism, which places a burden on the rest of the team. In fact, there are physical consequences of burning out, including heart disease, hypertension and headaches. Psychological penalties include depression and insomnia.

How to address this growing issue?

Christina Maslach, who has a doctorate in psychology and is a leading expert on workplace burnout, reports that finding solutions will require a three-pronged approach that involves the company, the employee and then both the company and the employee working together.

• Organizations need to take a step back and assess why burnout is occurring through well-designed employee surveys. The surveys need to be taken seriously as a proactive means to prevent burnout before it happens. Part of the assessment is to identify where the stress is coming from and figure out how to mitigate it. Employees need to know what mental health programs are offered by the company and how to access them when needed.
• Management training should include how to spot signs of burnout. Workloads and deadlines should be monitored regularly and, where and when appropriate, tasks can be redelegated to other team members. Checking in with workers daily to see that the workload is manageable is something managers can do to keep the team performing with minimum levels of stress. 
• Employees need to make self-care a priority and take advantage of personal time off to recharge when needed. They need to feel that it’s OK to have downtime from work during vacations, weekends and evenings. Having a social network of colleagues, friends and family is important to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Employers and employees need to foster a healthy working environment of mutual respect and trust where all team members feel that their physical and mental well-being are valued. There should not be any barriers for employees to freely discuss their feelings of stress with higher-ups. The door to the boss’s office or cubicle should always be open. Given the right tools to do their job, along with some autonomy in decision-making, employees experience less on-the-job stress and burnout.

Workplace burnout is on the rise and needs to be addressed by employers. Organizations that have a system for responding to this issue have seen greater employee morale, retention and job satisfaction.

©YC Partners 2026