Recognizing and Addressing Burnout in Employees
Work environments, particularly high-demand workplace settings, can affect employee health and well-being in many ways. They affect the health of employees, workplace morale, and productivity. One of the biggest challenges that employees face is burnout. Recognizing and addressing burnout in employees is crucial for their job satisfaction, quality of life, and company success. This article sheds more light on employee burnout and how to recognize its symptoms and manage it properly.
Table of Contents
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. The term burnout refers to phenomena in the occupational context primarily and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life. Although not a medical condition per se, burnout can lead to serious physical and mental health problems ranging from anxiety and depression to reduced immunity and cardiovascular issues.
One study showed that 66% of American employees are experiencing some form of burnout in 2025. Younger generations are experiencing markedly higher rates of burnout than older colleagues. For example, the prevalence of burnout among 18–24-year-olds is 81%, in 25–34-year-olds 83%, and 49% among people older than 55.
Signs of Burnout in Employees
Burnout doesn’t happen overnight; it builds gradually and oftentimes goes unrecognized until it becomes severe. Identifying signs of burnout is essential for maintaining a productive and healthy work environment. These signs include:
Decline in job performance: Employees who used to be productive may start to struggle with their workload and find it difficult to keep up with deadlines. Due to poor focus and concentration, also caused by burnout, employees may become easily distracted. Since they’re not able to focus on the task at hand, their productivity may suffer.
Absenteeism: Employees experiencing burnout may frequently take unplanned time off or call in sick. When they are at work, employees may show signs of presenteeism, i.e., they’re physically present but not fully functional, i.e., checked out.
Behavioral changes: Employees with burnout may become impatient, withdrawn, or irritable. They may avoid social interactions with colleagues. Behavioral changes may extend to their private life and affect relationships.
Chronic fatigue: Burnout may manifest itself as tiredness, even after getting a full night’s sleep or a weekend off.
Lack of motivation: A once enthusiastic worker may seem disengaged and indifferent.
Physical symptoms: Headaches, sleep disturbances, and gastrointestinal issues are common in people with burnout.
Overreacting to stressors: Burnout could affect a person’s resilience and make them more sensitive. As a result, they may overreact to stressors and negative stimuli in a work setting.
Difficulty controlling emotions: Burnout is associated with decreased activity in empathy-related brain areas, weakened emotional regulation, and difficulty in recognizing emotional state.
Causes of Burnout
The main cause of burnout is chronic workplace stress and possibly other long-term personal and environmental stressors such as major illness, family difficulties, and other persistent adversity. The most common factors that may contribute to the development of burnout include:
Excessive workload and unrealistic deadlines
Constant pressure at work
Lack of control, i.e., being micromanaged at work
Lack of recognition and inadequate compensation
Limited opportunities for advancement
Unclear job expectations
Toxic work culture, i.e., bullying, mobbing, gossiping, and poor leadership
Poor work-life balance
Addressing Burnout in Employees
Burnout is not something to ignore. When left unmanaged, it can wreak havoc on a person’s health and well-being, and negatively affect the productivity of your company. Here are different ways to address burnout in employees.
Focus on prevention
The most important thing for every workplace is to prioritize burnout rather than simply creating interventions when it happens. Preventing burnout starts with a healthy work-life balance. For that reason, businesses of all sizes should encourage employees to take regular breaks, use their vacation time, and disconnect from work outside of office hours. Managers should set clear expectations and ensure that employees have a realistic, reasonable workload. Other ways to aid the prevention of burnout include giving employees more control and autonomy, fostering a supportive culture, and training managers to identify burnout in employees.
Open the conversation
A workplace setting that encourages open discussions about burnout and mental health is necessary for addressing burnout in employees. These discussions can be arranged in a group setting, but also privately. Make sure to approach the employee privately and express concern without judgment. Encourage the employee to talk about their feelings or what they find particularly stressful lately.
Access to resources
Sometimes employees develop burnout despite the best efforts of the company to prevent them. If that happens, employees need to have access to resources to manage burnout. For instance, some employees may need therapy to deal with the psychological consequences of burnout.
Recognize and reward efforts
Employees who feel unappreciated and undervalued are more prone to burnout. Lack of recognition can add to the stress they experience and pave the way to burnout symptoms. That’s why it would be useful to implement a formal recognition program that includes monthly or quarterly awards to celebrate outstanding performances and contributions. Additionally, managers may want to give personalized shoutouts during meetings or in team chats, thereby highlighting individual achievements and fostering a sense of appreciation.
Develop a recovery plan
A useful strategy to address burnout is to develop a recovery plan for employees with serious symptoms. These may include temporary reduced hours, flexible deadlines, or more regular check-ins.
Offer opportunities for professional development
Companies may want to offer training sessions, skill-building workshops, and mentorship programs that help employees expand their capabilities and advance their careers. The exact professional development opportunity depends on the nature of your business, but make sure to offer a chance for employees to build new skills and broaden their knowledge.
Other Ways to Address Burnout
Besides the abovementioned strategies, addressing burnout in employees should also include:
Analyze and address the root causes of employee burnout
Encourage employees to prioritize a healthy quality of life
Conduct workload assessments and identify areas for adjustments
Create a positive work environment
Carry out regular employee surveys
Conclusion
Burnout has become a common occurrence in the workplace, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Businesses, both big and small, can help employees overcome burnout and improve their productivity and quality of life. Identifying burnout signs early is crucial. Plus, there’s a lot that companies can and should do to support employees and their mental health.
References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2025/02/08/job-burnout-at-66-in-2025-new-study-shows/
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02155/full
