Feeling depleted after a long work marathon is normal, but continuously pushing yourself (or others) to perform at their limits is unsustainable. As a manager, you risk losing your best people, undermining team morale, and jeopardizing organizational success\u2026while also boarding the same burnout express. \ud83d\ude84<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news? We’ve got plenty of tips and tricks to help you recognize, avoid, and overcome burnout in your organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TL;DR \u2014 Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Employee burnout manifests as reduced productivity, constant exhaustion, and emotional detachment from work<\/strong>. It can also include more severe physical symptoms, signaling overexertion. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- The scale of workplace burnout is growing every year<\/strong> as companies push for greater productivity, higher profitability, and faster results amid fast technology changes and financial uncertainty. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Employee well-being often goes on the back burner, especially when businesses want to cut costs. But investments in your people pay manifold<\/strong> \u2014 in higher worker productivity, stronger talent retention, and better financial performance. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- To prevent employee burnout<\/strong>, managers need to be more intentional about managing workloads, assigning priorities, and monitoring performance. They can also work on modeling better lifestyle behaviors themselves. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Pushing your people harder or resorting to workplace surveillance technologies is never the answer to higher people productivity. It\u2019s another recipe for accelerating burnout and talent attrition. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Responsible time-tracking tools like Toggl Track<\/a> can diagnose the early signs of burnout, improve capacity management, and coach your people to build healthier productivity habits. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n \n \n
Detect the early signs of burnout<\/h5>\n
Use time data and analytics to better manage employee workload and capacity.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n Sign Up for Free<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\nWhat does employee burnout look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Burnout is our bodies\u2019 \u2018shut-down\u2019 reaction to unmanaged chronic workplace stress. It initially manifests as behavioral, psychological, and physiological cues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Decreased productivity due to mental fog, procrastination, and lack of motivation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Growing self-doubt, personal insecurities, or hopelessness toward your job<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Increased irritability, cynicism, and emotional detachment from your work or distrust toward the employer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Absenteeism and avoiding responsibilities, aka doing the bare minimum or quiet quitting <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Constant cognitive fatigue, lost concentration, and difficulties in rational decision-making<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Diminished self-worth and accomplishments when no work feels ‘good enough’<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Troubled sleeping, changed appetite, weight loss, and more frequent mild illnesses like colds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Chronic fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, and other signs of deteriorating physical wellbeing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The first signs of job burnout are often subtle. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to spot burnout because many people hide it, as they don\u2019t want to seem unreliable or risk falling behind, especially in a hustle culture like the one in America,\u201d says Anand Mehta<\/a>, Executive Director of AMFM Healthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBurnout can also be confused with regular workplace stress, which is often temporary and doesn\u2019t result in overwhelming depletion. Because of this confusion, managers often fail to notice the early warning signs or write these off as character flaws like poor time management or a lack of work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \ud83e\udde0 did you know?<\/span>\n \n Unlike workplace stress, which can temporarily boost performance, burnout paralyzes people\u2019s ability to do better, no matter how hard they try. And this makes it dangerous to ignore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
How common is employee burnout?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Workplace burnout is pervasive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAt the start of 2025, over two-thirds<\/a> (66%) of American employees and nine in ten<\/a> (91%) Brits experienced high stress, emotional exhaustion, and severe lack of motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlmost every role is affected \u2014 from healthcare workers recovering from the pandemic to deskless tech employees pressured to deliver faster, better work. Recent layoffs increased job insecurity and raised expectations for remaining employees. Meanwhile, remote workers struggle to disconnect and focus as employers adopt more invasive performance management software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with information overload, rapid technological change, skyrocketing living costs, poor management, and rising job demands \u2014 quite the melting pot \u2014 all these factors create fertile ground for burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, burnout rates are growing at 15% year on year<\/a> because companies expect employees to \u2018work through their issues\u2019 instead of changing their workplace cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe most common causes of employee burnout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, the World Health Organization<\/a> classified burnout as an \u201coccupational phenomenon,\u201d <\/em>aka something induced by the nature of a person\u2019s job, not their personal life circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cBurnout isn\u2019t an employee issue; it\u2019s a leadership failure. It doesn\u2019t happen overnight, either. It\u2019s a slow decline caused by overwork, lack of support, and unclear career growth,\u201d says Luke Beerman, CEO of Freedom Fence FL<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nMany workplaces suffer from systemic problems related to the work environment, management practices, and culture, increasing the risk of burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unsustainable workload<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Occasional \u2018busy\u2019 periods are normal for every job, but your people can\u2019t always be maxed out. No one can be on their A-game for eight hours, five (or more) days a week. The human brain simply isn\u2019t designed for more than four hours of daily deep work<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYet, there’s an alarming disconnect between managers’ and individual contributors’ perceptions of performance management. In terms of goal management, skill development, and capacity management, managers think they’re doing enough. Workers disagree. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-3-1024x268.png\")
Workers are less likely than their managers to view the current performance management as successful. Source: <\/em>The State of Performance Enablement Report by Better Works<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nLack of progress visibility, poor team time management, and haphazard performance correction leave people with not enough time to handle unrealistic expectations. This accumulative pressure and overwork eventually lead to burned-out employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toxic workplace practices <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe discourage sick days unless absolutely necessary\u201d…..\u201cVacations longer than five consecutive work days won\u2019t get approved\u201d…..\u201cWe pit people against each other to determine top performers.\u201d Sadly, all of these statements are still true and reflective of many companies\u2019 cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three-quarters<\/a> of US workers have faced a toxic workplace culture, with poor management as the main cause. Micromanagement, favoritism, unhealthy competition, harassment, bias, and disregard for employees\u2019 mental or physical health all lead to burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSadly, people in customer and patient roles are at an even higher risk of emotional strain. If management pushes for a “the customer is always right” policy, your employees may be pressured to tolerate verbal abuse or physical violence. Ask anyone in an entry-level customer service job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nOne in five workers experienced mental health problems at work, and 22% reported harassment in the last 12 months.<\/p>\nAmerican Psychological Association<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nLack of role clarity <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In smaller companies, startups, and scale-ups, one person is often expected to ‘wear many hats<\/span>.’ A Product Marketing manager can juggle their core tasks with occasional design, social media marketing, or sales chores. This strategy might work in the short term, but even high-performers can crumble under excessive workload and constant overwhelm over the longer term. <\/p>\n\n\n\nConfusion, urgency, and constant context-switching tax our brains, which weren’t designed to multitask. Only 2.7% of people<\/a> can effectively do several things at once without losing performance. Yet<\/span>, many workplaces ask their staff to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle (not literally, though). <\/p>\n\n\n \n \n \ud83d\udd25 the leading causes of burnout in the workplace<\/span>\n \n The constant lack of control, changing priorities, and general confusion over expectations (especially when paired with low compensation) cause burnout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
Inadequate recognition or support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An alarming number of employees feel their efforts are taken for granted. Busy managers often fail to provide timely feedback, while more ambitious co-workers tend to take credit for team effort, which is highly demoralizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 1 in 3 workers<\/a> recently received recognition for their good work. Worse, employees who don\u2019t feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to quit in the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMany managers think recognition equals a cash bonus. But what employees crave (and what works best) is \u201chonest, authentic and individualized verbal recognition of their contributions,\u201d according to Gallup<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt pays to invest in employee wellbeing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Content people are more engaged, productive, and creative. It’s a simple (but often overlooked) fact backed by research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Improving employee wellbeing in the UK can create extra economic value of \u00a3130-370 billion annually<\/strong>, or 6-17% of the country\u2019s GDP. (McKinsey Health Institute<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Companies with higher employee well-being financially outperform stock indexes<\/strong> like S&P 500, Russell 3000, and Nasdaq Composite. (Indeed<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Employees at companies that prioritize their well-being are 71% less likely to report burnout <\/strong>and five times more likely to advocate for their company<\/strong> as an employer. (Gallup<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- 89% of employees will only consider companies that emphasize <\/strong>employee wellbeing<\/strong> <\/strong>when looking for their next role. (WellHub<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
By making employee experience (EX) a higher-ranking priority, you can attract better talent <\/a>and minimize the impacts of skills shortages<\/a>. Plus, this strategy reduces employee attrition<\/a> by ensuring greater job satisfaction and engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEngaged people are less likely to show signs of absenteeism, resistance to change, or declining work quality. In fact, when employees are engaged, their productivity jumps<\/a> by 21%, achieving business profitability leaps of 18%. <\/p>\n\n\n \n \n \ud83c\udfc1 TLDR<\/span>\n \n An investment in employee well-being comes with a direct financial return on investment and a host of non-tangible benefits like a stronger employer brand, greater capacity for innovation, and stronger leadership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
So, what\u2019s the secret to preventing or eradicating workplace burnout?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Getting out of a burned-out state is much harder<\/em> than preventing it. Workplace burnout recovery can take anywhere from<\/strong> three months<\/strong><\/a> to<\/strong> four years<\/strong><\/a> (in the most severe cases). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt’s worth remembering that burnout happens when work demands become too much, too often. So, the best thing you can do as a leader is to ‘turn down the heat’ through better communication, improved workplace incentives, and data-driven management decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dial down the urgency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
“The expectation of constant availability results in burnout among employees. If employees can\u2019t disconnect, burnout is bound to happen,\u201d says Christian Hed<\/a>, CMO of Dstny<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nAs the speed of business has accelerated, many companies have developed a culture of \u2018fake urgency\u2019 \u2014 unrealistic deadlines, fast email response times, clogged calendars, and overflowing to-do lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most work tasks aren\u2019t that urgent<\/em>. They don\u2019t require a \u2018one-second response\u2019 or an \u2018immediate 10-person meeting.’ Companies like GitLab, Buffer, Automattic, and Toggl all succeed by relying on async communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLikewise, many \u2018ultra urgent\u2019 tasks can be automated instead of handled by humans \u2014 and that\u2019s what Christian Hed advocates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUse tools to automate low-value admin work, freeing teams to focus on strategic decisions. For example, we helped Svanstr\u00f6ms streamline emergency callouts with our software. This reduced their dropped calls by 60% and doubled customer conversions \u2014 without overloading staff.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Christian-Hed-quote-on-employee-burnout-1024x538.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t reward overwork <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Many traditional workplace incentives, like bonuses or promotions, based solely on visible outputs, create a workaholic culture. The media doesn’t help, either. We’ve seen countless stories about top-class attorneys or smart doctors working ultra-long hours. But fewer about those leaving work at 4 pm to work on their veggie garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fix to burnout starts with stopping the reward system for overwork\u201d, added Beerman. \u201cMake PTO sacred so employees don\u2019t feel guilty for taking breaks. Ditch the always-on mentality by setting real work-life boundaries.\u201d These behaviors should start with managers because they can drain an entire team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you personally<\/em> have a good work-life balance? Or are you the one messaging your team at odd hours or on Sunday afternoons with random questions? Perhaps you should adjust your expectations and take greater care of your health, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHuman Resources professionals can also provide support by creating and reinforcing systems to promote self-care without sacrificing organizational performance. These can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Adopting results and accountability first (RAFT) policies, where employers recognize their people by output and impact rather than input like clocked hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Granting employees the autonomy to set their own schedule for roles that allows this <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Offering paid personal time off and encouraging people to use it without any guilt <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Enforcing a no-contact policy outside of working hours, protecting the right to disconnect <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Signposting various wellness programs to help people better cope with stress or mental health issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Because when your people can disconnect (properly, without FOMO,) they return more productive and engaged than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Dajana](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-4-895x1024-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUse data to inform your strategy <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee burnout comes from prolonged exposure to stressors. To prevent this condition from taking hold, learn when exposure reaches a tipping point \u2014 and work on preventing these build-ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the most obvious symptoms of burnout is a change in the employee’s level of engagement, whether it be a decrease in enthusiasm over projects that were once loved, an increase in absenteeism, or even changes in personality, such as irritability or withdrawal,\u201d says Lucas Botzen, HR Expert and CEO of Rivermate<\/a>. Diagnosing and addressing these root causes is the key step to breaking up the burnout cycle, according to Botzen. <\/p>\n\n\n\nManagers often notice burnout symptoms first but aren\u2019t always equipped to diagnose the cause. Productivity tools like Toggl Track can provide deeper insights. Our analytics dashboards<\/a> can help identify when your people are focusing on the wrong priorities and risking project delays (or if they simply feel too overwhelmed due to insufficient capacities).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Time](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Time-tracking-analytics-for-employee-insights-1024x610.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTime data also helps you understand what undermines productivity and drives exhaustion. Perhaps your engineers are stuck in too many meetings. Or your procurement team is held back by your legacy, slow ERP systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe regularly review our people\u2019s performance and adjust workflows to keep things manageable. These small but intentional changes have made a big difference in helping the team feel supported and valued,\u201d agrees Mehta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aim to build a high-trust culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All of the above efforts improve workers\u2019 physiological safety, allowing them to raise issues in time without fear or judgment. \u201cI really insist on open communication and regular one-on-one check-ins with managers as a means of catching the signs before they escalate,\u201d says Botzen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Candid and empathetic conversations with managers, especially for remote teams, are critical for building trust, a key pillar of employee retention. It\u2019s also important to normalize discussions about not just \u2018big wins,\u2019 but also mishaps, personal struggles, and ways to overcome them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burnout is (usually) about the workplace, not the people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Burnout susceptibility isn\u2019t about skills, work experience, or emotional resilience. Entry-level customer support agents, world-class neurosurgeons, recent accounting graduates, and even CEOs<\/a> can experience burnout. <\/p>\n\n\n\nUsually, it\u2019s due to poor leadership decisions, reinforced by the glorification of entrepreneurs<\/a> (Elon-ahem<\/em>-Musk), who \u201cwork 120-hour weeks and didn\u2019t take more than a week off for 17 years.\u201d Wow, doesn\u2019t that sound fun? <\/p>\n\n\n\nLeaders\u2019 personal disregard for employees\u2019 well-being taints the entire company culture. People are asked to achieve unachievable targets for company growth, clock in excessive overtime, and work to the point of depletion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corporate work cultures have even been blamed for the death<\/a> of some employees, such as in the heartbreaking story of one 26-year-old E&Y worker who died within four months of joining the consulting firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAs managers, we can switch from blaming to helping employees better cope with stress.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Luke](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Luke-Beerman-quote-on-employee-burnout-1024x538.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis starts with intentionally allocating workloads and using tools to measure your team’s capacity and capability. Team restructuring to accommodate mounting work is another solution, along with business process optimization to eliminate redundancies. If you lack hands on deck, petition stakeholders for extra hiring budgets and push back on unrealistic expectations from higher-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an executive leader, it\u2019s your job to listen to your people and act on their feedback. If productivity or profitability declines, it\u2019s not always because your teams aren\u2019t doing enough. Often, they may be stretched too thin and lack the resources to meet their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, cultural initiatives like training in new leadership styles, emotional intelligence workshops, and sustainable productivity goals can make a difference. Speaking of which\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surveillance is definitely not <\/em>the key to employee engagement<\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe flip side of burnout is low employee engagement and productivity \u2014 something that\u2019s been bothering leaders a lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But instead of defining adequate productivity criteria for different roles, an alarming 75% of respondents<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>to our Toggl Productivity Index survey <\/strong>believe they should have the right to track every employee’s activity <\/strong>to ensure they are delivering results.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe adoption of employee surveillance software<\/a> is on the rise, with companies logging remote employees\u2019 keystrokes, browser activity, and number of blinks per second via a webcam. <\/p>\n\n\n\nChief Surveillance Officers, as we like to call them, often achieve the opposite of what they\u2019re hoping for. Their people engage in \u2018productivity theater\u2019 \u2014 a flurry of meaningless output activity with little impact. They become less autonomous, demotivated, and eventually quit, leading to painful impacts on your business’s bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TLDR: Surveillance and micromanagement only aggravate employee burnout, but never fix it. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nTo increase your team’s productivity, you need to consider more strategic changes to your project management, workload allocation, and personal accountability. This starts with gaining better visibility into your workloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toggl Track<\/a> advocates for time data collection to support, not stifle, your people. Our automatic time tracker allows users to stay in control of all logged time data. We have a fierce anti-surveillance policy<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Anti-surveillance](\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Anti-surveillance-stance-1024x914.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInstead, our mission is to give everyone visibility into how work happens, using actionable data for optimizing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- The scale of workplace burnout is growing every year<\/strong> as companies push for greater productivity, higher profitability, and faster results amid fast technology changes and financial uncertainty. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Employee well-being often goes on the back burner, especially when businesses want to cut costs. But investments in your people pay manifold<\/strong> \u2014 in higher worker productivity, stronger talent retention, and better financial performance. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- To prevent employee burnout<\/strong>, managers need to be more intentional about managing workloads, assigning priorities, and monitoring performance. They can also work on modeling better lifestyle behaviors themselves. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Pushing your people harder or resorting to workplace surveillance technologies is never the answer to higher people productivity. It\u2019s another recipe for accelerating burnout and talent attrition. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Responsible time-tracking tools like Toggl Track<\/a> can diagnose the early signs of burnout, improve capacity management, and coach your people to build healthier productivity habits. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n \n\n
Detect the early signs of burnout<\/h5>\n
Use time data and analytics to better manage employee workload and capacity.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n Sign Up for Free<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n
What does employee burnout look like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Burnout is our bodies\u2019 \u2018shut-down\u2019 reaction to unmanaged chronic workplace stress. It initially manifests as behavioral, psychological, and physiological cues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Decreased productivity due to mental fog, procrastination, and lack of motivation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Growing self-doubt, personal insecurities, or hopelessness toward your job<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Increased irritability, cynicism, and emotional detachment from your work or distrust toward the employer<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Absenteeism and avoiding responsibilities, aka doing the bare minimum or quiet quitting <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Constant cognitive fatigue, lost concentration, and difficulties in rational decision-making<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Diminished self-worth and accomplishments when no work feels ‘good enough’<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Troubled sleeping, changed appetite, weight loss, and more frequent mild illnesses like colds<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Chronic fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, and other signs of deteriorating physical wellbeing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The first signs of job burnout are often subtle. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to spot burnout because many people hide it, as they don\u2019t want to seem unreliable or risk falling behind, especially in a hustle culture like the one in America,\u201d says Anand Mehta<\/a>, Executive Director of AMFM Healthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burnout can also be confused with regular workplace stress, which is often temporary and doesn\u2019t result in overwhelming depletion. Because of this confusion, managers often fail to notice the early warning signs or write these off as character flaws like poor time management or a lack of work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \ud83e\udde0 did you know?<\/span>\n \nUnlike workplace stress, which can temporarily boost performance, burnout paralyzes people\u2019s ability to do better, no matter how hard they try. And this makes it dangerous to ignore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
How common is employee burnout?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Workplace burnout is pervasive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of 2025, over two-thirds<\/a> (66%) of American employees and nine in ten<\/a> (91%) Brits experienced high stress, emotional exhaustion, and severe lack of motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almost every role is affected \u2014 from healthcare workers recovering from the pandemic to deskless tech employees pressured to deliver faster, better work. Recent layoffs increased job insecurity and raised expectations for remaining employees. Meanwhile, remote workers struggle to disconnect and focus as employers adopt more invasive performance management software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with information overload, rapid technological change, skyrocketing living costs, poor management, and rising job demands \u2014 quite the melting pot \u2014 all these factors create fertile ground for burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, burnout rates are growing at 15% year on year<\/a> because companies expect employees to \u2018work through their issues\u2019 instead of changing their workplace cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most common causes of employee burnout<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, the World Health Organization<\/a> classified burnout as an \u201coccupational phenomenon,\u201d <\/em>aka something induced by the nature of a person\u2019s job, not their personal life circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBurnout isn\u2019t an employee issue; it\u2019s a leadership failure. It doesn\u2019t happen overnight, either. It\u2019s a slow decline caused by overwork, lack of support, and unclear career growth,\u201d says Luke Beerman, CEO of Freedom Fence FL<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many workplaces suffer from systemic problems related to the work environment, management practices, and culture, increasing the risk of burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unsustainable workload<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Occasional \u2018busy\u2019 periods are normal for every job, but your people can\u2019t always be maxed out. No one can be on their A-game for eight hours, five (or more) days a week. The human brain simply isn\u2019t designed for more than four hours of daily deep work<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, there’s an alarming disconnect between managers’ and individual contributors’ perceptions of performance management. In terms of goal management, skill development, and capacity management, managers think they’re doing enough. Workers disagree. <\/p>\n\n\n
\nWorkers are less likely than their managers to view the current performance management as successful. Source: <\/em>The State of Performance Enablement Report by Better Works<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n Lack of progress visibility, poor team time management, and haphazard performance correction leave people with not enough time to handle unrealistic expectations. This accumulative pressure and overwork eventually lead to burned-out employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toxic workplace practices <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe discourage sick days unless absolutely necessary\u201d…..\u201cVacations longer than five consecutive work days won\u2019t get approved\u201d…..\u201cWe pit people against each other to determine top performers.\u201d Sadly, all of these statements are still true and reflective of many companies\u2019 cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three-quarters<\/a> of US workers have faced a toxic workplace culture, with poor management as the main cause. Micromanagement, favoritism, unhealthy competition, harassment, bias, and disregard for employees\u2019 mental or physical health all lead to burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, people in customer and patient roles are at an even higher risk of emotional strain. If management pushes for a “the customer is always right” policy, your employees may be pressured to tolerate verbal abuse or physical violence. Ask anyone in an entry-level customer service job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
One in five workers experienced mental health problems at work, and 22% reported harassment in the last 12 months.<\/p>\nAmerican Psychological Association<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Lack of role clarity <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In smaller companies, startups, and scale-ups, one person is often expected to ‘wear many hats<\/span>.’ A Product Marketing manager can juggle their core tasks with occasional design, social media marketing, or sales chores. This strategy might work in the short term, but even high-performers can crumble under excessive workload and constant overwhelm over the longer term. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confusion, urgency, and constant context-switching tax our brains, which weren’t designed to multitask. Only 2.7% of people<\/a> can effectively do several things at once without losing performance. Yet<\/span>, many workplaces ask their staff to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle (not literally, though). <\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \ud83d\udd25 the leading causes of burnout in the workplace<\/span>\n \nThe constant lack of control, changing priorities, and general confusion over expectations (especially when paired with low compensation) cause burnout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
Inadequate recognition or support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An alarming number of employees feel their efforts are taken for granted. Busy managers often fail to provide timely feedback, while more ambitious co-workers tend to take credit for team effort, which is highly demoralizing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only 1 in 3 workers<\/a> recently received recognition for their good work. Worse, employees who don\u2019t feel adequately recognized are twice as likely to quit in the next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many managers think recognition equals a cash bonus. But what employees crave (and what works best) is \u201chonest, authentic and individualized verbal recognition of their contributions,\u201d according to Gallup<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It pays to invest in employee wellbeing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Content people are more engaged, productive, and creative. It’s a simple (but often overlooked) fact backed by research:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Improving employee wellbeing in the UK can create extra economic value of \u00a3130-370 billion annually<\/strong>, or 6-17% of the country\u2019s GDP. (McKinsey Health Institute<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Companies with higher employee well-being financially outperform stock indexes<\/strong> like S&P 500, Russell 3000, and Nasdaq Composite. (Indeed<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Employees at companies that prioritize their well-being are 71% less likely to report burnout <\/strong>and five times more likely to advocate for their company<\/strong> as an employer. (Gallup<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- 89% of employees will only consider companies that emphasize <\/strong>employee wellbeing<\/strong> <\/strong>when looking for their next role. (WellHub<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
By making employee experience (EX) a higher-ranking priority, you can attract better talent <\/a>and minimize the impacts of skills shortages<\/a>. Plus, this strategy reduces employee attrition<\/a> by ensuring greater job satisfaction and engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Engaged people are less likely to show signs of absenteeism, resistance to change, or declining work quality. In fact, when employees are engaged, their productivity jumps<\/a> by 21%, achieving business profitability leaps of 18%. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n \n \ud83c\udfc1 TLDR<\/span>\n \nAn investment in employee well-being comes with a direct financial return on investment and a host of non-tangible benefits like a stronger employer brand, greater capacity for innovation, and stronger leadership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n
So, what\u2019s the secret to preventing or eradicating workplace burnout?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Getting out of a burned-out state is much harder<\/em> than preventing it. Workplace burnout recovery can take anywhere from<\/strong> three months<\/strong><\/a> to<\/strong> four years<\/strong><\/a> (in the most severe cases). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s worth remembering that burnout happens when work demands become too much, too often. So, the best thing you can do as a leader is to ‘turn down the heat’ through better communication, improved workplace incentives, and data-driven management decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dial down the urgency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
“The expectation of constant availability results in burnout among employees. If employees can\u2019t disconnect, burnout is bound to happen,\u201d says Christian Hed<\/a>, CMO of Dstny<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the speed of business has accelerated, many companies have developed a culture of \u2018fake urgency\u2019 \u2014 unrealistic deadlines, fast email response times, clogged calendars, and overflowing to-do lists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most work tasks aren\u2019t that urgent<\/em>. They don\u2019t require a \u2018one-second response\u2019 or an \u2018immediate 10-person meeting.’ Companies like GitLab, Buffer, Automattic, and Toggl all succeed by relying on async communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, many \u2018ultra urgent\u2019 tasks can be automated instead of handled by humans \u2014 and that\u2019s what Christian Hed advocates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUse tools to automate low-value admin work, freeing teams to focus on strategic decisions. For example, we helped Svanstr\u00f6ms streamline emergency callouts with our software. This reduced their dropped calls by 60% and doubled customer conversions \u2014 without overloading staff.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDon\u2019t reward overwork <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Many traditional workplace incentives, like bonuses or promotions, based solely on visible outputs, create a workaholic culture. The media doesn’t help, either. We’ve seen countless stories about top-class attorneys or smart doctors working ultra-long hours. But fewer about those leaving work at 4 pm to work on their veggie garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe fix to burnout starts with stopping the reward system for overwork\u201d, added Beerman. \u201cMake PTO sacred so employees don\u2019t feel guilty for taking breaks. Ditch the always-on mentality by setting real work-life boundaries.\u201d These behaviors should start with managers because they can drain an entire team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you personally<\/em> have a good work-life balance? Or are you the one messaging your team at odd hours or on Sunday afternoons with random questions? Perhaps you should adjust your expectations and take greater care of your health, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human Resources professionals can also provide support by creating and reinforcing systems to promote self-care without sacrificing organizational performance. These can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Adopting results and accountability first (RAFT) policies, where employers recognize their people by output and impact rather than input like clocked hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Granting employees the autonomy to set their own schedule for roles that allows this <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Offering paid personal time off and encouraging people to use it without any guilt <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Enforcing a no-contact policy outside of working hours, protecting the right to disconnect <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Signposting various wellness programs to help people better cope with stress or mental health issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Because when your people can disconnect (properly, without FOMO,) they return more productive and engaged than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUse data to inform your strategy <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Employee burnout comes from prolonged exposure to stressors. To prevent this condition from taking hold, learn when exposure reaches a tipping point \u2014 and work on preventing these build-ups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the most obvious symptoms of burnout is a change in the employee’s level of engagement, whether it be a decrease in enthusiasm over projects that were once loved, an increase in absenteeism, or even changes in personality, such as irritability or withdrawal,\u201d says Lucas Botzen, HR Expert and CEO of Rivermate<\/a>. Diagnosing and addressing these root causes is the key step to breaking up the burnout cycle, according to Botzen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Managers often notice burnout symptoms first but aren\u2019t always equipped to diagnose the cause. Productivity tools like Toggl Track can provide deeper insights. Our analytics dashboards<\/a> can help identify when your people are focusing on the wrong priorities and risking project delays (or if they simply feel too overwhelmed due to insufficient capacities).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTime data also helps you understand what undermines productivity and drives exhaustion. Perhaps your engineers are stuck in too many meetings. Or your procurement team is held back by your legacy, slow ERP systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe regularly review our people\u2019s performance and adjust workflows to keep things manageable. These small but intentional changes have made a big difference in helping the team feel supported and valued,\u201d agrees Mehta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aim to build a high-trust culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All of the above efforts improve workers\u2019 physiological safety, allowing them to raise issues in time without fear or judgment. \u201cI really insist on open communication and regular one-on-one check-ins with managers as a means of catching the signs before they escalate,\u201d says Botzen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Candid and empathetic conversations with managers, especially for remote teams, are critical for building trust, a key pillar of employee retention. It\u2019s also important to normalize discussions about not just \u2018big wins,\u2019 but also mishaps, personal struggles, and ways to overcome them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Burnout is (usually) about the workplace, not the people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Burnout susceptibility isn\u2019t about skills, work experience, or emotional resilience. Entry-level customer support agents, world-class neurosurgeons, recent accounting graduates, and even CEOs<\/a> can experience burnout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Usually, it\u2019s due to poor leadership decisions, reinforced by the glorification of entrepreneurs<\/a> (Elon-ahem<\/em>-Musk), who \u201cwork 120-hour weeks and didn\u2019t take more than a week off for 17 years.\u201d Wow, doesn\u2019t that sound fun? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaders\u2019 personal disregard for employees\u2019 well-being taints the entire company culture. People are asked to achieve unachievable targets for company growth, clock in excessive overtime, and work to the point of depletion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corporate work cultures have even been blamed for the death<\/a> of some employees, such as in the heartbreaking story of one 26-year-old E&Y worker who died within four months of joining the consulting firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As managers, we can switch from blaming to helping employees better cope with stress.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThis starts with intentionally allocating workloads and using tools to measure your team’s capacity and capability. Team restructuring to accommodate mounting work is another solution, along with business process optimization to eliminate redundancies. If you lack hands on deck, petition stakeholders for extra hiring budgets and push back on unrealistic expectations from higher-ups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an executive leader, it\u2019s your job to listen to your people and act on their feedback. If productivity or profitability declines, it\u2019s not always because your teams aren\u2019t doing enough. Often, they may be stretched too thin and lack the resources to meet their targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, cultural initiatives like training in new leadership styles, emotional intelligence workshops, and sustainable productivity goals can make a difference. Speaking of which\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Surveillance is definitely not <\/em>the key to employee engagement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The flip side of burnout is low employee engagement and productivity \u2014 something that\u2019s been bothering leaders a lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But instead of defining adequate productivity criteria for different roles, an alarming 75% of respondents<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>to our Toggl Productivity Index survey <\/strong>believe they should have the right to track every employee’s activity <\/strong>to ensure they are delivering results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The adoption of employee surveillance software<\/a> is on the rise, with companies logging remote employees\u2019 keystrokes, browser activity, and number of blinks per second via a webcam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chief Surveillance Officers, as we like to call them, often achieve the opposite of what they\u2019re hoping for. Their people engage in \u2018productivity theater\u2019 \u2014 a flurry of meaningless output activity with little impact. They become less autonomous, demotivated, and eventually quit, leading to painful impacts on your business’s bottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TLDR: Surveillance and micromanagement only aggravate employee burnout, but never fix it. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
To increase your team’s productivity, you need to consider more strategic changes to your project management, workload allocation, and personal accountability. This starts with gaining better visibility into your workloads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toggl Track<\/a> advocates for time data collection to support, not stifle, your people. Our automatic time tracker allows users to stay in control of all logged time data. We have a fierce anti-surveillance policy<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInstead, our mission is to give everyone visibility into how work happens, using actionable data for optimizing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Signposting various wellness programs to help people better cope with stress or mental health issues<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Enforcing a no-contact policy outside of working hours, protecting the right to disconnect <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Offering paid personal time off and encouraging people to use it without any guilt <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Granting employees the autonomy to set their own schedule for roles that allows this <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Adopting results and accountability first (RAFT) policies, where employers recognize their people by output and impact rather than input like clocked hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- 89% of employees will only consider companies that emphasize <\/strong>employee wellbeing<\/strong> <\/strong>when looking for their next role. (WellHub<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Employees at companies that prioritize their well-being are 71% less likely to report burnout <\/strong>and five times more likely to advocate for their company<\/strong> as an employer. (Gallup<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Companies with higher employee well-being financially outperform stock indexes<\/strong> like S&P 500, Russell 3000, and Nasdaq Composite. (Indeed<\/a>) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Improving employee wellbeing in the UK can create extra economic value of \u00a3130-370 billion annually<\/strong>, or 6-17% of the country\u2019s GDP. (McKinsey Health Institute<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Responsible time-tracking tools like Toggl Track<\/a> can diagnose the early signs of burnout, improve capacity management, and coach your people to build healthier productivity habits. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Pushing your people harder or resorting to workplace surveillance technologies is never the answer to higher people productivity. It\u2019s another recipe for accelerating burnout and talent attrition. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- To prevent employee burnout<\/strong>, managers need to be more intentional about managing workloads, assigning priorities, and monitoring performance. They can also work on modeling better lifestyle behaviors themselves. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Employee well-being often goes on the back burner, especially when businesses want to cut costs. But investments in your people pay manifold<\/strong> \u2014 in higher worker productivity, stronger talent retention, and better financial performance. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n